wood a working question

S

starcrafttom

Active member
I am in the middle of redoing the wood from my dads 13 boston whaler. I have removed all the old varnish and have stained the wood a darker color. I have bought product called "bristal finish" Its a two part acrylic urethane. So heres my question. I have disassembled the helm in to 4 pieces. Should i varnish each eices whille its apart or wait until its together. The helm is held together with screws that are covered with wood plugs. Any help would be great. I hope to have this together this weekend.
 
Tom - I am assuming you are speaking of the wooden pedestal or "box" from which the steering wheel and gauges emerge. If the wood fits loose enough to allow room for assembly after a layer of sealant/varnish is applied, then it would be best to varnish them before assembly. Many wood assemblies, however do not have enough tolerance built in to the wood fit to allow the extra thickness of a varnish prior to assembly.

The final project will look better and last longer if the individual pieces can be varnished prior to assembly.

Just my opinion... if too tight, you might not be able to get it all together after sealing without sanding, etc..

Oh oh... forgot to add that, if you want to glue the pieces together, then no varnish or oil prior to assembly.

John
 
Agree with John. If you leave the wood non varnished/sealed, and then put the urethane on it, there is a good chance that the urethane will crack as it works at the joints. Since this would not be sealed, the urethane would tend to lift as moisture got under it. You want all parts of the project sealed if possiable.
 
I have redone several 13 Footers and a 22 Whaler over the years and Bristol Finish is a great product. Please O'pretty Please...do not rush the job.....Mix the product very carefully and follow directions to the letter. Your reward will be a beautiful job. Four to Five coats recommended ....for a lasting finish that won't need to be touched for several years.

=====
PS: If that old wood came with the Whaler it is Mahogany and worth the time and effort you are putting into the project.
 
sounds like i will need to assemble the two larger pieces. the helm, 4 or 5 , and the seats are another 4 or 5. I can do this without installing them in the boat its self. All the other pieces are singles. Any opinon on the bristal finish products? Any one use them before.
 
"If god had meant us to build fiberglass boats he would have made fiberglass trees"

My first sailing yacht was mahogany on oak built by Hinckley in Maine in 1946. While I like my CD 25 there is nothing that can equal the feel or beauty of a wooden boat. When people used to work for a living it was easy to get workers to do the work. These days workers tend to be lazy and forget that the aesthetics are just as important as the function.

Regarding your question on the finishing procedure: do both, put some finish on the wood before assembly and then put 2-3 coats on after assembly.

The beauty of the wood will beat the plastic anyday!
 
Pete in NY":161bw2ki said:
"If god had meant us to build fiberglass boats he would have made fiberglass trees"
Click to expand...

Good one, Pete. My comment was TIC (smart-alecky, really), as is plainly evidenced in some other thread from some other time but we sure don't want to go back there now.
 
Tyboo,
I finally gave up my passion for wood boats when I realized I was spending more time varnishing and painting than on the water. (duh!) As I got older I also got laziyer. I finally gave up wood and sailing and love my now classic, Decraguard interior CD 25.
My only regret is that there's 3,000 miles to move my boat for a genuine northwest C-Brat gathering. Then again, you never know when I might show up. In the meantime, I'm debating whether to paint or revarnish my 13 foot 1989 whaler.
 
Mike Put down the stick and step back from the pot....

This rework of the wood is a learning experience. i will never get the wood to look the way it should. There is to much sun damage and i would have to sand down to much to get pass it. I choose to stain it dark to try and even it out but its not that good of a match. It has to be back together soon as my folks are coming back up for the boat show. The last owner re varnished with out sanding for years then let it go more then a few years until a lot of the varnish was gone and the wood was water and sun damaged. My dad choose the bristol two-part because it's harder and more uv protection. Hopefully I won't have to do this again for a while. Next project, and the ten after that , is on my boat.
 
Of course there are many species of Mahogany--Really good Honduras Mahagony is difficult to find today. Unfortunately Mahogany stains easily and does not "weather" well like teak (which is very oily). You might try bleaching the wood before staining, but often stains are so deep that they do not easily bleach out (oxylic acid). (There are also chlorine based bleaches and two part sodium hydroxide based bleaches) Try bleach on the bottom or non showing surface to be sure it will be of value and not make it worse. Also there may be some filler/stain on the mahogany which probably should be removed before restaining with a pigmented stain.

There are a number of people who have felt that Bristol is a good finish. Just don't get water under the cured finish and allow it to lift. I kept going back to varnish, because it was fairly easy to repair (not as easy as Cetol).

I grew up on wooden boats--and then owned a couple myself--before I realized I prefer boating to working on boats. I have avoided varnish after owning a boat which took a full week's work every two months to keep the varnish up. Sure glad that some people have the love to keep up wooden boats and varnish! But C Doryies are ideal for me because of the lack of varnish/wood.
 
Pete in NY":1hyiw5a3 said:
<stuff clipped>

The beauty of the wood will beat the plastic anyday!
Click to expand...

And then..
Pete in NY":1hyiw5a3 said:
I finally gave up my passion for wood boats when I realized I was spending more time varnishing and painting than on the water.
Click to expand...

Using instead of sanding and varnishing .... THAT's the real beauty of plastic and fiberglass and wood looks pretty ugly to me when I see it in those terms... :wink:
 
To late stained it yesterday. i have a plan now its just getting it done and the time.

the big problem is the weather. I have taped and plastic sheeted of a part of the formal living room to do the varnish in. to cold in the garage for the bristal to set so I have to do it in the house. dont tell susan......
 
Tom - you're a goner. Even if you don't screw up your dad's wood, you will get caught for doing it in the house. Your best hope is for your dad and Susan to unload on you at the same time - then it will be swift and less painful. Too bad, we'll miss you at the SBS.
 
Yes, You know women can smell one molecule of anything having to do with oil, grease, paint, varnish, perfume, beer, any alcohol, cigarettes, cigars, pipes, pool rooms, sawdust, gas, diesel, motorcycles, and basically any normal, fun, male persuit!

John
 
Tom said:

the big problem is the weather. I have taped and plastic sheeted of a part of the formal living room to do the varnish in. to cold in the garage for the bristal to set so I have to do it in the house. dont tell susan......

This should be read with taps playing in the background.
 
OK, I'm going to try to tape this thread in our living room just to see if I stand a chance.............. Well the garage isn't really THAT cold! We loved our 13 Whaler. When I traded it in in Portland in '94 on a new Whaler the dealer (who had pre-sold it based on photo's I sent to him) couldn't believe how good it looked. We always stored it in a heated garage. The CD doesn't get that treatment, but then neither do my car or truck. The garage is for half finished projects!
 
[women can smell one molecule of anything having to do with oil, grease, paint, varnish, perfume, beer, any alcohol, cigarettes, cigars, pipes, pool rooms, sawdust, gas, diesel, motorcycles, and basically any normal, fun, male persuit!] Dr. John, it's 10:30 pm and I should be in bed sleeping, but here I sit with tears in my eys, laughing so hard at your post :D :D :D

Al

ps: sorry, haven't figured out how use the "quote" thing yet :oops: - give me time, I'm still a newbie!
 
susan here,

there is a secret alterior motive. the chances of tom sucessfully lackering the wood without spilling some is nill to none. in which case i get a new couch or maybe even new carpet.

shhhh, don't tell him
 
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