Companionway Stairs / Walls Refinishing - C34 MkII

[Jim Hardesty]

Just refinished the companionway stairs for Shamrock.  I'm happy with the results.  But.  Did have some miscues.
Due to Erie weather and my workshop being my basement decided to use Citrastrip  https://citristrip.com/  It did a good job stripping the varnish, but turned the wood black.  Used some two part teak cleaner I had.  Helped but still too stained.  Searched the web and looked like oxalic acid was my best choice. https://www.amazon.com/oxalic-acid/s?k=oxalic+acid  Worked well.  Light sanding then used the emteck EM2000wvx  em2232 semi gloss that was OEM Catalina.  Was happy with the way it went on.  Foam brush worked well, dry brushed with chip brush on the grooves.  Dried to touch in about an hour.  Re-coated in 3 hours, without sanding per instructions.  Didn't build up like regular varnish so needed more coats, I did 9 coats, 2 or 3 coats per day.
Summarizing, I probably will not use Citrastrip on teak again, will use the emteck again when I don't need a deep finish.
Planning to refinish the companionway walls, prep being only very light sanding/scotchbrite.
Jim

[KWKloeber]

PS: I really like Minwax Helmsman (pic) when I want a deeper finish.

Jim

Odd. I used CS extensively on teak doors/frames and panels with no issue.

I found that Oxyclean (or dollar store alternative) worked well to clean/bleach (usually compined with sunlight) without the downside of acid.  I would wet, sprinkle, work with a sponge or soft brush / keep it damp as the piece dries / gently work more / rinse. I've also tried the liquid Oxi but seemed like working the granules was better. no scientific comparison though.