What type of wood??

[Andy Tee]

New to this forum.
I have a Antares 9 and a previous owner has painted the wood around the cockpit, fly bridge steps and the hand rails on the cabin roof with fence panel paint.
What wood would this be, teak?? How can I remove the fence paint and what should I coat the wood with.
Any help would be great.
Andy

 

[bluejasper2]

hi andy, i am afraid the only cure is to sand off the fence paint,we have had a antares 9 for 11 years never painted the teak with anything just give it a scrub with soapy water brings it up like new.

 

[Andy Tee]

Thanks bluejasper2, the wood will be teak then and do you think sanding will remove the fence paint or could have 'soaked in deep' what do you think?

 

[Freebee]

Thats a difficult question for anybody to answer without confirming the wood and stain type. Is there anywhere that you could try a test sanding to see for yourself. On a fifty year old boat, our teak was stained with something like a brown varnish which sanded off very well just beware that your wood maybe veneered so dont sand it too hard.

 

[Andy Tee]

Hi Freebee, thanks for your reply, I believe the wood is solid and is original, 10 years old, I was hoping someone had a similar aged boat and could say what the wood might be. The wood is in very good condition apart from the fence panel paint! I think i will take one of the steps off this weekend and give it a rub down and see what happens.

 

[Seastoke]

Hi Freebee, thanks for your reply, I believe the wood is solid and is original, 10 years old, I was hoping someone had a similar aged boat and could say what the wood might be. The wood is in very good condition apart from the fence panel paint! I think i will take one of the steps off this weekend and give it a rub down and see what happens.

Yes take one off but u could try stain remover instead

 

[Andy Tee]

Thanks Seastoke, that's a good idea.

 

[Tranona]

You may need to experiment with different methods, but first try a chemical stripper. It won't do any harm to the wood and may well remove the bulk of the paint. When you have got most of it off, using a scraper to remove the soften paint, wash the wood, let it dry and then sand to get back to clear wood. start with 60 grit if the surface is rough then 120 and 240. this should give a good basis for finishing. A porous woodstain like International Woodskin is a good finish rather than traditional varnish which is a lot of work to both apply and keep up to scratch.

 

[Andy Tee]

Thanks Tranona, Yes I think you are right to try different methods and see which works best.

 

[burgundyben]

Its teak, you won't have to wait long and there will be nothing left to remove. I would leave it to weather over the winter and then look at cleaning if off in spring.

 

[bluejasper2]

Thanks bluejasper2, the wood will be teak then and do you think sanding will remove the fence paint or could have 'soaked in deep' what do you think?

hi andy i would not use paint stripper that in itself may damage the teak, probablly best to sand off as much as possible then leave uncovered over the winter then in the spring use two part teak restorer and a good scrub should come up like new,would not varnish or stain as you would have to redo every so often it is solid teak not laminate.

 

[Andy Tee]

Thanks burgundyben, I like the idea of doing nothing over the winter and little in the spring

 

[Andy Tee]

Thanks bluejasper2, I'm going to give this a go and hopefully get the wood back looking good.

 

[fishy Finger]

One comment. Don’t be tempted to use a pressure washer on the wood. It will ruin the surface for sure.

 

[Andy Tee]

Thanks fishy Finger, good point.

 

[gus]

To avoid over sanding, it might be better to remove as much as you can firstly with a heat gun and a scraper, being careful with the heat of course, just enough to soften the paint.

 

[Andy Tee]

Thanks Gus, I'm going to take some of the steps off to the fly bridge and try all the suggestions.

 

[MrB]

Its teak, you won't have to wait long and there will be nothing left to remove. I would leave it to weather over the winter and then look at cleaning if off in spring.

hi andy i would not use paint stripper that in itself may damage the teak, probablly best to sand off as much as possible then leave uncovered over the winter then in the spring use two part teak restorer and a good scrub should come up like new,would not varnish or stain as you would have to redo every so often it is solid teak not laminate.

+1 to both of the above. Fence panel paint is usually stain so heat guns and paint stripper won't work. It will fade out so applying the methods of the above posts is the best advice. (imho)

 

[Tranona]

hi andy i would not use paint stripper that in itself may damage the teak, probablly best to sand off as much as possible then leave uncovered over the winter then in the spring use two part teak restorer and a good scrub should come up like new,would not varnish or stain as you would have to redo every so often it is solid teak not laminate.

Paint stripper will not damage teak - it will possibly remove the paint depending on the formulation of the coating. Sanding should be kept to a minimum, just enough to get to sound wood. Oxalid acid may be used to remove stains and even up the colour )it is the active ingredient of commercial teak cleaners).

Then the choice is leaving bare to weather and cleaning regularly or coating with a good coating such as the International Woodskin suggested earlier. The downside with leaving bare is that cleaning gradually degrades the surface of the teak and on trim such as handrails and steps it does not look as good as bright finishing. If this type of coating is used maintenance is minimal and you can expect a typical life of 5 years without any major work.

 

[Andy Tee]

Thanks MrB and Tranona, a great help.