Fold Down Cabin Table Re-Do

[Coyote]

Greetings:

I have recently purchased an 85' Oday 28 in INCREDIBLE condition,,
We are doing some general rehab and refresh,
I am curious to find out what is involved with removing the white surface (formica?) on the fold down table in cabin, next to the keel stepped mast -- it is 99% Teak, and the top layer is dated, dirty, and cracked,, I'd like to be all teak, with several coats of varnish,,
Can this layer be removed by a 150, or less, grit sanding,
or will it melt into the wood??

any ideas, or suggestions would be appreciated, and looking forward to becoming an active member of this group,,

Cheers,
Coyote

 

[jibes138]

Might want to try heat to soften the glue and see if it will peel up. Maybe start with a hair dryer and then work up to a heat gun if that doesn't work. Try not to start your boat on fire. Formica is usually installed with contact cement, you apply it to each piece, let it dry and then stick the two pieces together. It is kind of a rubbery like texture, so the heat might soften it up. You will then need some kind of solvent to remove the residue from what is underneath, if doing this inside the boat you should wear a chemical respirator, gloves, and avoid any kind of spark. I highly recommend you remove the table and do this work outdoors or in a really well ventilated place with no chance of explosion. Trying to sand the glue residue will just load up the paper, you will need a solvent to remove it. There is some stuff called Goof Off they sell at home store to remove glue, might do the trick.

 

[Coyote]

Thank you sir!
I plan on removing the table from the boat before I try to remove the top surface layer.

I'll report on my progress, and again, Thanks!

cheers,
Coyote

 

[tcwaltz]

Greetings:

I have recently purchased an 85' Oday 28 in INCREDIBLE condition,,
We are doing some general rehab and refresh,
I am curious to find out what is involved with removing the white surface (formica?) on the fold down table in cabin, next to the keel stepped mast -- it is 99% Teak, and the top layer is dated, dirty, and cracked,, I'd like to be all teak, with several coats of varnish,,
Can this layer be removed by a 150, or less, grit sanding,
or will it melt into the wood??

any ideas, or suggestions would be appreciated, and looking forward to becoming an active member of this group,,

Cheers,
Coyote

I was in the cabinet business for 7 years. The way we removed laminate was to het an edge with a hair dryer then peel it up a metal putty knife. Once you get a good enough peel going use lacquer thinner to dissolve the glue. We used something like a diner ketchup bottle and squirt and peel. Depending up the age and glue type it normally peels pretty easily. Need to remove the edges the stop stuff from falling off and keep in mind its plywood and its edgebanded to heat and lacquer thinner will dissolve that as well. Once its off let it dry out then sand the surface smooth (100 grit) then reapply your new laminate. I used Sonera brackets that are spring loaded and lock out when you flip the table up. Much better than the swing out holders it had

 

[Coyote]

Finally attacking the Fold Down Table
see attached, may not be for everyone's taste, but you get the idea,,
Found an amazing veneer, BandIt - comes in 2' x 8' rolls, edging, red oak, and perfect for this application, very stainable
and you apply it with an IRON,,, glued backing is melted by the heat of the iron, very cool,,,
the old sheet of formica came right off, with a ply in the corner with a flat screwdriver---
you can see old and NEW!

forward we go!
Coyote

 

[Pat]

If you search this wetsite, somewhere is shown a 272 table that has been totallly re-done
in teak I suppose w/no formica and beautiful fiddle rails...It's somewhere on the sailboat owner's.com website....maybe under owner's modification's....It shows exactly what I want someone to make me......Thanks, Pat

 

[Coyote]

The fold down table is done, and IMHO, great!

more to be done,
Coyote

 

[JonnyQuest]

Good looking table Coyote!

 

[25yearslater]

I'm gonna bite. What is the idea behind the color? It certainly is unique so I am assuming some personal story goes with it. I like the re do.

 

[Coyote]

Thank You
No real story behind the color, other than to blend into the rest of the cabin,,
we felt that just having the "Red Mahogany" alone, might be a bit boring, so I stained several "strips" to compliment the rest of the cabin décor-
too many years in the golf apparel industry --

cheers,
Coyote