Yngmar
Well-Known Member
Back to sanding again. This time the cockpit table, which I'd planned to sand down much like the cockpit trim and then varnish. Alas, it turns out it's made of plywood with teak veneer (both sides) on. Under previous ownership it had been badly neglected and is severely weathered like the rest of the trim on the boat (see photo - before and after sanding).
While the solid teak fiddles and edging is revivable by sanding it down, the veneer is well and truly dead. It's coming off in strips and there's dark plywood peeking out underneath. I've sanded it a bit and after wetting, more bits come off, and there isn't enough left to sand it down anyways.
What now? I've considered re-veneering, but it would be a pain in the behind because I'd have to remove the fiddles to do it properly, else it won't get in the corners. Replacing the teak veneered ply sections and re-using the old fiddles and edging briefly crossed my mind, but that stopped as soon as I looked up the cost for double-sided teak veneered ply, not to mention it's getting all a bit much work when all I wanted to do was sand and varnish and put my dinner on it.
While sanding some more, a thought crossed my mind. What if I just strip off the knackered veneer, smoothen it a bit with some wood filler and then paint the ply areas only, leaving the solid teak edges bare. Then varnish over both (Le Tonkinois claims to be suitable for varnishing over paint), aiming to achieve this sort of look (but more glossy and UV protected by the varnish):
Now, that's another thing I've never done - what sort of paint do I use, and how do I prepare the ply? I assume with a few layers of varnish it will be protected from UV, but what I don't need is the paint falling off underneath. Is it even a good idea? I'm tending towards a less glaring colour than white for the paint.
While the solid teak fiddles and edging is revivable by sanding it down, the veneer is well and truly dead. It's coming off in strips and there's dark plywood peeking out underneath. I've sanded it a bit and after wetting, more bits come off, and there isn't enough left to sand it down anyways.
What now? I've considered re-veneering, but it would be a pain in the behind because I'd have to remove the fiddles to do it properly, else it won't get in the corners. Replacing the teak veneered ply sections and re-using the old fiddles and edging briefly crossed my mind, but that stopped as soon as I looked up the cost for double-sided teak veneered ply, not to mention it's getting all a bit much work when all I wanted to do was sand and varnish and put my dinner on it.
While sanding some more, a thought crossed my mind. What if I just strip off the knackered veneer, smoothen it a bit with some wood filler and then paint the ply areas only, leaving the solid teak edges bare. Then varnish over both (Le Tonkinois claims to be suitable for varnishing over paint), aiming to achieve this sort of look (but more glossy and UV protected by the varnish):
Now, that's another thing I've never done - what sort of paint do I use, and how do I prepare the ply? I assume with a few layers of varnish it will be protected from UV, but what I don't need is the paint falling off underneath. Is it even a good idea? I'm tending towards a less glaring colour than white for the paint.
