Sanders

[BaltimoreLurker]

I'm never going to refinish the bright-work on Moon Dance, I'm happy with natural, gray teak.* The swim platform is all natural and looks fine. So I'm letting the existing finish peel and flake off as it goes.* But I would like to speed up the process a bit by hitting it now and again with a small, light battery powered sander.* Any suggestions for a suitable sander?

Thanks

 

[Anode]

Heat gun!

 

[Marin]

A heat gun will take it off fast as Chip says. However, be aware that bare teak trim generally starts getting black and then starts to crack over time.*Depending on your climate,*it can also start getting mold*and mildew on it, too. *I'm told by ex-shipwrights on the Grand Banks forum that a lot of this has to do with the way teak trim is milled, exposing the grain in such a way that lends itself to crevicing and cracking as the wood swells and shrinks, and gets wet and dries out without any protection on it. Teak deck planks are not milled in a way that makes them susceptible to this.

There are several boats, power and sail, in our part of our marina who have let their teak trim--- by which I mean half rounds, quarter rounds, and bullnose trim, hatch sides, etc. --- go "natural." On all of them, the trim has darkened, in some places it's black, and there are long crevices and splits in the trim strips.

These are all boats that sit in the weather. If you keep your boat in a boathouse the risk of unfinished trim deterioration is greatly reduced.

-- Edited by Marin on Thursday 9th of September 2010 06:30:18 PM

 

[sunchaser]

Marin is correct, it will turn to black streaks and not look too good. If you want to avoid varnishing, once your teak is "stripped," sand lightly, use a commercial teak cleaner and then apply one of many teak oils (tung oil etc) every spring and fall. I did this for years on teak decks and they looked pretty good. I've seen a few blue water Nordhavns done similarly on the caprail. Keeping the caprail sealed also is key to minimize water migration into the hull side coring on most vessels.

-- Edited by sunchaser on Thursday 9th of September 2010 09:14:12 PM

 

[BaltimoreLurker]

Well, bummer.* So I'm going to have to do some maintenance on the wood?* I've used oils on previous boats, that's a fairly low effort job.* And does look pretty good. Maybe I'll go that route then.

I do think properly varnished brightwork looks spectacular.* But, with a more than full time job, family and community obligations I just don't have time for it. Too many waterfront watering holes to visit to not be out using the boat!

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Keith]

Can't go wrong Porter Cable anything, but I don't know if they make cordless stuff.

I use a Sears random orbital polisher for the FG.

 

[Tom.B]

Would you put Porter-Cable equal with Makite?

 

[Forkliftt]

I never owned a Makita but my PC orbital sander has been well used for many years for home/ boat projects. I guess my favorite feature is the way it is "balanced" to negate the vibration normally felt. My PC framing gun- on the other hand might pull a 4 out of 10 rating. Maybe it's hard to do everything well

 

[Datenight]

Gonzo,
I think I have every sander Porter/Cable makes. I have been very happy with them in the floor sanding business. One of my brothers who is a finish carpenter swears by Makita. Both are good choices.

Rob
37' Sedan

 

[Steve]

When you refinish you might want to try Cetol I put it on last year, took a bunch of old coats of varnish off with the heat gun sanded a bit then 3 coats of cetol it has held up very well I'll put another coat on this fall after a pass with ascuff pad. This was new Cetol Natural Teak which is a satin finish.
Steve W.

 

[C lectric]

I have lots of wood too and it is a pain but sure looks nice when finished.

I have seen many boats whose owners have let the wood go. In addition to the checking and splits, the joints where two pieces abutt will open up and fail. Once this starts you will have trouble and it looks like hell. It's almost impossible to reverse once started without really heavy handed work.

Cetol is less work than spar varnish. I use both now. The hull trim pieces and heavy rub rail get Cetol with, in my case, several coats of Cetol gloss over top and it looks good. Not as shiny as the spar but darn good and seals the wood. It also seems to be much more forgiving than the spar.

The rest of the teak and mahogany get spar varnish.

The oiling may be a good compromise. If you later decide you want to refinish selected pieces, at least you won't be having to undo serious damage.

 

[Phil Fill]

What ever you buy make sure it has the vacuum attachment as most marinas and yard require. We are in the new yachty Everett marina where they watch more closely.** We are moving back to the commercial dock where they leave us alone and more protected as soon as the electrical power is back on.* **

 

[Peter B]

Hi, Darrell, (aka Baltimore Lurker), Steven and C lectric made good points. I have always used Cetol clear on my rails and duck-board and I think it's the best compromise in terms of the low maintenance you want but better look and protection than natural weathered grey. Actually I have just taken my board off while the hull was being 2 pack re-sprayed, (they did a great job), and did some repairs, (2 rods needed replacement new fastening bolts and screws), renewed the rubbing strip, and re-did the Cetol, and she goes back in soon. I'll post a pic of my duck-board done with Cetol clear asap - and a new avatar.....

 

[Moondance]

I just stripped off my brightwork with Citristip. Worked great. Paint it on an leave till it bubbles, then scrape.

 

[Keith]

What's a duck board?

 

[C lectric]

I think the duckboard is what we call a swimgrid.

 

[Peter B]

Duckboard = swim-grid = boarding platform = stern platform....you name it.....long time, all same ....as the aboriginies would say.