I can't remember how to fix my weathered wood trim

jayhanig

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
836
Please bear with me. I haven't worked on my boat doing any of this sort of work for many years as I always had protected the boat enough that it wasn't ever necessary before. But now it is.

I live on a barrier island in North Carolina, only a few miles from Ground Zero for Hurricane Florence back in September. I took my boat to a friend's house on the mainland for the duration of the storm, and uncovered it so the cover wouldn't get shredded.

Well, a lot of things had to be dealt with before I was ready to take my boat back, so it sat uncovered from mid September until today (December 3rd). When I went to get it, I found it full of leaves, twigs, etc, and I had a piece of windshield side trim that had come off during the hurricane. The trim lay where it fell and it won't be a problem fixing it.

The problem is the wood trim that used to have a nice shine. Now it all looks weathered. I think it was covered with West System epoxy but I could easily be wrong. What do I need to do to put a nice finish back on it?

It's hell getting old; I have developed CRS disease in my old age. I could use some input here.
 

zool

Captain
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Aug 19, 2012
Messages
3,432
Hey Jay,
Any wood trim on an 80's boat is most likely teak, and at some point, ppl use a varnish on it to shine it up. Thaks likely what you have, but a pic of the trim would help a lot.

Regardless of what coating is on it, you have a few options:

Remove it or mask it and sand it down to fresh wood and either oil it (which is what it likes) or recoat it with a spar varnish.

It could be an epoxy coating, but I doubt it.
 

jayhanig

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
836
Hey Jay,
Any wood trim on an 80's boat is most likely teak, and at some point, ppl use a varnish on it to shine it up. Thaks likely what you have, but a pic of the trim would help a lot.

It was almost dark when I got it home and I put my time into vacuuming it out but ultimately ran out of daylight. Tomorrow I'll finish vacuuming it and seeing if I can't get my white stuff looking white again. Once it's no longer absolutely disgusting in appearance, I'll take some pictures. Look for them here sometime tomorrow (Tuesday).

And thanks for the response.
 

zool

Captain
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Aug 19, 2012
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3,432
No problem Jay, post them up when u can.....we're used to looking at "disgusting" boat photos, so don't clean up for us ;)

It looks like, from the photo you posted already, that u have a teak swim platform..is that the same looking wood as the trim?
 

jayhanig

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
836
The trim is probably teak. We had to mill it to replace the plastic crap the boat came with originally.
 

jayhanig

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
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This boat, 24 hours ago was ankle deep in wet leaves. Absolutely disgusting. Anyhow, here's some pics of the wood trim:
 

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Mad Props

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sand everything down to bare wood.. I would start with 80 or 120 grit and sand up thru 220 using maybe 150 or 180 grit in between. Personally, I would coat with spar varnish (minwax, epiphanes, etc), and follow the application instructions, but the key to getting a nice even shiny surface is sanding between each coat with 400 or 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. 3 of 4 coats of spar varnish should keep it nice and shiny for quite a while as long as you keep the wood out of direct sunlight during storage. Spar varnish has a lot of UV inhibitors in it, so its probably your best bet in terms of longevity.

Other options would be teak oil, danish oil, linseed oil, or other oil/varnish blends, but they all will require regular maintenance and won't prevent the wood from fading to grey in short order.

The short story is, all wood that is exposed to the elements and direct sunlight will need maintenance, it just depends how long you want to go between.
 

chevymaher

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Mar 29, 2017
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I disagree. I use boiled linseed oil. 2 coats and let it soak in for a day. I been way over a year outdoors. It looks like new and isnt turning grey. Mine was horrible looking. I didnt sand or do squat. Just bought a gallon of it and kept it looking wet as fast as it soaked it up. It hardens into a varnish like coating.
 

Bayou Dave

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Dec 13, 2012
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My 2 cents. Use Teak Oil. I sanded mine down to bare wood on my previous boat and put on 6-8 coats of teak oil.It lasts about 12-18 months.
 

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kcassells

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Oct 16, 2012
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Yup I did the same as above alongggggggggggg time ago. They haven't really been exposed but they do look like day one. Haven't used the boil linseed or ole timers yet so I can't really say.
 

Mad Props

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Not trying to bust anyones bubbles, but teak oil/BLO (boiled linseed oil)/danish oil, etc will not last as long in an exterior environment without repeated/regular maintance. Thats not an opinion, its a fact... Spar varnish would not have been invented if there was no need.

That being said, most of us that are here in the resto forum actually take care of our boats, which includes dry storage (covered/garage/carport/etc). This is basically eliminating the exposure to water and direct sunlight so any of the options above WILL work.
However, if you will be out in the sun, fishing 4 days a week, your going to start to see the effects of UV on the oil/varnish finishes much quicker than with a spar varnish.
If your a weekend boater with a trailer queen, you will absolutely have success with any of the options... Pick what works best for your situation.
 

chevymaher

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Not trying to bust anyones bubbles, but teak oil/BLO (boiled linseed oil)/danish oil, etc will not last as long in an exterior environment without repeated/regular maintance. Thats not an opinion, its a fact... Spar varnish would not have been invented if there was no need.

Okay okay easy there it actually looks better than perfect. Got it. And applying once a year is way to much maintenance.

So buffing my gel coat once a year and waxing it twice is completely out of line I guess?
 

zool

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Aug 19, 2012
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Given that teak is a very oily wood, its not the best substrate for encapsulation, and pealing eventually occurs, whereas wood like mahogany is a very dry wood, thats why most spar over mahogany, and oil teak....Both require periodic maintenance so go for the look you like....personally, I like the look of oiled teak, and varnished mahogany.
 
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