Is this cabin Sole a gonner$

[StephenD]

My recently acquired 1980 Hunter's cabin sole had been neglected for many years it seems.
In searching the site I didn't find anything relating to the kind of staining mine has. It seems the spots where the varnish failed and flaked away just kind of "grayed out" or bleached to a lighter color. These pictures are after an arduous day scraping. No sanding yet, the veneer is very thin so I wanted to see if anyone else had encountered this situation. Thanks for any help.

 

[woodster]

take some LA's Totally Awesome and clean it and see what you have then..... that sole from the pic doesn't look all that bad

 

[HMT2]

I am replacing portions of my sole, it is a PITA. If the plywood does not feel soft I would take a chemical stripper or a heat gun to it, then some cleaner and brightner or bleach the teak (do some research) and see what you have. I started out on one of my bilge hatches. It has worked well so far. I am getting ready to strip the old varnish off the old wood.

 

[Ken Cross]

I started out on one of my bilge hatches. It has worked well so far. I am getting ready to strip the old varnish off the old wood.

Nice work. Curious what you used for a finish?

Ken

 

[StephenD]

Nice work on your cabin soles/hatches. Woodster, LA Awesome looks like a cleaner degreaser, and since I spent about 5 hours with a heat gun and scraper, I'm afraid that it would mostly just temporarily wet and darken the wood that's been bare all those years. There's no dirt or residue to clean I swear! If you have experience with that process succeeding in a similar case I'd definitely try it. Maybe it reacts with the wood or something?
If not, I have some citrus stripper I can try. It looks hideous, and maybe it'll be a matter of laying on my belly artfully staining the blotches to match, and hoping when I varnish they the good parts still match. It'll be a loooong process if nothing else works.
You see the floors glued down. Dang.

 

[LakeOntario270]

A Scotchbright pad is good for sanding without being too aggressive and not leave any residue behind.

 

[HMT2]

Nice work. Curious what you used for a finish?

Ken

Ken, I replaced two portions of the sole with new pieces of teak and holly, and I am refinishing the existing pieces that are still good. To test the idea of stripping and refinishing 35 year old wood I took the bilge hatches home, stripped and refinished them. I used the method shown in this video, two coats of the epoxy West System 105 and 207 hardner, then three coats of varnish. Here is a link to the video, I have also used this on the new pieces with two coats of epoxy top, bottom and sides and varnish Pettitt Captains Varnish 1015 on top.

 

[StephenD]

the good parts. The floors are glued down. Sorry.

 

[william24424]

Replacing cabin sole is a great project, I did it last year and posted the process. You can search cabin sole replacement in this forum, lots of advice, if you choose that route. Good luck!

 

[StephenD]

Scotchbrite is an excellent low risk idea! One or two strips of the holly veneer lifted on one end. Didn't caliper it but maybe 15 mils. Scary.

 

[StephenD]

I thought about replacing the sole. I used to build furniture, so it would be a natural thing to do. However I'm selling it and want it on the market quickly because it's hinting at getting nice here. In addition, Chesapeake Bay area teak/holly plywood runs 400-500/sheet (that's unfinished). I tried getting the smaller piece towards the bow off and it was at least an hour of misery and it the adhesive it was glued down with was very tenacious. I just glued it back down and started over. It's a great boat and if I could keep it I'd do lots of things to her but I only have enough time and love for one. (Same with my women).
Thanks to all of you for the great suggestions!
Stephen D.

 

[Morgan donor]

Stephen - your teak and holly plywood sole has about 1/16" of teak veneer. You can't take much off with a sander. But I've used 220 grit and kept it moving on mine. A 5" dual action Porter cable has served me well. Never linger in one spot. Then after dust clean, up I used TSP & a sponge to clean the surface, rinse a couple times and let it dry thoroughly for a couple days. Then put your finish on it. Some like varnish, some urethane, some want some non skid. I kept it simple and used a floor urethane from my local paint store. Looked good for 5-6 years. Time now for a refinish. I plan to do it over again, same way on my M-383.

 

[woodster]

Woodster, LA Awesome looks like a cleaner degreaser, and since I spent about 5 hours with a heat gun and scraper, I'm afraid that it would mostly just temporarily wet and darken the wood that's been bare all those years. There's no dirt or residue to clean I swear! If you have experience with that process succeeding in a similar case I'd definitely try it. Maybe it reacts with the wood or something?
If not, I have some citrus stripper I can try. It looks hideous, and maybe it'll be a matter of laying on my belly artfully staining the blotches to match, and hoping when I varnish they the good parts still match. It'll be a loooong process if nothing else works.
You see the floors glued down. Dang.

get you a bottle at the dollar store and try it..... you will be amazed at the results i used it on all the 35 year old teak on my boat and was glad i did ...don't take my word for it do the test for yourself it's well worth the test spray it on and let it soak then rinse it off ...you may have to do it twice but it's a good way to clean old teak

 

[william24424]

If cleaner doesn't work, heat gun...scraper...sand paper...wipe with thinner...and poly.. will make a big difference. I understand the misery of removing plywood, inch by inch.

 

[RonRelyea]

If cleaner doesn't work, heat gun...scraper...sand paper...wipe with thinner...and poly.. will make a big difference. I understand the misery of removing plywood, inch by inch.
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William ... love your cushions and color. Can you tell me what the material is?

 

[StephenD]

Here's the cabin sole after heat gun and scraper, citrus stripper, and a cleaning with odorless mineral spirits. It is still damp from the mineral spirits and looks less blotchy then when it was truly dried but I believe this approximates how it will look finished, minus the gloss of course. The bilge cover is undone- the "before" photo.
I can't believe how easy the stripper was. I would never bother with a scraper and heat gun again, just way too slow and tedious.

 

[HMT2]

StephenD,

Nice work! What stripper did you use? Don't say "Bambi"!

 

[StephenD]

Good one, I'd never cast you as the Ed McMahon to my Johnny Carson. (showing my age here).
I used "Citristrip", and it must be pretty good because I was short on time and it was only on the deck for about 45-60 minutes. The temperature was only as high as my space heater could get it too. I was in the closed cabin the whole time, and didn't feel any ill effects from fumes, nor did I have any cognitive problems afterward. Anyway, can't wait to get back on my Jeanneau and finish the job!

 

[SFS]

I see what you did there.

 

[StephenD]

Here's the tool I "invented" to separate the plywood cabin sole from the fiberglass floor pan in my H27.
Just an old drywall square chopped down. I wore thick gloves to use it but you could also wrap the handle end with some sturdy tape. Just necessity mothering another tool. As you can see it bent easily which helped when quarters were tight.