Refinishing Salon Hardwood Floors

"We put a coat of varnish on our teak anchor platform thing and it looked AWFUL--brush marks, etc."

Did you use a REAL varnish brush ( about $45.00 ), or a 69c "brush" from Home Cheapo?

Good varnish is an ART , and requires proper tools like most art jobs.

FF wrote:
"We put a coat of varnish on our teak anchor platform thing and it looked AWFUL--brush marks, etc."

Did you use a REAL varnish brush ( about $45.00 ), or a 69c "brush" from Home Cheapo?

Good varnish is an ART , and requires proper tools like most art jobs.

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It wasn't the brush, it was the person holding the brush seeing a mistake and trying to go back and "fix" it in the drying varnish instead of letting it dry and fixing it on the next coat.***We ended up hiring a pro*to give all our exterior wood work another two*coats and it looks FABULOUS.* If we are going to get this floor to look nice (without hiring Julio for the job!) it is going to take some impulse control to let the*imperfections*dry and take care of them on the next coat...* The self leveling aspect of the product should help.* My other fear is my husband and I are going to kill each other during the project.*

Pineapple Girl wrote:We ended up hiring a pro*to give all our exterior wood work another two*coats and it looks FABULOUS.* If we are going to get this floor to look nice (without hiring Julio for the job!) ........

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******** I learned quite a while ago that hiring "Julio" is the smart thing to do. (Or Francisco, in my case.)

The first coat usually requires thinning , instructions are on the can.

The thinning will usually slow the set up enough to allow first time varnishers to be fine.

A beach umbrella to reduce the solar drying also helps.

SeaHorse II wrote:Pineapple Girl wrote:We ended up hiring a pro*to give all our exterior wood work another two*coats and it looks FABULOUS.* If we are going to get this floor to look nice (without hiring Julio for the job!) ........

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******** I learned quite a while ago that hiring "Julio" is the smart thing to do. (Or Francisco, in my case.)

Looks fantastic!* We are trying to avoid putting Julio's kids through college.

Pineapple Girl wrote:Looks fantastic!* We are trying to avoid putting Julio's kids through college.

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******** Francisco doesn't have any kids....he does, however, have a 42' Grand Banks Classic.

Sooo we final got the Fabulon and brought home the test piece (bilge access from galley). So far we've sanded it. The holly strips are darker than we'd expected. Not sure if they are REALLY holly and we are unrealistic to think they should be lighter. We're considering bleaching but then we'd have to bleach the entire sole; not a fun prospect. Should we sand a bit more? Or just accept the color as it is? It is thick strips of wood, not a veneer.

Pineapple Girl wrote:
Sooo we final got the Fabulon and brought home the test piece (bilge access from galley). So far we've sanded it. The holly strips are darker than we'd expected. Not sure if they are REALLY holly and we are unrealistic to think they should be lighter. We're considering bleaching but then we'd have to bleach the entire sole; not a fun prospect. Should we sand a bit more? Or just accept the color as it is? It is thick strips of wood, not a veneer.

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Suddenly, I feel the need to keep up with the Neumans.....

you better get on it Eric.* Forget all this nonsense about taking your boat to so cal and get on those projects!!!* yeah right. *

I have a feeling this refinishing gig is going to be ongoing for quite some time...

So we have put three coats on the test hatch so far. I will post some photos later. So far so good. The wood itself looked "ok" before we started, not awful, not great. Mostly that there were some darker areas. I did not want to go crazy with the bleach as I was afraid of then having light spots. There were also lots of weird indentations on the floor, like from writing (scribbling). The indentations are much less noticeable with the three coats. I'd honestly never noticed them before we started working on the piece so I doubt anyone will see them.

So anyway the Fabulon seems easy to apply and goes on pretty well. Matt is annoyed that it does not want to fill in the low spots (couple of small gouges in the wood) but I think we just need more coats. Hopefully only two.

I used Minwax gym floor varnish that you can by at Lows/Home. I also use it on our stern deck as the deck is canvas inclosed.

I just finished the floors in Frydaze. Being a cheap SOB always looking for better-cheaper, I researched polyurethan floor finish. I chose Rustoleum Pro series (350 VOC) gloss finish. Gloss is always a harder finish. The poly has an amber tint similar to varnish. We put four coats down and it looks great. I started with a lambs wool pad for aplication but stopped due to finding wool in the finish. I layed the poly with a good foam brush. The job took one gallon of product with sanding on the first and third coats. Drying time is pretty quick and if you recoat before 15 hours there in no need for sanding.
Dave

Hi there are several different kinds of Fabulon Which product are you using for the vessel floors and stairs ?
Thanks Bert

Pineapple Girl said:

So we have put three coats on the test hatch so far. I will post some photos later. So far so good. The wood itself looked "ok" before we started, not awful, not great. Mostly that there were some darker areas. I did not want to go crazy with the bleach as I was afraid of then having light spots. There were also lots of weird indentations on the floor, like from writing (scribbling). The indentations are much less noticeable with the three coats. I'd honestly never noticed them before we started working on the piece so I doubt anyone will see them.

So anyway the Fabulon seems easy to apply and goes on pretty well. Matt is annoyed that it does not want to fill in the low spots (couple of small gouges in the wood) but I think we just need more coats. Hopefully only two.

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we are not happy with how this is going. It is TOO shiny, but that is our fault for picking a gloss. And we are not getting the hang of applying and are getting a very uneven surface. I think we'll have to pick a new product with a satin finish (and which can be applied with a foam brush) and start over.

Pineapple Girl said:

we are not happy with how this is going. It is TOO shiny, but that is our fault for picking a gloss. And we are not getting the hang of applying and are getting a very uneven surface. I think we'll have to pick a new product with a satin finish (and which can be applied with a foam brush) and start over.

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Jennifer,

Shoot me an email datenight@aol.com or better yet, give me a call 860-885-8382. We will be home from Panama Friday so Saturday would be fine. I'm the guy with the flooring business. We can solve this easily!

Rob

37' Sedan

Datenight said:

Jennifer,

Shoot me an email datenight@aol.com or better yet, give me a call 860-885-8382. We will be home from Panama Friday so Saturday would be fine. I'm the guy with the flooring business. We can solve this easily!

Rob

37' Sedan

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thanks Rob I checked out something you recommended and ended up reading about Zar interior ultra max waterbourne modified oil polyurethane and was thinking of using that. Sounds a little more idiot proof then some of this "pro" stuff. I'll try and call Saturday but we are going to the boat show so may be Sunday...

Jennifer,

Sunday is fine. Enjoy the show.

Rob

37' Sedan

Datenight said:

Jennifer,

Sunday is fine. Enjoy the show.

Rob

37' Sedan

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Just tried to call you. Sent you an email....

I have parquet flooring in most of the boat. What is best way to re finish? Would I give a light scuff with fine sandpaper and apply varnish....or some other product?

Greetings,
Mr. bp. I also have parquet and at some point would like to refinish. The problem, as I see it, in my case, is the very uneven surface. If I power sand, the "proud" pieces will be sanded well but the "depressed" pieces won't be touched at all. Now, so I power sand everything down flush or hand sand the hills and valleys leaving adjoining edges unsanded? I'm not concerned about the final finish as there is a lot of information on THIS site to guide me.

BP and RT,

The sanding depends on the condition of the sole now and what you want it too look like when you finish.

If it is in great condition, no deep scratches or spots worn through to the wood, a re-coat should be fine. First wash with TSP and rinse with clear water twice. Don't drench the floor, use a sponge, dry with clean towel. Wait two days to be sure the floor is completely dry. Lightly sand with #150 on a random orbit sander, vacuum then within 24 hours a coat of the finish you like best.

If worn and scratched or uneven you may have to sand a lot more. I would start with #60 on a high speed orbital like a 6" Fein with dust collection. Work up to #80 and #100. Go no finer than #120. You don't want to burnish the wood. This seems to fly in the face of popular opinion but is the recommended method and it works! Use 4-5 coats of your favorite finish. Sand with #150-220 between coats. The goal here is to fill the grain. Build coats should be gloss and may take more to get the look you want. Use satin for the last coat if you do not like the gloss look. No need for a marine varnish inside.

Please feel free to ask questions email or give me a call.

Rob

Thanks Datenight. I have put this in my knowledge bank. I am probably a year or so away from this project, but it is one I want to do myself when the time comes.

Greetings,
Mr. Datenight. Thanks as well. I'll have to inspect the profile of my parquet pieces more closely and decide on the final approach but your recommendation of grit for sanding stages will, as Mr. bp stated, will be filed.

baldpaul said:

I have parquet flooring in most of the boat. What is best way to re finish? Would I give a light scuff with fine sandpaper and apply varnish....or some other product?

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This is a topic well known to Grand Banks owners as most of them have teak parquet cabin soles. So the topic of refinishing is covered extensively in the archives of the GB owners forum. The URL for the forum is Grand Banks Owner's Resources I believe you have to join the forum in order to access the archives but joining is free. Do a search on cabin floor refinishing, parquet refinishing, etc.

The posts to pay particular attention to are those from Bob Lowe, one of the forum's founders and who for years owned and operated Oak Harbor Boatworks, a yard here in Washington that among other things specialized in the maintenence, repair, servicing, restoration, and upgrading of Grand Banks boats, wood and glass. You will find information on everything from how to fill the dings and nicks to how to sand the floors to what finishes people have found to work best. Might take you some time to read it all but there is a ton of info there.

We intend to refinish our main cabin sole at some point in the future and the info we have gotten from the GB forum will serve as a guide when we do it. We have conducted our own tests and experiments to arrive at the type of finish we will use, but the floor prep techniques will all come from Bob.

thanks Rob / Datenight for the info and encouragement! We have kept at it and applied two more coats so far and it is looking much better.

Glad to hear it Jennifer! I am happy to help any way I can.

Rob

so here we are seven months later and Matt and I never got past our test piece. It was such a pain to do that little piece that we were not enthused about tackling the whole boat. We have been all over in regards to what product we are going to use and today we are leaning towards one of the standard "home" products like duraseal brand duraclear. One of Matt's coworkers has offered to apply the product for us. The person is a painter and I am not sure what floor refinishing he has actually done before but regardless he will probably do a better job than we would. We just have to strip / prep it for him. We plan to finally tackle this project next month so I will let you know how it goes. I feel like I have a pretty good idea how to go about this from all the great advice on here, particularly from Rob. THANKS

Thanks Jennifer. Glad I was able to help. If you do all the prep, that is the hard part. The beauty of the finish is that you will do 3-4 coats sanding lightly in between. If the first coats are not perfect no big deal because you will have to sand (for most finishes) anyway. I'll bet by the fourth coat you will be pretty good.

Rob

Gloss is always a harder finish.

But its usually slippery when wet!

Most interior boat surfaces are painted or varnished to be Satin as the high reflections off a reflective finish can lead to mal de mare on a moving boat..

Vomit comes up from smooth and slippery or satin with equal ease.

FF said:

Vomit comes up from smooth and slippery or satin with equal ease.

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There is a back-story there I think should be shared with the group.

Just though I would throw that out (up) there...

Could someone toss me those cookies?