Restoring oak veneer

[michael_w]

My boat has got rather weathered veneer by the companion way. What's the best way of restoring it to it's former sate?

 

[Kilo]

I'm really hoping that someone will come forward with the silver bullet but I'm afraid it doesn't exist ie. There is no perfect solution and reversing the silvering virtually impossible.
Osmo have a wood reviver containing oxalic acid that may go some way to getting back to the original, depending on how badly you need it to be a uniform colour might be easier to replace the whole panel or sand it down put a new veneer on?

 

[PlankWalker]

Depends haw thick the veneer is, if its quality thick stuff. you can sand it, if its thin stuff, you cant.

 

[robmcg]

Not difficult. Firstly mask off surrounding area and apply Paint Panther paint/varnish stripper (other brands are available). Once stripped, clean with white spirit. The black areas will be mildew in the grain so treat with bleach based mold and mildew spray from the supermarket. If the staining is persistent, treat with oxalic acid cleaner (instant hull cleaner works for me). Allow to dry. Sand very lightly with the grain using fine sandpaper. Reclean with white spirit. Final sand with fine wire wool. Clean again with white spirit and allow to dry. Recoat with the topcoat of your choice. Personally, I use Ronseal ultra hard satin coat. Five good coats minimum and it should look a lot better.

 

[Tranona]

Not difficult. Firstly mask off surrounding area and apply Paint Panther paint/varnish stripper (other brands are available). Once stripped, clean with white spirit. The black areas will be mildew in the grain so treat with bleach based mold and mildew spray from the supermarket. If the staining is persistent, treat with oxalic acid cleaner (instant hull cleaner works for me). Allow to dry. Sand very lightly with the grain using fine sandpaper. Reclean with white spirit. Final sand with fine wire wool. Clean again with white spirit and allow to dry. Recoat with the topcoat of your choice. Personally, I use Ronseal ultra hard satin coat. Five good coats minimum and it should look a lot better.

+1. Needs patience and care but can be done. You may not be able to get an even colour all over, so may have to apply some woodstain, although in such a visible location little opportunity to experiment so you may have to accept a certain amount of inconsistency in colour

 

[Concerto]

Not difficult. Firstly mask off surrounding area and apply Paint Panther paint/varnish stripper (other brands are available). Once stripped, clean with white spirit. The black areas will be mildew in the grain so treat with bleach based mold and mildew spray from the supermarket. If the staining is persistent, treat with oxalic acid cleaner (instant hull cleaner works for me). Allow to dry. Sand very lightly with the grain using fine sandpaper. Reclean with white spirit. Final sand with fine wire wool. Clean again with white spirit and allow to dry. Recoat with the topcoat of your choice. Personally, I use Ronseal ultra hard satin coat. Five good coats minimum and it should look a lot better.

A good reply. I would add, before using a bleach solution, wipe the whole area over with a damp cloth and see if all the veneer absorbs a little water. If it does not, then some of the original finish is still present. Also I prefer to use the cheapest supermarket own brand of bleach as you can alter the amount of water used for dilution and it is also without any added perfume.

To adjust the colour with a wood stain, use a water based stain like Liberon, not a spirit based stain. It is far more controlable and leaves a softer edge when colouring. Use multiple coats of stain to slowly change the colour. You cannot lighten the colour with wood stain, that should be done using a bleach solution.

Most internal wood surfaces of any boat are usually not varnished. Boat builders us a 2 part lacquer as it is fast drying and multiple coats can be applied in a day and is not sticky whilst drying to attract dust. In my Fulmar's interior I used exactly the same as Westerly used. It is Morrells 450 acid catalyst high build up low odour lacquer with 30% sheen. It is only available in a 5 litre pack with catalyst and 5 litrs of thinners from their trade counters. It has to be pre ordered for collection the following day and will cost about £60 including VAT. It is recommended to be sprayed, but it can be brushed. I used a good quality synthetic brush. It sets quite quickly so I only mixed a maximum of 60ml at a time. The brush was suspended in thinners during the day and overnigh, but washed out properly if not being used for more than a day.

Morrells | 450 Low Odour High Build Acid-Catalyst Lacquer

 

[michael_w]

Thanks guys, guess what I'll be doing over easter.

 

[Seashoreman]

Concerto, indeed that lacquer is excellent however it is almost impossible to remove if it becomes necessary.
I have tried almost everything (except thinners) and Morrells advised coarse sanding. Next is a heat gun. Tough stuff.
No criticism to your excellent advice to OP.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Not difficult. Firstly mask off surrounding area and apply Paint Panther paint/varnish stripper (other brands are available). Once stripped, clean with white spirit. The black areas will be mildew in the grain so treat with bleach based mold and mildew spray from the supermarket. If the staining is persistent, treat with oxalic acid cleaner (instant hull cleaner works for me). Allow to dry. Sand very lightly with the grain using fine sandpaper. Reclean with white spirit. Final sand with fine wire wool. Clean again with white spirit and allow to dry. Recoat with the topcoat of your choice. Personally, I use Ronseal ultra hard satin coat. Five good coats minimum and it should look a lot better.

A very minor point; black stains on oak may be iron staining, not mildew, especially if found around fixings. As far as I know, that is difficult/impossible to remove.

Note also that oak darkens naturally with age - most oak church furniture (which is often well over 100 years old) is very dark brown; and eventually turns almost black.

 

[Concerto]

Concerto, indeed that lacquer is excellent however it is almost impossible to remove if it becomes necessary.
I have tried almost everything (except thinners) and Morrells advised coarse sanding. Next is a heat gun. Tough stuff.
No criticism to your excellent advice to OP.

As it is a lacquer, the usual paint strippers will never work, like removing varnish or paint. They are chemically totally different products. As you said, lacquer is tough stuff, but used on so many wood products that are commercially made.

It is not difficult to remove using a chisel or a cabinet scrapper. My preference is a 1½" wide chisel that has been ground on a small diamond wheel sharpening tool, but do not remove the curled back edge. This curled back edge is similar to a cabinet scrapper curl and all you need to remove old lacquer. What you must be aware of is the colour of the dust. Old lacquer will be creamy coloured, but as soon as you touch timber the colour of the dust will change to the wood colour. That is when you stop using the chisel and then gently rub the wood with 180 grit sandpaper in the direction of the grain. The water wipe checks all lacquer is removed. It any lacquer remains, it will show up as a creamy patch when relacquered.

You may find this PowerPoint presentation useful to look at.

https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/2/25/Interior_Woodwork_Concerto_PowerPoint.pdf

 

[Fr J Hackett]

A good reply. I would add, before using a bleach solution, wipe the whole area over with a damp cloth and see if all the veneer absorbs a little water. If it does not, then some of the original finish is still present. Also I prefer to use the cheapest supermarket own brand of bleach as you can alter the amount of water used for dilution and it is also without any added perfume.

To adjust the colour with a wood stain, use a water based stain like Liberon, not a spirit based stain. It is far more controlable and leaves a softer edge when colouring. Use multiple coats of stain to slowly change the colour. You cannot lighten the colour with wood stain, that should be done using a bleach solution.

Most internal wood surfaces of any boat are usually not varnished. Boat builders us a 2 part lacquer as it is fast drying and multiple coats can be applied in a day and is not sticky whilst drying to attract dust. In my Fulmar's interior I used exactly the same as Westerly used. It is Morrells 450 acid catalyst high build up low odour lacquer with 30% sheen. It is only available in a 5 litre pack with catalyst and 5 litrs of thinners from their trade counters. It has to be pre ordered for collection the following day and will cost about £60 including VAT. It is recommended to be sprayed, but it can be brushed. I used a good quality synthetic brush. It sets quite quickly so I only mixed a maximum of 60ml at a time. The brush was suspended in thinners during the day and overnigh, but washed out properly if not being used for more than a day.

Morrells | 450 Low Odour High Build Acid-Catalyst Lacquer

I would add that the best way to remove a fish on a veneer is with a card scraper then a very light hand sanding with 600 (minimum) grit.

 

[robmcg]

This is a before/after shot of refurbing some woodwork on my father's boat, done using the technique above.

 

[Concerto]

Just to show the improvement on Concerto's main bulkhead. The first photo shows the tired lacquer on the port side and the relacquered starboard side. The second photo shows the finished bulkhead.





For a more visual view of the interior have a look at the video I created at the Southampton Boat Show. The interior starts at 1.30.