Refinish Teak and Holly interior deck/floor/cabin sole

I am the proud new owner of a 1986 Nova 42. One of the many projects on my to-do list is to refinish the worn out floors (pics attached below). Does anyone know what they used in Taiwan when they built these the first time? My broker said he thinks it might be "Defthane" Polyurethane clear gloss, based off what someone recommended to him for his Morgan sailboat. He also said that he had heard they used some sort of two part varnish originally that would have a much harder and long lasting finish, but had no idea on the specifics of that and what to put on top of it.

Second related issue: We have a section of the deck that has some old water damage (see pics). Its along the edge, so I'd like to avoid replacing the original wood, and we are liveaboards and my wife would prefer not to be pushed out of the bedroom for a big project. Is it possible to restore the original color by sanding it down to good wood? The deck has some flex in the damaged areas, but I don't think this is due to rot or bad core, but rather the failed bond between the individual strips of wood. I have little idea how to tackle this. I was kind of thinking, sand the wood down to get the original color back, then fill it somehow with epoxy by injecting it or getting it to flow in underneath? If I go this route, I'd love some pointers. When I did a similar project of filling with epoxy in the past, I had a few unsightly bubbles show up late in the cure, when it was too late to burn them off with a torch (I may have just laid on too thick on that one?).

I think you mean this





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I doubt they used 2 part varnish originally. 2 part or not, if you want to refinish sand - I'd use an RO sander and start with 100 to get the bulk off then work up to 220 or 320 depending on how it looks.

Once you get all the finish off you can use a teak brightener to get the stains out.

For finish I would use a good quality pro-type urethane in either full or semi gloss (my preference). If you can stand the smell, I greatly prefer an oil base urethane over a water based. The color is better and it is definitely more durable. 3 coats from bare wood will do it with a light HAND sanding using 320 in between coats.

I've used Pro-Finisher from Home Depot and it's excellent.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ol...ViyaGCh262AFFEAQYASABEgKzm_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I would NOT use any type of spar varnish on interior floors it is way too soft.

Ken

With epoxy you want warm temps like 75f to not have bubbles. Torch will work to pop but wont get them out of suspension. You have to babysit it for hours. Have you considered coring, screws and bungs to hold the deck down where its lifting? I don't see a deck in your picks just floor. The floor projects are usually bigger then they look, so I would tread carefully. If you can find a real hardwood floor pro they can be a huge help and save you a LOT of frustration.

When you say the deck is soft, which deck are you referring to? The interior deck or the exterior deck. Big difference in how to address the repairs. I also didn’t see any deck photos if it is the exterior deck.

Don’t worry what was on there. You need to take it all the way down to bare wood. Don’t be afraid to go as low as 60 grit. Then work your way back up to 220. No need to go to 320 on a floor. Recoat the floor with any quality “Swedish” floor finish. They are all one part polyurethane coatings. I would recommend satin or semi gloss. Full gloss will show all the imperfections, great for selling boats but ages poorly. The stuff goes on like water, spreads easy but is very toxic so once it’s down you need to spend the next two days off the boat.

Comodave said:

When you say the deck is soft, which deck are you referring to? The interior deck or the exterior deck. Big difference in how to address the repairs. I also didn’t see any deck photos if it is the exterior deck.

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Its the interior deck only. It looks like the structure comes from the wood itself rather than a backer or core. The flex is coming from the broken bond between the individual "boards". I believe there is some sort of backing, but I can't tell what its condition is under the wood.

Mine were in better shape when I refinished. I sanded lightly with 100 grit and recoated, 2 coats with Minwax Helmsman gloss varnish. I got the kind that I used to refinish my oak floors in my house, as it is made for floors. Any varnish made for floors will be hard enough. There is no need to get the extra beauty of an Epifanes finish on your floors, at the extra price of Epifanes.
If you decide to take it right down, the floor sanders you can rent usually come with 30 grit for aggressive sanding, 80, then 100. You will get a more uniform colour if you take it all down so the stains and dried out wood are all sanded off.
I have also tried Varathane water based varnish in my boat, with terrible results. I won't have it aboard again. Any oil based varnish will give you a good look, the "floor" varnishes a harder finish.
For a suspect "deck" a Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES - Google it) will set you right.

Hi Bibb,

Love the Herringbone foor. I've never seen it on a boat. I have been in the flooring business my whole life and refinished many boat soles. As was mentioned, you have to take the whole floor down to bare wood to get a consistent finish. A pro would probably use an edger but that is too aggressive for someone using that machine for the first time.

As suggested start with a random orbital sander with at least 50# paper. Use a light touch, let the machine do the work. Change paper often, the job will go quicker. A machine with dust pick up will save lots of clean up.

To get the corners use paint stripper and a sharp 1" scraper. You may also have to scrape along the walls if the sander not get that close.

Go 50#, 80#, 100#, 150# for the final sanding. It's a floor. Use any urethane recommended for a floor. Three coats will do it but I like the way 6-8 coats completely fills the grain and gives depth.

Sand between coats with 150 or 220 if you feel better.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions. We are currently cruising the San Juan but I check in often.

Good luck
Rob

koliver said:

Mine were in better shape when I refinished. I sanded lightly with 100 grit and recoated, 2 coats with Minwax Helmsman gloss varnish. I got the kind that I used to refinish my oak floors in my house, as it is made for floors. Any varnish made for floors will be hard enough. There is no need to get the extra beauty of an Epifanes finish on your floors, at the extra price of Epifanes.
If you decide to take it right down, the floor sanders you can rent usually come with 30 grit for aggressive sanding, 80, then 100. You will get a more uniform colour if you take it all down so the stains and dried out wood are all sanded off.
I have also tried Varathane water based varnish in my boat, with terrible results. I won't have it aboard again. Any oil based varnish will give you a good look, the "floor" varnishes a harder finish.
For a suspect "deck" a Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES - Google it) will set you right.

Click to expand...

I completely agree that its not worth the fancy varnish, and a floor sander wouldn't be appropriate (wouldn't even fit in most of the spaces I'd need to get to). I worry about penetrating epoxy as it may discolor the wood. The goal with the epoxy (I realize that all epoxy will penetrate) is to bond the wood back together where whatever glue was there before has been broken down. I'd only want it to fill below and in between the wood, not into it (if that makes sense).

You might well verify whether the plywood subfloor is the problem. Our ‘84 TT has/had rather poor 1/2” plywood used in such places as the ER lay-in floors and my berth boards. Both areas are/were badly delaminated.

Your Teak parquet pieces might easily be removed, particularly after you’ve popped the first piece out. Put a number on each piece that you remove. I run a strip of blue 3M painter’s tape across the floor, slice between the boards, and number the pieces - gives me ‘where’ and ‘which way’.

I use exterior quality polyurethane for floors.