just the trim

[hannahsmom]

we've got a 1977 searay flybridge that has been neglected- sorry if this is the wrong site, but this is as close as I could find- the trim is teak (they say) and needs to be restored. Can someone point me in the right direction. every site I find seems to assume that the wood has been kept in shape- ours isn't rotting,but it's badly peeling. thanks

[PAR]

Trim pieces that have been varnished or painted as well as any other surfaces that have been coated need maintenance performed to keep them looking good. Most folks don't do the steps necessary to keep these areas at their best and it causes a lot of boats to be sold, rather then go through the harder effort of bringing back these areas to their original luster.

The varnish will lift and flake off as it gets well past it's useful life. Teak will take on a grayish color after having UV attack it for a while, in the areas the finish has come away. If you have varnish that's well past saving then you must remove (sand and scrape) the old, bad finish off the surface and apply a new finish coating (actually several coats)

This is a hotly debated subject and there are many views on how it should be done, most of which will result in excellent finishes. Because teak is an oily wood it will need to be cleaned, sanded, cleaned again then sealed before a finish of your choice can be applied. Teak is porous and with UV damage can be quite "grainy" this will need be smoothed out and sealed before that factory like finish can go on. The effort is in the amount and care put in the surface prep, not the actual finish application. Just like any finish (paint, varnish, etc) it's 90% prep and the rest is brushing/spraying a protective coating.

There are several books available on the subject, which may help you, though standard wood finishing skills will serve just as well if you work carefully. The oily woods, like teak, require some additional effort, but it's not hard. Use the best varnish you can find, it will pay in the long run.

Basically it boils down to stripping the bad coating off the work, filling the pores of the work, sealing these pores (filling and sealing can be done at the same time with some methods) then apply the finish coats. There may be areas of old coating that are in good enough shape where it only needs to be scuffed up and recoated, but this is a judgment call made while getting the piece ready, during prep.

[hannahsmom]

thanks- I ended up taking some small pieces off to our local west Marine, we are stripping, and varnishing- I thought sanding would work better, but got overruled on ease of use- we will be done just about in time to start all over again-