Salon FLoor Refinishing....

[tiz]

I'm hoping to find some consensus (ha-ha) for a finish on my teak/holly (veneer) salon floor . Boat is a mainship 390 2000.

I am scraping off the old finish, down, gently, to the wood. I would like to end up with a finish that looks like varnish, has a satin sheen and is as rugged as possible.

I probably have about a week/10days to do recoating in early april here in connecticut. So I can't apply 10 coats of your favorite spar varnish. I have to be able to walk on it within a week of the last coat.

----

ALSO: would anyone know a source where I could get a small supply of holly veneer? I have a few places where it is gone from the lamination.



Ideas?

--Kevin

 

[Comodave]

There have been several threads here on this topic. Do a search on it. Usually Google search function is better just include Trawler Forum in the search.

 

[Cigatoo]

Plain old oil based poly will work well. Is inside so no problems with UV. 4 coats of gloss minimum. If you decide that you want a satin finish do the 5th coat with satin. Don't make more of it because its a boat. I took as many pieces as possible home to make it easier.

 

[Max1]

Plain old oil based poly will work well. Is inside so no problems with UV. 4 coats of gloss minimum. If you decide that you want a satin finish do the 5th coat with satin. Don't make more of it because its a boat. I took as many pieces as possible home to make it easier.

+1
That's pretty much what I was going to say.

 

[Delta Riverat]

You don't need spar because it's inside. Four to six coats of regular poly should be fine.

 

[PhilPB]

I'm hoping to find some consensus (ha-ha) for a finish on my teak/holly (veneer) salon floor . Boat is a mainship 390 2000.

I am scraping off the old finish, down, gently, to the wood. I would like to end up with a finish that looks like varnish, has a satin sheen and is as rugged as possible.

I probably have about a week/10days to do recoating in early april here in connecticut. So I can't apply 10 coats of your favorite spar varnish. I have to be able to walk on it within a week of the last coat.

----

ALSO: would anyone know a source where I could get a small supply of holly veneer? I have a few places where it is gone from the lamination.



Ideas?

--Kevin

Try WorldPanel Products. I bought quite a bit of teak from them and was very happy with their service and products, they are quite helpful. I dealt with them in Florida but they also have a location in North Carolina and do ship. I bought full panels as well as solid teak, some as scrap at a good price , I just milled my own stuff with a table saw, router and sanders.

 

[Datenight]

Regular oil based poly will do fine. I have used maple to substitute for holly. You do have to sort through it some to find a color match.

Rob

 

[Bacchus]

My favorite finish is Waterlox tung oil. It is available in gloss & satin.
I have not used it on floors but have had great success on table tops that get hard daily use... no water spots. Best to use gloss for a couple coats (first being thinned slightly for penetration) then finish with satin if desired. One coat / day in most conditions.
I have also used it on interior boat cabinetry thinned and wiped on to seal and provide a satin oil type finish vs a varnish look.

 

[Tomas]

Used Varathane 230131, Semi-Gloss water base high traffic floor finish. Easy application and clean up. Applied 4 coats on a 40 foot trawler in one day, looks great and wears like iron. Excellent youtube videos on prep and application, check it out.

 

[Tomas]

Teak and Holly Veneer, spendy but available

https://oakwoodveneer.com/teak-and-holly-veneer.html

 

[backinblue]

I've done my floor in oil-based satin poly and it came out great. I find it works best to this the poly pretty liberally and also wipe the surface with mineral spirits just before applying. This leaves a very smooth finish with no brush marks.

 

[tiz]

Wondering what the reason for x coats of gloss THEN a coat of satin is? Just trying to educate myself.

Thanks all for the responses.

--Kevin

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Valspar Poly. Easy to use, dries fairly quickly and will last a LONG time.

pete

 

[Cigatoo]

Wondering what the reason for x coats of gloss THEN a coat of satin is? Just trying to educate myself.

Thanks all for the responses.

--Kevin

Gloss is a much harder finish

 

[koliver]

When doing a multple coat project it is always a better idea to use gloss first. If you sand between coats - only necessary if you leave it to cure before re-coating - the gloss will show up imperfections much better than semi or satin finishes. Also true if you recoat before the last has cured. Then final coat in the sheen of your choice.
I re-did all of the wood floors in my house with Minwax polyurethane. 4 coats almost everywhere, and am very happy with the durability of hte finish. 1 area only got 3 coats due to time constrains. After 10 years or so, the 3 coat area could do with that 4th coat. None of the other areas need anything.

 

[tiz]

Thanks all. And now to open another can of worms, what did you use to apply oil based poly (gloss and satin)?

It will likely be on the cool side when I do the application, if that makes a difference.


--Kevin

 

[Cigatoo]

Thanks all. And now to open another can of worms, what did you use to apply oil based poly (gloss and satin)?

It will likely be on the cool side when I do the application, if that makes a difference.



--Kevin

A good quality foam brush. Jen is a great one.
https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/product/product-detail/1189

 

[koliver]

Thanks all. And now to open another can of worms, what did you use to apply oil based poly (gloss and satin)?

It will likely be on the cool side when I do the application, if that makes a difference.


--Kevin

There is a floor finishing applicator, like a small mop, that you can get at most paint stores. This allows you to stand, pour the varnish on the floor and push it around until you get the area covered with a decent coat.
Temperature should be close to what is stated on the can, for decent results.

 

[Lou_tribal]

A good quality foam brush. Jen is a great one.
https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/product/product-detail/1189

A cotton rag is doing a much much better job.
Dilute your finish with your solvent of choice (mine is turpentine, dilution from 2 part finish 1 part solvet to half/half), form a ball with your rag, wipe your finish with it, and make minimum 5 to 8 coats (minimum).
Takes some time but if the substrate is well prepared this will give a perfect finish.

L

 

[Bacchus]

Wondering what the reason for x coats of gloss THEN a coat of satin is? Just trying to educate myself.

Thanks all for the responses.

--Kevin

My reading about finishes implies that gloss is a garden/ more durable finish.
The additive to create the satin finish is (slightly) less durable but scatters the light to provide the satin appearance. Satin requires frequent stirring or the adding will settle out. DO NOT shake any finish or you will trap bubbles that may not level out.
I've most often used good quality natural bristle brushes for oil based finishes especially for multi coats where you want decent film thickness to build up depth.
I have wiped in thinned tung oil when a look more like a liw sheen rubbed oil finish is desired.

 

[Datenight]

Thanks all. And now to open another can of worms, what did you use to apply oil based poly (gloss and satin)?

It will likely be on the cool side when I do the application, if that makes a difference.

--Kevin

Kevin,

Don't over think this, use a good quality bristle brush. Now for the contradiction. I have very good luck with cheap 4" chip brush. Don't spend $50.00 on a brush for oil based urethane. As long as you don't flood the floor most products are very good at self leveling. Minwax tends to be a heavier finish and may need thinning if you use that finish.

Please PM or call 860-885-8382 if I can answer any questions.

Rob

 

[Datenight]

My reading about finishes implies that gloss is a garden/ more durable finish.
The additive to create the satin finish is (slightly) less durable but scatters the light to provide the satin appearance. Satin requires frequent stirring or the adding will settle out. DO NOT shake any finish or you will trap bubbles that may not level out.
I've most often used good quality natural bristle brushes for oil based finishes especially for multi coats where you want decent film thickness to build up depth.
I have wiped in thinned tung oil when a look more like a liw sheen rubbed oil finish is desired.

Satin is much better now at staying in suspension once mixed than in the 60's when we used to add it to gloss. For the surface area of the typical boat cabin once mixed the (satin) finish will stay in suspension. I often do jobs in excess of 500 square feet. It is never necessary to re stir during application. Once properly mixed concentrate on laying it down.

Rob

 

[Frank60]

On a related point, has anyone found a good wood filler that matches the teak or any way to do a repair that blends in? I have a couple dings in my galley floor that I need to repair before finishing. I’ve experimented with a few things but can’t seem to find a match.

 

[PhilPB]

On a related point, has anyone found a good wood filler that matches the teak or any way to do a repair that blends in? I have a couple dings in my galley floor that I need to repair before finishing. I’ve experimented with a few things but can’t seem to find a match.

Years ago on a previous sailboat, I sanded some scrap teak that I had and mixed the sawdust with epoxy and used it as filler. I thought it came out rather well.

 

[Lou_tribal]

Years ago on a previous sailboat, I sanded some scrap teak that I had and mixed the sawdust with epoxy and used it as filler. I thought it came out rather well.

+1, find the finest sawdust you can from the wood you want to fill, mix with your glue of choice to make a mastic and you are done. Epoxy is a bit more difficult to sand than other glues as harder so depending of where you use it some alternative like wood glue or even plastic cement will do.

L

 

[guy with a boat]

Not to get too deep in the weeds on this, but sawdust will darken when mixed with epoxy and is likely darker than the solid wood around it when used as a patch. You can compensate by using lighter sawdust from lighter color wood sometimes. Bottom line is to test the method before you commit.

 

[Capt Ray]

I watched a fellow re-floor a trawler floor / sole about a year ago.

He gave me a small piece of scrap stock and this is what I wrote on the back:

1/2" plywood Teak & Holly sole. $320 for a 4x8 ft sheet plus shipping from Chicago." The fellow doing the work did not know the vendor name from whom the owner purchased the stock. I can't recall exactly what the boat was, but it was very similar to my Mainship 390. 3 sheets of 4x8 ft sheets were needed for the salon, stairs and lower deck sole(s).

Interestingly,
He did not "trim" all the engine room removeable panels, which would have added a LOT of labor to the project. He just provided a close tolerance cuts for the access panels to the engine room under the salon. I thought it looked perfectly adequate without the trim (which might NOT have made it actually look better.) Most everyone with teak & holly soles put an area rug down covering most of the nice wood flooring anyway! LOL

Theoretically, we'd like to have the t&h sole... but this boat came to us with a carpeted floor. ((Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover is always close at hand!)) I doubt we will actually ever make a change. Time will tell.

Best of Luck. Please post your pics to this thread when you are done!!!