Oc352 Refinishing Cockpit Seats

[knot smart]

hello all,

its time to refinish the seating in the cockpit which I presume to be teak. My question and concern is with regards to the "pinstripes"/ grooves that are inlayed. The best way to describe it is, 2" of natural teak and a 1/4" inlay. It's the inlay im talking about. it look painted or stained to me( as opposed to a Dark Walnut inlay). My plan for refinishing was to apply a stripper or varnish remover to remove the multiple coats of poly... and my concern is when applying the strippe r, I'd be damaging/ removing the stained stripe/ inlay.

so.. my question is, can anyone definitively tell me is the stripe made by the factory applying a darker stain to give the contrast or is it in fact a dark walnut inlay ???

Thanks

Jason

 

[Captn TJ]

Are you sure it's inlay wood and not silicone caulking? The latter has been std practice for Beneteau for the past 15+ years

I just redid the seats and the teak rail on my 423. I stripped the old finish with a soy based (non MEK) type stripper then a light sand. You don't want to oversand or damage the silicone. Then multiple coats of your preferred finish - I use Cetol Natural. I wipe the silicone with a q tip while each coat of the finish is still wet. That will prevent a buildup on the silicone. A heavy build of Cetol or varnish will eventually crack and allow water to migrate into the teak.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have more questions

 

[knot smart]

silicone?? I never would have guessed that.. & that's why I love corresponding with fellow owners.. thanks for the insight on your experience and the tips.. how did the factory get the silicone to look so much darker than the teak?? the look reminds me of a dark walnut inlay typical to residential hardwood floors?? do you think the silicone was colored to begin with or standard clear silicone??

thanks

 

[Captn TJ]

silicone?? I never would have guessed that.. & that's why I love corresponding with fellow owners.. thanks for the insight on your experience and the tips.. how did the factory get the silicone to look so much darker than the teak?? the look reminds me of a dark walnut inlay typical to residential hardwood floors?? do you think the silicone was colored to begin with or standard clear silicone?? thanks

Black silicone is used - probably dis colored by the coating - whatever finish was over the silicone.

 

[knot smart]

thanks for the info, great help

 

[DougM]

I haven't seen anything but black caulk on Beneteaus , presumably silicone. I have stripped out some perimeter caulk and replaced it because of water intrusion. It is very rubbery. I presume the seat slats are the same. The step on my swim platform was actually comprised of individual teak strips with black caulking between. It was really quite easy to,remove the entire panel by stripping out the perimeter then using a piece of heavy monofilament to break the adhesive bond holding the panel to the fiberglass. Took it inside, did the work at a workbench. Removed all of the old adhesive from the panel and the fiberglass then re attached it with a Loctite adhesive. Since I couldn't clamp it while it set, I used a bag of water softener salt to weight it down.

I have had an internal debate about whether to refinish the teak seating surfaces. After the original Cetol applied by the dealer started to wear off, I stripped the surfaces and have just been scrubbing them with a either a salt water solution or a product called Roll Off. I still can't decide whether I want to go through the process of multiple coats of varnish or resort to Cetol which I never liked because of the color (the overall product is good), or to continue leaving it unfinished.

 

[Gunni]

What you are seeing is polysulfide caulk sealant, not silicone. This sealant is common to teak decking and seating. What year is your B? Typically the seating surfaces are teak/caulk veneers on top of marine ply that is adhered to the gelcoat insert surface. I would never finish any surface I had to stick to during sailing with any sort of coating other than teak oil. yYou want these surface maximum grippy. You also need to be careful not to damage the polysulfide caulk - that would allow water to pool in the insets. BeneteauUSA customer support can help you with the details.

 

[knot smart]

thanks doug

 

[knot smart]

What you are seeing is polysulfide caulk sealant, not silicone. This sealant is common to teak decking and seating. What year is your B? Typically the seating surfaces are teak/caulk veneers on top of marine ply that is adhered to the gelcoat insert surface. I would never finish any surface I had to stick to during sailing with any sort of coating other than teak oil. yYou want these surface maximum grippy. You also need to be careful not to damage the polysulfide caulk - that would allow water to pool in the insets. BeneteauUSA customer support can help you with the details.

it's/ she's a '99.. you actually touched on my next question.. ive been contemplating on NOT reapplying poly but to strip off all the old existing poly and apply only linseed oil to protect/ preserve the wood. my thought is I don't like how traditional poly can/ will over time peel and wear unevenly.. I would like to strip the cockpit seats and the grab rails.. maybe apply a lighter oil base stain and then linseed oil..

any thoughts on the wisdom of this (or lack there of)??

 

[Captn TJ]

it's/ she's a '99.. you actually touched on my next question.. ive been contemplating on NOT reapplying poly but to strip off all the old existing poly and apply only linseed oil to protect/ preserve the wood. my thought is I don't like how traditional poly can/ will over time peel and wear unevenly.. I would like to strip the cockpit seats and the grab rails.. maybe apply a lighter oil base stain and then linseed oil.. any thoughts on the wisdom of this (or lack there of)??

I have Cetol on the seats and oil on the teak cockpit grates. I redo the seats every couple of years but have to redo the grates twice a summer since the oiled grates seem to attract a lot of dirt and mildew. By the end of the summer the grates need a really good cleaning and some years a light sand. On the other hand oil is the right thing for the grates. I'll continue using Cetol on the seats - they look good and are not slippery.

 

[MSN-Travelers]

Sikkens Cetol Marine Natural Teak

Another +1 for Sikkens Cetol Marine Natural Teak. Have tried varnish in the past but it is too much work to maintain. Cetol has been great.

 

[Gunni]

Yes, your seat inserts are veneer teak. Don't get too aggressive with the sandpaper. Replacement is pricy. Once you have the existing finish off, you can clean them a couple of times per year with a scrubby pad (x-grain) and oil them.

 

[knot smart]

thanks everyone for all the tips..i checked out the sikkens cetol marine online , the description given is that its a "breathable" finish. I assume that means the product doesn't create a "skin" and sit on top of the wood like a paint or polyurethane but penetrate the wood like an oil ?

thanks for the feedback

 

[Joe2954]

I've been using Semco for several years and am happy with it for the cockpit seats.

 

[KSchroeder]

I have noticed water can get underneath the wood on my cockpit seats.

There even seems to be some staining of the fiberglass visible from below in the aft cabin.

Is it possible to pull up the wood and pinstripes/grates and re-seal it back down?

Thank you,

 

[DougM]

On my 323, the cockpit seats are attached with adhesive. The caulking around the perimeter of the seat sections tends to fail over time allowing water to migrate under the wood. This is partly because wood moves. I found a way to get the seating surfaces off fairly easily. Remove the perimeter caulking. Then use a piece of heavy monofilament fishing line to detach the seating surface using a sawing motion with the fishing line to cut through the old adhesive. The line won't damage the fiberglass, but can catch in the edges of the wood if you get too aggressive with it. Using a wide bladed putty knife in tough places also helps the detachment process

Once the seating surface is removed sand the underside to bare wood to remove the old adhesive, and do likewise to the fiberglass.scuffing the fiberglass gives the replacement adhesive something to bite into the surface. It has to be clean before re-attaching. I have used a top grade exterior construction adhesive to then re attach the seat surface. I am especially careful,to put a continuous perimeter bead around the seat panel and zigzag stripes in the field to attach it. I then apply weight to the seat surface overnight while the adhesive cures.

Having completed that. Apply a continuous bead of the black silicone adhesive around the perimeter.

What I wonder about with your situation is the staining you mention. Either that surface has been wet for a very long time, or possibly some screws were used in an attempt to tie down the seat surface and that allowed water penetration over time.

 

[KSchroeder]

Thank you, Doug. Your information is very helpful. I'll give it a try.

 

[arf145]

As one responder suggested, you don't want any of the hard finishes to be on the caulk lines. Someone before me applied what I guess was Cetol on our seats and long after it was off the teak bits of it remained on the caulk. Yet those bits would constantly (but not completely!) flake off, leaving a brown dust in the cockpit at all times. I'll be going with Semco if I apply anything at all.

BTW, I'd be surprised if that black caulk isn't some kind of silicone. Beneteau seems to have worshiped the stuff. Everything I've rebedded on our 2000 331 was seated in silicone.

 

[davmarwood]

Refinishing 352 Seats

Just finished the second refinishing of my seats & other teak on my 352. Both times I used Cetol Natural Teak for the first coat with two or more coats of clear gloss on top. Give a fresh coat of clear gloss each spring & you will get at least 5 years between scrape & refinish. Be sure to put plenty on the border between the teak & the fiberglass to seal water from penetrating beneath the wood. I used a scraper with a curved edge to get the old finish off the black sealer.

 

[davmarwood]

Forgot to mention I softened everything up with a heat gun judiciously applied before using the scraper.