Interior woodwork

[scrumblebunny]

We have just purchased a 20 year old boat that is fitted internally with what appears to teak(?) faced marine ply with some solid teak fittings and trimmings. The wood work is sound although it is a little tired and in need of some TLC. I thought I would give it a very gentle sand down and then varnish it with some sort of varnish to hopefully give it a new lease of life. We are new to this, and would like some ideas as to whether what I am suggesting is feasible and what varnish could be recommended for internal wood work. Thank you.

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[Evadne]

Re: Varnish

If you're going for varnish then I'd recommend using the same grade as you'd use outside. The difference between marine-grade and interior-grade varnish is, basically, that the former is better at doing the same job. The better the varnish, the longer it lasts. Try Epiphanes (my choice) or Tonkinois (widely recommended on this forum). I used Blue Peter Crystal (Int'l paints) which is a little inferior to Epiphanes, but after 10 years it only needs touching up where I scratched it with the engine and where water has been running down it.

There are other finishes, such as Deks Olje, two-pot varnish or Sikkens. I've used 2-pot and wouldn't recommend it: it's great on plywood as long as it lasts but brittle, and overcoating scratches and holes is not satisfactory. It isn't recommended for non-plywood.

Not having any experience of the others I'll leave the advice to those more knowledgable.

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[Gordonmc]

Has it been varnished previously?
It may have been oiled, in which case I would suggest you should consider rejuvinating with more of the same. Danish oil from B&Q or swindlery teak oil (overpriced) would do the business.

If it has been varnished, a light flatting and go with other advice on the thread.

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[AndrewJ]

If you want to clean it first, I'd recommend "soft scrub" w/bleach. I tried the normal teak cleaners and it didn't really get it
clean. plus seemed to leave an oily residue that attracted more dirt.
I heard somewhere about the soft scrub (same stuff used in kitchens/loo's) and it really cleaned the teak. I then
varnished it. The end result was a lighter teak, but nicely shiny.



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