Winter Project

[Bristol14]

Spent a couple of hours yesterday pulling off the teak strips that line the cabin walls of Mudlark, my '87 23-2. Will likely remove the fabric headliner in the next week or two. It's got some mildew in several spots and contributes to a strong musty smell in the cabin. Looks like the headliner should pretty much peel off.

My plan is to refinish the teak strips this winter and install them back in the spring, after clean-up and I paint the sidewalls of the cabin and replace the headliner. I'll replace the headliner with a similar fabric from Sailrite which I learned about from another post on the site. I'm not sure what I'll use for paint but what ever I use must resist mildew.

I'm also thinking I'll test out Howard's refinishing products on the teak and if it works, I will also refinish the teak in the cabin with Howard's. It looks like the cherry color is the best match.

I'm open to suggestions on paint for the sidewalls and others' experiences with the Howard's product. Also wondering if anyone has refinished the teak strips and how they refastened them to the walls (they had been held on with small brads).

Thx.

[Bilgemaster]

Not familiar with the Howard's products you mention, but I can unreservedly recommend the "old school" house brand gloss spar varnish from Ace Hardware, which I once wrote up here. It did very well in head to head tests performed by Practical Boater magazine, and so far it's done the trick on  my "Foundling". I'll admit it though, mostly I just like the "tall ship" smell of the stuff. At just about $20 a quart it's not Epiphanes money, but still seems to do the job superbly. My exterior brightwork is still glistening a year on, and it really "gets in there." Surprisingly, some of that Ikea outdoor furniture dark brown varnish I got in their Markdowns room for a buck or so made for a nice "teaky" stain, and it works and plays well with that Ace spar varnish. It gave me a close enough match to the original for the companionway hatch slide bracket doodad,  which I made from a rip-sawed half of an old pallet strap board, and I also used it to tint up some of the boards in the interior cabin as shown here. The moral of the story being: you don't need to spend a lot to do a lot.

[Bristol14]

I have several water stains to deal with on my interior teak so I'm not sure solely using varnish will do the trick. It's my understanding that the Howard's product will remove water stains. I've used similar refinishing products on furniture successfully.  My only real concern is using them in a confined space as their vapors are pretty strong. I plan on using a strong room fan to keep the cabin well ventilated.

[Bob23]

Paul: Respirator. Get a good one that's rated for protection against vapors.

[Bristol14]

Bob, good point. Thx

[Bristol14]

As the weather has begun to warm up, I've started on a few of my winter projects. Yesterday, I began to refinish my interior teak, beginning with the teak slats and moldings as well as the sidewall cabinet doors that I removed in the fall. I'm using Howard's Restore-a-finish and it goes on easily using a rag and then wipe it dry. For scratches or watermarks (and I have several), you apply with 0000 Fine steel wool, rubbing with the grain. The stuff worked amazing well, even on several moldings that were almost white with water stains. I went with their mahogany finish as it's the closest match to the teak. I'm planning to finish the teak with their Feed and Wax product as neither varnish nor polyurethane will work over the Restore-a-finish. I've included a before (left) and after (right) picture.