? wintertime refinishing ?

BananaBoat · Post by **BananaBoat** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 9:58 pm

Greetings all!

I am "re-restoring" a '71 Ensenada. I finished the boat in 1996 but it has sat neglected since then. (long story!)

The fine work on "heart of gold" has inspired me to bring back my boat to its former glory (at least in my eyes..lol).

First on tap, the mahogany rubrails need to be stripped. My question is how can this be done here in the northeast? If I begin stripping now, how can I seal the wood in the cold weather?

Could I conceivably strip it now and leave it bare until the weather is conducive for applying the finish?

Could/should I strip, then cover with a tarp? That's not the most practical option because getting a watertight seal with the tarp could prove difficult.

Or...... should I pull up the covers, go back to dreamin' and wait till spring........

Again, thanks to Doug (heart of gold) for providing a launching pad for my own "baby" to shine again!

Scott

Post by **Tim** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 7:37 am

Small amounts of moisture will not be overly detrimental to your trim. So if you strip it and then cover the boat, you should be OK. You may get some minor discoloration since the tarp may not keep out 100% of moisture, but a quick sanding in the spring before recoating will take care of that.

In other words, the wood is not going to suddenly turn black on you if you strip it now and keep it covered. I would not leave it exposed, however, if you can help it.

It's good to get a head start on these sorts of projects if you can.

Commanderpete · Post by **Commanderpete** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 3:38 pm

I've used Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (cold weather formula) as a base coating under varnish. You don't need much.

The wood should be in good condition since the product will darken imperfections in the wood.

http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/product.html

BananaBoat · Post by **BananaBoat** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 9:59 pm

Well............not a pretty sight.

Looks like I've got more work than expected. Seems my scrarf joints are parting! I don't think I can somehow epoxy and clamp them bake together while still on the boat.

I might resign myself to cutting off the rubrails and start anew. I'll first see if I either glued or epoxyed the bungs in 8 years ago ( I can't remember)

If they're glued, I'll pop the plugs and unscrew- if I epoxyed them in, it's out with the Saw-zall.

Wish me luck! ( now where is my extension cord!!)

Scott

Post by **Tim** » Fri Feb 18, 2005 7:31 am

Well, at least now you don't have to worry about varnishing outside!

There's a bright side to everything. Sometimes you have to look really hard, though!