Varnish 101....

One of the things Jill and I liked about this boat when we first saw her was the touch of teak that keeps it looking classic. It really sets these older boats apart from the more modern style. One of the things I really like now is that we don't have more.....

The woodwork was really getting chalky and pealing and it was time to re-do it while we have a covered slip and a break in the weather.

It took us 11 days straight working from 9 to 5 or 6 with lots of Advil along the way. The good news is this should last several years with just a light sanding and top coat annually.

The first step is to strip all the old varnish with a heat gun and sand several times starting with 150 grit working down to 320. After the first day I remembered to wear gloves...that thing gets hot!!

Removed what we could to make it easier.

Next is to tape everything off and give it all one last sanding. We vacuumed everything followed by a tack cloth and a wipe down with mineral spirits to ensure all the dust was removed.  We were using a newer product that allowed us to apply up to 3 coats a day with a light sanding after every 2 or 3 using 400 grit. Traditional varnish requires 1 coat per day with a sanding after each coat. 

Ready for varnish.

Final inspection.

We cut the first coat 50/50 with Xylene to allow it to really soak into the wood. After that it was full strength with each coat. We ended up with 6-7 coats on everything when it was all done. We're very happy with the way it turned out. The color is a bit darker than what was on there before but it looks even better and matches the interior wood now. 

Hand Rail.

Toe Rail and Door.

Before and After.

We did one side and the back of the boat the first week then turned the boat around to do the other side. It took about an hour for each coat and we gave it another hour to set up before applying another coat. This gave us a bit of time to rest in between which we didn't use...we found other things to keep us busy. Since we took the bell off to varnish we thought it'd be a prefect time to see if it still shines!

Coming back to life.

Still Shines!!

We also took the time to wax and polish parts of the boat that were easier to do while we had things apart. Today we got a good coat of wax on the whole back of the boat. We are getting really close to having the exterior ship shape for our big adventure. We both agree we don't want to have any large projects hanging over us while we're on the loop.

Wax on Wax off...

We did get a break this past weekend for a visit from friends and another Pier 5 party but I'll save that for another post...its beer'30.