Water damaged veneer

[seanfoster]

Hi All,

I'm looking to buy a new (to me!) yacht, generally it's in good condition but has suffered from water ingress from windows in a few places.

This was cured some time ago but the veneered bulkhead has some pretty nasty water stains (see photo).
The veneer isn't peeling but I'd like to try and sort it if I went ahead with the purchase.

I wouldn't know where to start looking for a matching veneer, so I'm thinking the way to go forward is to carefully sand the varnish from the surface over the entire area, then bleach it with oxalic acid a bit at a time, then re-varnish.

Is this possible, or am I expecting too much?!

Any help/advice/tips would be welcome!

 

[skyflyer]

http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com have some great products that are environmentally friendly but f you must sand, do it by hand, as machine sanding will wear through the veneer in no time, especially on corners.

 

[sadlerbob]

I read a thread on the sadler and starlight association regarding this very topic. One chap replied who seemed to be a bit if a wood restorer. Worth a look.

 

[nigelmercier]

You might consider painting white, or the same colour as the panels over the seating. If this is vinyl, that is also an option.

 

[Seashoreman]

Personally, as a professional cabinet restorer, I think you are going to cause yourself more trouble than its worth and you will never achieve anything near perfection. To attempt the job using your suggestions you are going to have to use a strong (wet and messy) chemical stripper. You wont be able to bleach or sand the water marks out, they are stained/ingrained in the veneer, you would have to be an artist to cover them with a stain. Otherwise strip back and stain with a very dark spirit stain, which is going to look rather gloomy?
You could cover the whole area with thin ply panels cut to size or do as nigelmercier says. There is always the option of sticking a couple of large distracting pictures over the stains and getting on and enjoying the summer afloat?

 

[srp]

I would use an iron-on veneer. It looks as though you might be able to tuck the edge under the moulding.
I bought some super teak veneer from http://www.woodveneeruk.co.uk/products.php?cat=Iron on Veneer not long ago, and they do a wide range. Very easy to apply. Finish with something like Osmo Poly X, three or four very thin coats applied with a rag will give you a nice satin sheen that is much better than varnish.

 

[tillergirl]

You might consider painting white, or the same colour as the panels over the seating. If this is vinyl, that is also an option.

Nigel is right. Would look better than original. If white is too stark for you you could always consider an off-white.

 

[Fantasie 19]

You might consider painting white, or the same colour as the panels over the seating. If this is vinyl, that is also an option.

+1 .. lightens up the boat, make it more modern, easy to maintain...

 

[Colvic Watson]

+1 paint it with an acrylic based just off white paint. White with small bits of nicely varnished trim looks superb.

 

[Poignard]

Use it to negotiate a reduction in the price, then paint the bulkheads white. Large areas of varnished plywood look gloomy and horrible.

 

[pandos]

http://www.thewoodveneerhub.co.uk/wood-store/innovative-wood-veneers/

We used this stuff in the past on aluminium to make security screens look like ordinary hardwood windows, really easy to use and looks exactly like wood.

easy solution.

 

[seanfoster]

Thanks for all of the replies, I think if I decide to go for the boat I'd definately use it as a bargaining point, then try a bleaching treatment, and if that fails (probably likely!) I'll go for a warm off white colour.

 

[nigelmercier]

+1 paint it with an acrylic based just off white paint. White with small bits of nicely varnished trim looks superb.

I agree, which is why I suggested it; I plan to do my saloon some time. I'm also a fan of acrylic paint, but I've only used it in tiny pots from a model shop. Didn't know you could get it in decorating sizes.

 

[Colvic Watson]

From B&Q, acrylic based gives it more flexibility. We've painted selected panels, The Kipper has acres of varnished ply, but a careful choice of painting some of them off white emphasises the varnished trim and makes the boat look less old fashioned and more classic. It's brighter, more open and lower maintenance. The trick is to do it a small amount at a time, choosing a small panel then living with it for a while before choosing the next one.