Cabin wood restoration

[Anonymous]

Dear All,

Having got a bit more time on my hands now I have started to look at the wood in the cabins.

I have had some great results restoring water stained veneer panels using Owatrol/Netrol
Marine Strip Paint, Varnish & Antifoul Stripper and then Net-Trol Wood Cleaner & Colour Restorer. These are both water based and I have found very effective on the varnishes used by Nauticat. I’ve used Epiphanes rapid clear varnish once I’ve stripped and then restored each panel. I’ve found sanding to cause too much stress, but a stiff wire brush sparingly applied can be effective.

However, I’ve now got a large number of panels that look like the attachment below.

What would people best advise on how to sort out this problem ?

rgds,

Richard

Attachments:

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   20161004_135719.jpg
   

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   20161004_135742.jpg
   

[39Schuss]

1- Owatrol/Netrol
Good to know you had success. I had some difficulties coping with water strains (condensation) on veneered wood. I tried oxalic acide with no success. Sanding hardly restore the original colour and each sheed of wood are so thin … I’ll follow your track.
2- restoring discoloration
I’ll give a try to Net-Trol Wood Cleaner & Colour Restorer
3- varnishing inside
After some sanding veneered wood inside (400 emery wet paper is more than enough) but leaving some old varnish (eg, not to bare wood) I apply International schooner or schooner gold with 30 to 50% international matting additive. Still, under some light conditions (sun lignting parallel to the surface) the result appears very slightly dull. I have been advised to try some light “steel whool”. Alternatively I’ll try some 1000 or 3000 emery wet paper. I’ll let you know.
Varnishing massive wood is no problem : very light layers and some light sanding (400, wet)
4- difference in colour on picture 20161004_135719.jpg
I refer to the change in colour on the solid (eg not veneered) wood at up and left angle of left window. I faced that change in coloration when revarnishing wooden frame of dinette table in the helm house. I feel the difference is due to a difference in absorption of varnish by the wood, I think old varnish remains prevent absorbtion and yeld lignter colour. I’ll have to redo the varnish after deep sanding to homogenise the absorbtion which is no problem with solid/massive wood.
Wood framing(massive) of the staircase to the galley has the same symptom. I’ll do some deep sanding and wait for monthes before varnishing, to dry out. I’ll keep you informed.
I also suffer from dark dots or stains here and there, especially on outside veneers covered with Cetol. Probably some fungus déveloped where water penetrated. Found no solution, oxalic acide not being satisfactory. Was advised by old sailors to extensively sand to remove dark parts, which is not a solution with veneered wood.

Most of the condensation under the windows and rubber frames stopped appearing since I keep here permanently under tarpaulin in winter. No more condensation.

[Anonymous]

Yves

I liked your idea of using the Colour restorer on the darker patches. I have had quite a bit of success today. I used a few coats of Netrol stripper, then the colour restorer. The advantage of this is that you get no dust everywhere in the boat from sanding, which I think is a major plus.

I think I will proceed with this first, then resort to sanding only if I have to. It also means the same approach can be taken for veneer and wood surfaces.

rgds

Richard.

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   20161006_154456.jpg
   

[Anonymous]

I bought my nauticat 33 3 years ago. The inside was done with owatrol. By moisture there were many weathered spots. I have the whole inside of the boat with cleaning solvent, light polished and 2 times painted with Sikkens Cetol tgl satin plus, color teak (085 int. Woodcolours) Almost all places are nice now. Drying after the first lay took a long time.
Freek Hogenhout

[39Schuss]

Hi , I am new to the Nauticat Association but am seeking some information on the interior teak repair on a Nauticat 38 2004 , the wood is generally in very good order but I have a couple of repairs to do & require to match the original as far as practical , it is my intention to do complete panels by taking back to bear wood using fine wet & dry / steel Wool , matching the base coat with stain & then a satin finish varnish , does anyone know the original process/ materials that Nauticat used ? Regards Les Allen

[39Schuss]

I eventually succeeded getting rid of those condensation water stains below the windows (see my post in 2016).
I applied a lot of water colouring (teak colour) to gradually remove those stains (a lot roughly being equal to 6 layers, each day) and almost got rid ot those.
No sanding, no chemical used, just teak water coulouring over stains and wipping around undamaged varnish with alcool (varnish alcool).

I still have one place where very ample condensation totally ruined the varnish, I’ll cope with that latter, no idea how yet.
I am very cautious not to remove existing varnish down to bare wood.

By the way, the teak water coulour comes from “Les frères Nordin” in Paris but I suspect any good quality colour will fit.

I haven’t yet found a substitue for Cetol I bought untill 2012 (3 satin deep coloured, 1 glossy) to apply on superstructures outside. Any idea ?

[39Schuss]

Hi Yves,
Thank you for giving your experience re the condensation/ water damage , I have some of that to deal with & I have also been experimenting with teak stain , I have dabbled in minor furniture restoration & found that to get effective repairs you sometimes have to use tricks like colour matching with stain or oil paints , eg painting wood grain on severely damaged wood then re coating complete panels.
The hard part is getting the correct lustre on the topcoat to match the rest of the interior , hence my question regarding original application methods & materials . The previous owner has attempted some repairs but not well !, eg sanding marks out across the grain & then applying a clear matte varnish , resulting in light patches which will necessitate stripping the entire panel I believe .in the absence of the knowledge of the original method / material used I shall have to strip the back of a cupboard door first & then experiment with differing stains & varnish mixtures until I crack it , very time consuming & expensive but I see no other option although when it is done it will allow me to maintain the wood effectively. As far as external wood is concerned I just use wet & forget to keep it clear of mould & let it silver, I believe it’s best to not sand it in anyway & keep mechanical cleaning to a minimum to prolong the life of the deck ! On most teak decked boats I have seen , it’s the thinness of the teak or failure of the joints / fixings that cause their demise .
All insights & experience are of value & are very much appreciated.
Best wishes Les

[39Schuss]

Hi Yves,
Thank you for giving your experience re the condensation/ water damage , I have some of that to deal with & I have also been experimenting with teak stain , I have dabbled in minor furniture restoration & found that to get effective repairs you sometimes have to use tricks like colour matching with stain or oil paints , eg painting wood grain on severely damaged wood then re coating complete panels.
The hard part is getting the correct lustre on the topcoat to match the rest of the interior , hence my question regarding original application methods & materials . The previous owner has attempted some repairs but not well !, eg sanding marks out across the grain & then applying a clear matte varnish , resulting in light patches which will necessitate stripping the entire panel I believe .in the absence of the knowledge of the original method / material used I shall have to strip the back of a cupboard door first & then experiment with differing stains & varnish mixtures until I crack it , very time consuming & expensive but I see no other option although when it is done it will allow me to maintain the wood effectively. As far as external wood is concerned I just use wet & forget to keep it clear of mould & let it silver, I believe it’s best to not sand it in anyway & keep mechanical cleaning to a minimum to prolong the life of the deck ! On most teak decked boats I have seen , it’s the thinness of the teak or failure of the joints / fixings that cause their demise .
All insights & experience are of value & are very much appreciated.
Best wishes Les

[39Schuss]

I recently found this is the ‘collected Cat A Log’ on line in Cat A Log # 57 (spring 2011) p. 26

This is a problem I had with my NC38 when it was only about two years old. I had a serious leak below the chain locker that was destroying the veneer in the forward cabin. No one at Nauticat would admit to any problems with any Nauticat 38’s and no one had any ideas how it could be repaired.
To get the bulkhead back to looking good I had to sand it back to bare wood, dangerous on veneered ply. Then I liberally painted the darkened area with oxalic paste made up with a mixture of oxalic crystals and a tiny amount of wall paper paste, this was allowed to dry then washed off and another coat of the mix applied, it took about three applications taking several days using the paste before it restored the bulkhead to what looked a normal colour, then after a week or two to dry I varnished it with about four coats of Danish oil, it’s easier to apply than poly varnish and you get a better finish.

I like the idea of several layers of oxalice paste and several days lasting and will try that trick.
In found one layer of oxalic acid lasting for few hours effectless (applied to the inside veneered pannel of sliding door)

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