Easiest "temporary" cabin sole finish??

[Idratherbesailing]

I just purchased a 1979 Gulfstar 37...the interior wood is in great shape, with the exception of the cabin sole...the PO covered it with rugs, and between the sand under the rug over the years and the normal wear and tear, the sole looks very bad compared to the rest of the wood interior...Obviously at some point I will sand the sole down to the bare wood and completely refinish, but not right now as I want to do some saiing for the spring (sorry guys, January counts as spring in New Orleans) and wait until later in the year when it is too hot to sail to completely refinish the sole.....so, what I would like to do is clean/lightly sand (maybe just think about sanding is all I will do) the sole and wipe a couple of coats of something that goes on like satin wiping polyurethane to make it look a little better and not have to be covered with a bunch of old rugs until I get a chance to do the job right. What would be a good thing to use? I'm assuming that Poly might be hard to get off when I get around to refinishing, but what if I only used one coat? Would a regular floor varnish be better? Any ideas would be appreciated..I really want to just wipe whatever on with a cloth, not use a brush...and it would help if I could buy whatever at the local Home Depot....

 

[Rob]

Laminate Fromica to the Existing Sole

Formica is a really great durable product that can be laminated over top of theexisiting sole. There are matte surfaces available and they offer a nonskid surface that is perfect for a floor application.Comments

 

[Ross]

Try Watco Teak Oil

It wipes on, is water repellant, can be walked on in six hours. The second, third, forth and umpteenth coat go on the same as the first. Just wipe on a generous layer, re-wet spots that start to look dry. After about twenty minutes wipe up all that you can. If it seems a bit sticky put down a little fresh oil and wipe it up immediately. Take ALL of the rags outside and drop them in a bucket of water and then hang them up to dry in the open. IF you leave them in a heap they WILL start a fire.

 

[Ross]

Rob, Ever tried that? I work with laminates

and the cabin sole of a boat would be the last place on earth that I would try to cover.

 

[Fred]

Watco or clear Cetol or any good oil finish will

Make it look OK, or better than OK for now, and it will leave a good base for varnish later if that's what you decide to do. For the final finish (there's an oxymoron) on a cabin sole I would consider varnish or some kind of finish that builds up so there's something to wear down before you're wearing away the wood. Satin finish varnish isn't as pretty, but it's a lot less slippery when the sole is a bit wet. Consider a bit of nonskid sprinkled on the varnish right at the bottom of the steps. If you tape and mask and leave an oval shape for the non skid, or rectangle but round the corners, it looks pretty cool. The best nonskid is still wanut shells. You can grind your own of you can't find them in a store. A coffee grinder or blender should do it.Put the nonskid in a jar with holes punched in the lid, shake on how much you want on fresh wet varnish or paint, let it dry, sweep off the loose stuff, and put on another coat or two of finish.If the wood at the bottom of the steps is really bad, but the rest of the sole is OK, consider the above nonskid masked in a pattern, but paint it a solid colour. I have seen this done on a very high end yacht, and it looked great with a fancy rope mat on the painted part.

 

[Rob]

Synthetic Materials Rule

Ross:That's why most modern boat manufacturers laminate surfaces. It is impervious (sp) to water. More durable and lighter than wood. Has no maintenance. Will not rot. Can be relaminated many years later for next to nothing.Otherwise, I say that you keep on sanding and varnishing your beloved wood over and over again while everyone else is out sailing. A entire industry has been created for the preservation, maintenance and waste of good sailing time just so we can play with wood.CheersRobert

 

[higgs]

What have you got to lose

I am in the same spot you are and I am going to go over the existing finish with some fine steel wool, and drop a couple of coats of varnish down on the floor. Who knows, maybe it will take care of the problem, and if not, what have I lost?

 

[Mike]

Teak guard

While you have to order it over the web, HD/Lowes doesn't carry it, Teak Guard might work well for you. It's water based, so if you get it on fiberglass it cleans up easily, goes on with a sponge brush, it's easy to apply, is not slippery and leaves a beautiful gold tone on teak. Oh and it's not flammable so no worries about starting a fire with old rags. It will typically take apx. 3-4 coats. In Northeast US conditions it will wear off during the season. That which doesn't scrubs off fairly easy. I started using it on the teak in my cockpit 5 years ago and am very happy with it. Here's the website:http://www.marinestore.com/TeakGuard.html?cart=325172881645682

 

[Ross]

Robert, The manufacturer doesn't have to retrofit

laminate to an existing cabin sole. They buy sheets of plywood faced with laminate and cut it to fit. To redo a job such as this, you start with a large piece of paper and make a pattern of the area yopu want to cover. Next you put your pattern on the sheet of laminate (which is 1/16 inch thick, 50inches wide and 120 inches long) and cut out the laminate for the floor. Now you take it aboard and test the fit. When you are satisfied with the fit you coat the existing cabin floor and the back of the laminate with contact adhesive and let them both dry. So far this has been easy, here comes the tricky part. Pick up the adhesive coated piece of laminate and position it on small rods on top of the floor,not allowing it to touch the floor, check the alignment and start removing the rods one by one and allowing the laminate to contact the floor. Roll the entire sheet with a hard 6 inch wide 2 inch diameter roller. If the laminate touches the floor before the alignment is perfect it stays where it touched. that's why it is called contact adhesive.

 

[jeff s]

1985 ofday anniversary 26 ftr

Iuse watco on all the teak inside the boat.this yer I will try to refinish the o/s teak as well,not sure what to use out there.I did use bristol finish last year on the companionway rails to port and starboard. That held up pretty well.

 

[Manny]

Am I missing something?

If your laminate some material to the sole, would it not end up doing even more damage when trying to remove it when Jim decides to finish it? Maybe something temporary like a nice new carpet runner might do the trick, just spend a few minutes vacuuming it occasionally as to not create the same problem as before? At least that way when it comes time to refinish, you just pick it up and carry it off the boat.Manny

 

[Augie Byllott]

sole refinishing

If it was my boat, I'd take the advice given by Higgs.k4rg

 

[Fred]

Higgs, don't use steel wool! It leaves little

bits of steel and they will rust and show. Use copper wool, fine wet or dry sand paper, plastic abrasive pads (some have fine pumice - don't use on gel coat) or a scraper, but don't use steel wool.Other than that, you're right on. Worst case is is bit of extra sanding in the spring and you've protected what's there.

 

[Tom Spohn]

Lonseal

When my sole gave out I had new ones made using Lonseal over Marine Plywood with the backs and sides heavily epoxied. Result are amazing!http://www.lonsealspecialty.com/lonwdteakholly.html

 

[r.w.landau]

I still like Penofin.

You could just clean it and wipe it on to last for a few months with no sanding. You don't have to worry about sanding it off. It will soak n and help protect the wood. It is not only seals, it builds like varnish and can be used to stabilize wood prior to varnishing. If you wet sand with penofin it actually seals and fills in one operation. Multiple coats actually built to a gloss luster.I use it interior and exterior. It ain't cheap but I like it.Interior, who knows how long it will last. Exterior you can expect 2 years after the first two coat about 6 months apart. Then you just clean and reapply.It has so many applications and options, I suggest calling them.Check out the link.r.w.landau

 

[Benny]

Temporary? Cover it with a bunch of

new rugs. Why sand and finish if you have to take it back up when redoing come summer. Enjoy early spring sailing. Went out yesterday with clear blue sky, light winds but enough onshore breeze to sustain 4.5 knots and temperatures in the low 80's. The fridge full of beer and some hefty store bought sandwiches for lunch. Beam reach sailing out and back; went nowhere, hove to for lunch and had a ball. There will be time for work in the doldrums of summer in the Gulf.

 

[Ross]

Very nice!! One advantage of using the

watco teak oil is that it won't create problems with any future finishes. If you are so inclined sanding by hand with 100 grit paper and the watco oil as a lubricant makes a nice finish . Just be sure to wipe up all of the residue.

 

[higgs]

Fred General_interest

Olcott, NY

 

[Fred]

Higgs, Rust Never Sleeps! A bit of moisture

on your cabin sole, especially a bit of salt water, and a tiny little bit of steel wool will make a mess of your lovely varnish. There's probably enough moisture in the wood already to make rust.I'm not real anal about this stuff, (although I have spent time around some top end wood finishers), but there are so many other options that won't rust. I like wet and dry sandpaper, sanding wet with whatever finish you're using, or bioled linseed oil, which is compatible with most finishes, then wipe it clean. No dust. Even I would not use wet and dry sandpaper with pine tar.Copper wool is great for cleaning any metal except copper, as well as wood, beacuse it's softer than the other metals, so it won't scratch. We use it at home on SS pots and pans, the plated top on our gas kitchen stove, Corel casserole dishes, etc.Bronze wool is maybe better than copper wool, but I haven't been able to find it in Canada. Moody? Got a source for bronze wool?

 

[higgs]

boiled linseed oil?

Fred, you seem to know what you are talking about here. I am missing something opn the linseed oil, though.How do you use the linseed oil to prepare the floor for a coat of varnish? I am a little confused as it seems using oil one the floor would not be compatible with a varnish.