Help. I'm about to buy a 1986 Hunter that's been neglected. The deck and hull need to be refinished and all the outside teak is gray. Also, the saloon floor needs repair and refinishing. Can anyone point me to some "how to" web sites. I'll need to have the hull done professionally, but want to do the deck and woodwork myself. Thanks, Roger
Teak refinishing help needed
- Thread starter canoenut
- Start date
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
Exterior is no problem.
Roger: The exterior teak is really not much of a problem. Just get some sand paper and do it by hand or use some type of sander. You can always remove the exterior teak and sand it on the bench at home. As for the interior you need to be very careful on ANY vener surfaces. This includes bulkheads, door and the floor. As for the gel coat, there are plenty of articles about the use of different products. My choice would be to start with something like Island Girl. This will clean and recondition the gel coat. Then you can wax it with their wax or use something like Collenite. If this does not do it for you, then you can try one of the acrylic finishes. These products are basically floor polish with some agents that keep them from yellowing. Some owners love the stuff and others hate it.
Roger: The exterior teak is really not much of a problem. Just get some sand paper and do it by hand or use some type of sander. You can always remove the exterior teak and sand it on the bench at home. As for the interior you need to be very careful on ANY vener surfaces. This includes bulkheads, door and the floor. As for the gel coat, there are plenty of articles about the use of different products. My choice would be to start with something like Island Girl. This will clean and recondition the gel coat. Then you can wax it with their wax or use something like Collenite. If this does not do it for you, then you can try one of the acrylic finishes. These products are basically floor polish with some agents that keep them from yellowing. Some owners love the stuff and others hate it.
Brightwork is labororious, but rewarding.
Roger, In our world of immediate gratification, nothing beats the rewards of woodworking. It takes some physical labor, regardless of the tool you use, power or hand, to get that teak looking beautiful, but its relatively simple work. You'll be removing some of the surface material, usually, and then applying a layer of protection to prevent oxidation from graying it again. Teak is one of the rare woods that retain much of its 'oil' from when it was growing. That's why it's used in marine applications. It won't take much work to make it bright again and you'll have the pride along with the aesthetic pleasure. As for the products, some prefer a polymer coating which would be low maintenance. I prefer leaving the teak natural and wiping on some teak oil every now and again, though the teak exposed to UV will probably do better with a plastic with UV blocking. Go to any boat shop or online to review the many different products. I prefer tung oil. Good luck. Michael
Roger, In our world of immediate gratification, nothing beats the rewards of woodworking. It takes some physical labor, regardless of the tool you use, power or hand, to get that teak looking beautiful, but its relatively simple work. You'll be removing some of the surface material, usually, and then applying a layer of protection to prevent oxidation from graying it again. Teak is one of the rare woods that retain much of its 'oil' from when it was growing. That's why it's used in marine applications. It won't take much work to make it bright again and you'll have the pride along with the aesthetic pleasure. As for the products, some prefer a polymer coating which would be low maintenance. I prefer leaving the teak natural and wiping on some teak oil every now and again, though the teak exposed to UV will probably do better with a plastic with UV blocking. Go to any boat shop or online to review the many different products. I prefer tung oil. Good luck. Michael
Teak refinishing
One of the "nice" things about most Hunters is that they tend to NOT have yards of teak. My 1986 Hunter 28.5 only has hand rails, helmsman seat, companionway boards, Edson table and a rail mounted OB bracket. The teak on my boat, like yours, had been finished with something or other years ago and was in really bad shape when I bought the boat last year. I used a chemical paint stripper for those parts that I could take off the boat easily (I didn't want to get any of the stripper on the gelcoat) and sanded (random orbit sander first using 80 grit and then finishing with 220 grit disks) the other ones. Both approaches worked well and were not laborious. I was amazed at how quickly the gray teak returned to its natural color. I finished the job with three coats of Sikkens Cetol satin finish. As noted above, this is a job that anyone can do and you'll feel great about the results and love the way your boat now looks.
One of the "nice" things about most Hunters is that they tend to NOT have yards of teak. My 1986 Hunter 28.5 only has hand rails, helmsman seat, companionway boards, Edson table and a rail mounted OB bracket. The teak on my boat, like yours, had been finished with something or other years ago and was in really bad shape when I bought the boat last year. I used a chemical paint stripper for those parts that I could take off the boat easily (I didn't want to get any of the stripper on the gelcoat) and sanded (random orbit sander first using 80 grit and then finishing with 220 grit disks) the other ones. Both approaches worked well and were not laborious. I was amazed at how quickly the gray teak returned to its natural color. I finished the job with three coats of Sikkens Cetol satin finish. As noted above, this is a job that anyone can do and you'll feel great about the results and love the way your boat now looks.
Same problem
Bought a 25.5 last fall. I don't thing the previous owner(s) ever did any maintenance to the exterior or interior wood. The thick grey layer of weathered teak on the exterior handrails and hatch sliders sanded off pretty easily. I then used five coats of Minwax Helmsman gloss exterior varnish. Wood looks great. Be careful when screwing it back in place as it may crack. A hint... If you want a semi-gloss finish, make sure you apply a couple of coats of gloss as the base. The semi-gloss doesn't have the UV protection of the gloss and will break down fairly quickly.
Bought a 25.5 last fall. I don't thing the previous owner(s) ever did any maintenance to the exterior or interior wood. The thick grey layer of weathered teak on the exterior handrails and hatch sliders sanded off pretty easily. I then used five coats of Minwax Helmsman gloss exterior varnish. Wood looks great. Be careful when screwing it back in place as it may crack. A hint... If you want a semi-gloss finish, make sure you apply a couple of coats of gloss as the base. The semi-gloss doesn't have the UV protection of the gloss and will break down fairly quickly.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.