Veneer under sliding hatch

[AntarcticPilot]

The old vinyl under the sliding hatch of my Moody 31 has given up the ghost, and I want to replace it with something attractive. I was wondering about using wood veneer. There is very little clearance between the underside of the hatch and the cabin roof ( a few mm).

So,

1. Is this a good idea?
2. What is the best adhesive to use (the fibreglass surface isn't very smooth)?
3. Any other useful thoughts?
4. How should I finish the veneer (i.e. Varnish or whatever)?

PS, I would have posted this on the "Classic Boats" forum, but that has gone west!

 

[srp]

You can't veneer onto anything other than a smooth surface.

As you have a few mm of space, I would suggest using a piece of already-veneered 3mm faced ply, and bond it in place with one of the many gap-filling adhesives that come in a tube. If there is reasonable protection from the weather I would use Danish oil or similar for finishing, as it is easy to build up a sheen with 3 or 4 applications.

 

[prv]

If the 3mm won't fit, Totton Timber have ply at 2, 1.5, and 0.8mm. Only in birch unfortunately - I guess for laminating - you have to go up to 4mm to get a choice of woods. But I guess it could be stained if you want something darker.

Pete

 

[AntarcticPilot]

That's very helpful!

I rather like the idea of using a decorative veneer (not necessarily a dark one); I presume that gluing thin ply in place and then applying a veneer would work? It isn't essential, though - the rest of the headlining is cream coloured, so I am happy with a birch or beech coloured finish. Given that the interior woodwork is quite dark coloured, this will give a lighter feel in the boat.

 

[srp]

I don't know if there are any boatbuilders near you, but if there are see if they will sell you a cut piece of faced ply - it is already veneered with something like teak, sapele or one of the many mahogany species.
Doing your own veneering is a pain in the neck unless you have a vacuum bag setup or a proper veneering press, or you have about a thousand clamps and cauls.

 

[Caer Urfa]

The old vinyl under the sliding hatch of my Moody 31 has given up the ghost, and I want to replace it with something attractive. I was wondering about using wood veneer. There is very little clearance between the underside of the hatch and the cabin roof ( a few mm).

Hi
l looked at getting some thin wood Vinyl to do my fridge door for ages (below the sink pictured below) , my wife solved the problem for £5 with 'imitation wood stick on Vinyl' from Wilkinsons stores.

Available in 1m long rolls about 600mm wide, I fitted this four years ago, you can wipe it clean and is available in a wide range of finishes and colours.
As you can see mine was a good enough match to the real teak woodwork.
Hope this helps
Mike

 

[saltylegs]

I have just veneered some bits on a sigma and got good results with both iron on veneer and paper backed glue on veneer the iron can be done on to panels with a medium hot iorn and for the glue on I used time bond from evo stick, its handy to use as its gell like and can be applied with a spreader or a brush.
it must go on to a fairly smooth surface or thin ply, both types that I used are 0.6mm thick and I got them online from "Vale Veneers" www.valeveneers.co.uk. very large selection of exotic woods, they have a contact number on the web site and you get a real person on the end of it who knows his stuff and will offer advice.
no connections etc just satisified customer.