restoring teak cabin sole

[Capn_Tom]

My Westail 32 has a teak and probably basswood cabin sole. The sole is badly stained and due to water damage the basswood strips show separation from the teak in several places. The sole is glued and screwed to the fiberglass liner. I intend to clean the sole with Te Ka and varnish with Ultimate Sole. My question is with regards to the basswood strips. I would like to seal them to the teak but since the sole is glued down I cannot remove the strips to repair properly. Would sealing with a few coats of West prior to varnishing be effective? I know that the consensus here is not to coat hardwood with epoxy but this is a special case. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated

[bhartley]

The "holly" strips in our sole came out quite easily with some gently nudging from the edge of a sharp knife. The sole had; however, never been varnished. We had to replace several areas where the damage was too much (two piece sole). Reglued each strip after a light sanding. The smaller area was removed completely to repair the screw holes (reamed out) and fix a rotted spot). Some day I'll replace the whole thing with new T & H plywood.

I washed the sole with Murhphy's oil soap and a scrub brush wiping up with a towel which I then dragged over the sparkly new "holly" to try to get it to blend a bit more. After I could clean no more, I took to the sole with 120 grit paper and a block to neaten things up.

Satin urethane and she's looking 100% better. I would take a picture, but my husband is currently buried in the engine compartment doing last minute, pre-launch tasks. Far be it from me to interrupt.

Bly

[Capn_Tom]

My "holly" strips appear to have originally been glued and brad nailed to the adjoining teak and since the teak won't budge without sufficient force to be destructive I'm looking to repair in place. The gaps where they exist are only about 1/64"

[Tim]

If I understand correctly, you're looking to add new glue into narrow spaces that have opened up between the strips on your sole, right? The pieces themselves aren't loose or damaged, but have only separated in some areas from their neighbors?

If the gaps are wide enough, a somewhat thickened epoxy could be spread or forced between the planks and into the open areas; the thickening will help the epoxy stay where you want it rather than running bveneath the planks into any voids that may exist there (and may not, either).

I don't see a need to coat the entire sole, unless the gaps are present throughout. Use a squeegee or some such to force the epoxy into the gaps where it is needed. If it were me, I'd do this until the gaps were filled to my satisfaction, and then sand the entire sole after it cured to remove excess.

[Capn_Tom]

Thanks Tim, If I had been thinking (which is rare) I would have realized that epoxy on the surface would have no benefit. I'll use special hardener for colr compatability but what filler would you reccomend so as not to end up with a visible stripe?

[Tim]

Plain cabosil for thickening won't change the color of the resin. If you want to color it to match your wood, mix in some wood flour (of the species you're matching) instead.