Refinishing teak parquet?

[Comodave]

I use a multitool to sand in the corners.

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

And as was posted earlier don't sand with too high a grit - ie 180-200 or higher. It will end up burnishing the wood and there will be no 'tooth' for the poly to grip.

 

[Leatherneck]

Thanks to everyone. This has been great information. I feel comfortable with doing this job now.
------------
George

 

[Datenight]

Hi Wayne, Rob here just crossed the Atlantic with my cousin and sitting in Barbados. Thanks to Larry for posting my reply to him.

I do 2-3 of these soles per season And if you follow the steps Larry posted you will be very happy. For the corners use a Red Devil 1” scraper. Keep it sharp with a file.

I always start with an edger which can be rented almost anywhere. It takes finish off fast and leaves the wood looking like new. I don’t recommend you do the as the learning curve is steep-very easy to make ugly mistakes. Start with 60-80 grit on an orbital sander and you will be fine. Go to 80,100 maybe 120 before the first coat. I did say it’s not furniture.

I should be home by 6 January give me a call if I can help 860-885-8382. Good luck.
Rob

 

[fryedaze]

Our finish is completely burned through in several places. No choice but to completely sand and refinish. Recoating would be a sweet sweet choice otherwise. Bare wood will be hard to obtain.



I was going to use Cetol Natural Teak 'cause I have it on board already and it looks like it will be close to the finish on the surrounding cabinets. I was wondering which poly you used?


And I just stopped and bought a random orbital sander at Home Desperate this evening with a bunch of 60 grit pads. I'll use my finish sander after that with 80 and 120. This was my next attempt as 4 hours with a heat gun only stripped about a quarter of the salon and I'm getting old enough that the knees aint what they used to be.

Cetol is soft. It is not hard enough for floors.

 

[Comodave]

I agree that Cetol is too soft for decks that get much walking on them.

 

[rslifkin]

Cetol is fairly soft, but I've got a couple of teak steps finished with it along with the galley and head floors and they've held up surprisingly well. Mind you, none are in an area where they get tons of traffic moving around aggressively or anything.

 

[jrhodes777]

Salon Floor Refinish

So we have a Grand Banks with teak parquet floors that were in poor condition. After doing some research found that GB used epoxy as a base coat. So...very difficult to remove. We used a belt sander followed by multiple random orbital sander passes finishing with 220 grit. We than applied two coats of west system epoxy using 207 clear hardener with 105. Followed with three coats of varnish of your choice. Looks identical to original and bullet proof.

 

[GB32Poco]

The abranet mesh disks work well - less clogging and better dust collection with the right vac.

https://www.mirka.com/abrasives/abrasives-by-name/

 

[WayneDana2]

So we have a Grand Banks with teak parquet floors that were in poor condition. After doing some research found that GB used epoxy as a base coat. So...very difficult to remove. We used a belt sander followed by multiple random orbital sander passes finishing with 220 grit. We than applied two coats of west system epoxy using 207 clear hardener with 105. Followed with three coats of varnish of your choice. Looks identical to original and bullet proof.

I think that is what we had as well. As this stuff sands tough! The biggest challenge is just that after 40 years the floor isn't that flat. Little nooks and seams and cups and valleys to sand out.

Using an 5" orbital and #60 grit is doing the job. (Thank you Makita for making a $50 sander I can abuse the hell out of) Almost done initial sanding and its taking about 8 hours total. I'm using a mouse with #80 for corners and under the galley toe kick. After that I will do #80 and #120 on the orbital which should be easy and quick. Then just finish.



Fortunately we have 6 weeks more house sitting a friends place so no hurries and no worries before we move back onboard. I will post hours labor and total materials list/costs on this thread when finished.

 

[WayneDana2]

The abranet mesh disks work well - less clogging and better dust collection with the right vac.

https://www.mirka.com/abrasives/abrasives-by-name/

Thanks for that. Looking at the website, which one did you use? Lots-a-choices.

 

[SeaStarDF50]

Does anyone know a source for the teak parquet tiles? I know I'm going to have to replace a few.. Preferably in the central east coast of Florida.
---------------
George

I looked for parquet tiles that matched ours in 2012 and contacted:

MARITIME Wood Products Corp. in Stuart, Florida USA 34997
(800) 274-TEAK www.TeakDecks.com mail@maritimewoodproducts.com

Unfortunately, our pattern is Haddon Hall Basket Weave which they don't carry any more. Friends luckily found a couple of large panels of parquet to match theirs as salvage at a chandlery. Good luck!

 

[mvweebles]

20-years ago I installed teak parquet in my Willard 36 to replace carpet. "Street Shoe" (one of the recommended finishes in "Larry's" early post) was recommended by a commercial floor supply place in San Francisco. It's a 2-part water based finish that was super easy to work with - rather than a roller or brush, it's spread on with a fabric squeegee. Dried very quickly - a couple hours so two coats and it's sock-foot ready by night fall. Has held up very well. Only thing to be aware of is it is perfectly transparent and has no golden hue.

 

[angus99]

I looked for parquet tiles that matched ours in 2012 and contacted:

MARITIME Wood Products Corp. in Stuart, Florida USA 34997
(800) 274-TEAK www.TeakDecks.com mail@maritimewoodproducts.com

Unfortunately, our pattern is Haddon Hall Basket Weave which they don't carry any more. Friends luckily found a couple of large panels of parquet to match theirs as salvage at a chandlery. Good luck!

Sea star, TWO ~50-ft DeFever-designed woodies? I’m simultaneously envying you for those stately classics and vowing never to complain again about maintaining my older boat.

 

[Cashelmara]

Teak flooring can still be obtained from worldpanel.com in south Florida.

 

[Redhook98]

For you guys using a belt sander, apparently you have forgotten the lessons from Captain Ron.
Redirect Notice

 

[WayneDana2]

Okay, so finally finished with this job and thought I'd post up how it turned out.


For stripping I bought a ~$50 Makita 5" orbital sander from Home Desperate and used up 10 #60 grit pads followed by $80 and #120. It took a good long time, like maybe 8 hours just sanding. Toe kick and corners were done with a Mouse sander with 80 grit.

The admiral then spent 3 hours cleaning. The ceiling and walls with water dampened towels. The floor by vacuuming followed by mineral spirit soaked towels.

The finish came out with a lot of dust in it. I mean we cleaned and cleaned, but my brush was picking up junk from between the parquet pieces. I guess I would have needed to wire brush those out with a vacuum to fix that problem.


Oh and 4 Dana hairs somehow were encased in perpetuity. No idea how, but she has definitely left her mark.



I used a good brush and sanded lightly between coats but you could still see very visible brush marks across the grain on half the tiles. I would try a wool applicator next time maybe? The poly just didn't seem to flow out well.


I was at the Seattle boat show last weekend and talked to some finish experts there. What they offered up was to use a 2 part epoxy finish and flow it out quickly on a colder day.



In other words, nothing definitive, I just wasn't happy with it. Looks like shoddy work yet I worked my ass off.
Thanks to all the people here! I really appreciate everyone chipping in with ideas and info.

 

[Comodave]

Sorry to hear that it didn’t come out as well as you had hoped. I have teak and holly soles that will need refinishing someday soon. Something I will also have to study up on.

 

[STB]

I find that, depending upon the poly, I have to thin by up to 10% with mineral spirits (though usually half that) to get good flow of the film and avoid brush strokes. I always check the consistency of the poly and thin as needed, maybe even testing on a scrap, before moving on to the real work. More thinner coats seem to turn out better.

And, unless I am imagining it, the poly sold in California was molassas and took more thinning than was required in Florida and Pennsylvania. But there could have been differences in temperature, humidity, brand, etc.

My neighbor in Florida was doing some wood and we had a long discussion about thinning. He was skeptical but tried it and realized the difference. He sanded the work back down and did it again with the needed thinning.

 

[catalinajack]

Is it possible to do a floor in sections and still get a seamless finished look? We have free-standing furniture that would be a lot of work to disassemble to get it out of the saloon.

 

[Datenight]

Is it possible to do a floor in sections and still get a seamless finished look? We have free-standing furniture that would be a lot of work to disassemble to get it out of the saloon.

Yes as long as you do not wait months between sections. If possible coat entire floor with the last coat. Doing that will eliminate any start/stop lines.

Rob

 

[Datenight]

The admiral then spent 3 hours cleaning. The ceiling and walls with water dampened towels. The floor by vacuuming followed by mineral spirit soaked towels.

The finish came out with a lot of dust in it. I mean we cleaned and cleaned, but my brush was picking up junk from between the parquet pieces. I guess I would have needed to wire brush those out with a vacuum to fix that problem.


Oh and 4 Dana hairs somehow were encased in perpetuity. No idea how, but she has definitely left her mark.

I used a good brush and sanded lightly between coats but you could still see very visible brush marks across the grain on half the tiles. I would try a wool applicator next time maybe? The poly just didn't seem to flow out well.

WayneDana,

It sounds to me like your vacuum was not working properly if you were still picking up dust. Even if the first coat picked up dust, the seams should have been sealed by the first coat eliminating that problem with the next coats. You may also have sanded too lightly between coats if the dust still showed.

If leaving brush marks the finish was probably not thinned enough as has been mentioned. To fix it sand the floor with 150# on the orbital. The entire floor should leave a white dust and look and feel smooth. This should also take out Dana's hair.

Did you mention what urethane you used? If so I missed it. I have found the Varthane and Minwax are quite thick and need a lot of thinner. Less so for Zip Guard or Lenmar. You will have to experiment some but it should be thin enough to flow nicely off the brush. Water thin is too thin. Milkshake too thick.

Sorry I am not much help on thinning but it really is a trial and error thing. After you do this it should look great. PM me if you have any other questions.

Rob

 

[squimmy27]

Use a random orbit sander only. Never use a belt sander anywhere on your boat! I start with about 100 grit and go to about 200 then varnish with the poly shown.

Inside corners are done with a vibrating sander.

I used this on my parquet about 6 years ago and it still looks great. If you need to touch it up just hit the spot or wear area with 220 on a random orbit and then receipt.

This is my first successful post with a picture, Ill figure out how to turn it later

pete

This is going to be slightly embarraassing because I thought I did my homework. This Varathane product was used by the contractor on refinishing my teak parquet, I wanted something durable with 2 dogs aboard. It looks great, but problem is, the product won't kick/flash off. So far, 3 coats in the salon. I can't be onboard longer than an hour without getting a headache. Talked to the manufacturer who said it needs about 70 degrees for a few days to fully cure. I have heaters/fans running, moved out of the boat to my friends RV. Any suggestions?

 

[slowgoesit]

This is going to be slightly embarraassing because I thought I did my homework. This Varathane product was used by the contractor on refinishing my teak parquet, I wanted something durable with 2 dogs aboard. It looks great, but problem is, the product won't kick/flash off. So far, 3 coats in the salon. I can't be onboard longer than an hour without getting a headache. Talked to the manufacturer who said it needs about 70 degrees for a few days to fully cure. I have heaters/fans running, moved out of the boat to my friends RV. Any suggestions?

Unfortunately, time is the only solution, and I think their estimate of a few days is optimistic, especially with dogs.

 

[KingBuffalo]

Okay, so finally finished with this job and thought I'd post up how it turned out.


For stripping I bought a ~$50 Makita 5" orbital sander from Home Desperate and used up 10 #60 grit pads followed by $80 and #120. It took a good long time, like maybe 8 hours just sanding. Toe kick and corners were done with a Mouse sander with 80 grit.

The admiral then spent 3 hours cleaning. The ceiling and walls with water dampened towels. The floor by vacuuming followed by mineral spirit soaked towels.

The finish came out with a lot of dust in it. I mean we cleaned and cleaned, but my brush was picking up junk from between the parquet pieces. I guess I would have needed to wire brush those out with a vacuum to fix that problem.


Oh and 4 Dana hairs somehow were encased in perpetuity. No idea how, but she has definitely left her mark.



I used a good brush and sanded lightly between coats but you could still see very visible brush marks across the grain on half the tiles. I would try a wool applicator next time maybe? The poly just didn't seem to flow out well.


I was at the Seattle boat show last weekend and talked to some finish experts there. What they offered up was to use a 2 part epoxy finish and flow it out quickly on a colder day.



In other words, nothing definitive, I just wasn't happy with it. Looks like shoddy work yet I worked my ass off.
Thanks to all the people here! I really appreciate everyone chipping in with ideas and info.

You need to thin the varnish if it’s leaving brush marks.

 

[mvweebles]

For future reference, there are 2-part water based products like Street Shoe that are incredibly durable and cure very quickly. In commercial applications, oil based polyurethane is rarely used anymore. There are just simply better products available, even for high traffic commercial applications.

 

[keith c]

Redid the parquet floors on a 36 GB. Simple job, just get the extra large 80 grit sanding pads etc!

 

[koliver]

For future reference, there are 2-part water based products like Street Shoe that are incredibly durable and cure very quickly. In commercial applications, oil based polyurethane is rarely used anymore. There are just simply better products available, even for high traffic commercial applications.

I have recently completed a full floor refinishing project. At the beginning of the project I was able to purchase gallons of oil based polyurethane varnish, in around 2003. When that ran out, and going forward from that time to the present, gallons have been unavailable, due to VOC concerns and the advance of regulations. I did find a store with some old stock of gallons, which I bought in sufficient quantity that, having completed the project, I have left over. I can still get US Quarts of oil based polyurethane, (VOC regulations have not extended to the quart size containers) which I will use on my saloon floor on its next refinishing. This product is durable. My home floors, some of which were done in 2003, are ageing well. My boat floors, getting much harsher usage, are still surviving well, though I expect to redo them after less than 10 years use.

My only foray into water based polyurethanes ended in failure, as that product was overly vulnerable to water marking and had to be removed.