what grit for cleaning cabin sole

[njlarry]

Our teak and holly veneer cabin sole is over due for refinishing. Cleaning it is the challenge. We have ried all the usual cleaners and softscrub with bleach seems the best although it leaves a white residue in the grain which seems nearly impossible to remove. We haven't tried a two part teak cleaner but that would require a messy flush with water.
Thinking of just sanding it with palm or dual action sander. What would be the best grit?

 

[woodster]

be very careful with power sanding you can burn through the teak and holly vanier fast ...start with 400 grit and work either down or up depending on how its going ...i like to use a cabinet scraper myself also you may be able to use a heat gun with a putty knife to get it off

 

[njlarry]

Thanks Woodster I never thought of cleaning it with a cabinet scraper will give it a try.

 

[Ted]

Another option is to use a product like Formby's Conditioning Furniture Refinisher. It gently dissolves old varnish, lacquer and shellac without chemicals that may harm wood.

 

[py26129]

I refinished my veneer cabin sole this spring. I Stripped the old varnish using paint stripper from Home Depot and then carefully hand sanded a few areas that needed a little more attention using 220 grit.

After refinishing with oil based Varathane, satin finish, it looks great. Sure is has a few dings and marks but that's character, in keeping with the boat's 30 year age.

Cheers

Matt

 

[njlarry]

I should have mentioned that the sole has no finish on it. No varnish or anything. It just has a layer of dark grundge.

 

[Mark Maulden]

Can you scrape through the grunge with your thumbnail? If so i would scrape but i would round the corners of the scraper slightly to prevent inadvertent gouging. Then go to white scotchbrite and go from there. Im finding white scotchbrite is great for wooden handholds, posts etc that have seen a lot of hands over 36 yrs..

 

[njlarry]

After trying all the usual suspects/cleaners we finally found the answer. 75% dish detergent, 25 % bleach and TSP. Admiral used a plastic scrub brush and after a through rinse looks almost new. The attached pic shows the before and after. Next comes satin poly varnish.

 

[woodster]

if it's just a raw wood surface then get some LA's Totally awesome ..you will be surprised at the results

 

[py26129]

Very nive. I'm sure you will be pleased after the varnish goes on.

 

[pateco]

Here are some pictures of what we went through with ours.

Before

After some initial cleaning with sctochbright pad (Notice missing holly already sanded through before we started.)

My son doing his best to lightly sand without removing any more holly.

As good as it was going to get. (notice missing holly stripes)

After 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic