Water Damaged Interior Teak - How to restore?

[Gint]

Hi Guys and Girls,

We just bought a 1987 C34. In the first month so far I've been attending to engine maintenance and a raw water pump replacement. "Next in line" is some interior teak maintenance. I have some photos of the issues I need to fix here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8ey3m6Kf5PrAnbaX6

I have read though a lot of older posts, but still too "noob" to feel confident Im going to do the right thing yet. We have only owned and lived on 2 boats for a year and a half now. First a CAL 31 and now a C34. Similar wood finished inside, except that the C34 has richer almost red teak in comparison. I assume it is oil finished as it is not glossy. But this is where I need help. I'm not sure how to go about refurbishing the wood especially due to the fact that some only some areas are water damaged and most of the rest is fine - except for example the forward port set of draws. Color and finish matching. 

Which oil / varnish is best to use for this model 1987?
I've heard its close to impossible to match the color and restore it to original, is this true?
Is hand sanding best or should I use a kind of varnish / oil stripper?
Do I need to sand / strip until I cannot see the water damage anymore or will the oil / varnish amplify or subdue the watermarks?

Any advice is welcome and I've I have missed a post outlining this is depth already (cringe) then please let me know. Thanks in advance.

- G

[Noah]

The good news is that the examples you showed are all solid teak and will stand-up well to stripping/sanding. The finish is oil and unfortunately the red color is a result of age, so if you want to match the other existing finish/color you will need to experiment with various mixes of oil stain. I have had goid luck with Minwax; Gunmetal and Red Mahogany colors, mixed together—coming very close. However, I take a holistic approach to "matching" settling for if it is a nicely finished, even colored piece, it doesn't need to be a 100% match to other pieces. Pretty wood is pretty wood.

[ewengstrom]

Hey "G", welcome and congratulations on the new purchase.
From what i've been able to gather in the two years we've owned Ohana and a few decades of owning other boats including Catalina's, I'm pretty sure that Catalina used Teak Oil (originally) on our era vessels.
Given that over three decades have passed since they were new it would be hard to guarantee that's what you're looking at in late 2021.......but your pictures do sorta look like our boat did when we purchased her so I'll go with that.
I spent the winter of 2019-2020 refinishing the entire interior of our C34. I used a teak cleaner/brightener to remove as much of the original finish (whatever it was) to take the teak back to bare wood. This left a "film" on the wood that required mild sanding with 220 to remove but the teak was then quite clean and the resulting refinish is outstanding (IMHO).
Others might have had success "blending" the old finish with a newly applied finish and that may suffice, but those water stains were pretty "deep" on Ohana too and I wasn't satisfied with less than a complete stripping and refinishing.
We did use Minwax Spar Varnish (satin) on our boat, my wife loves the look and it keeps her happy....I've found it holds up for many years and is pretty repairable for the inevitable ding that occurs.
On the floor I used Minwax Spar Urethane (satin) and it's held up well on the Catalina so far. I used this on my last boat and didn't have to strip it for 14 years. I did sand and add another coat about every three years on that boat but that was due to scuffs, not failure.  I'm a pretty big fan of Minwax products for interior wood on a boat, it's worked well for us.

[glennd3]

Hey G, Welcome,

   I have done most of my teak over the last couple of years and am currently doing the exterior cockpit teak. What I do is try to remove the teak from the boat and take it home then remove/strip all  old finishes then use teak cleaner and brightner then sand lightly. I am a cetol guy which is heresy to some but it gives a consistent look. The finish lasts without much work. For example I removed all the wood from the Vbirth took it home then did my process the put back on boat. I will attach some photos. I will take more when I get down to the boat. https://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,11222.0.html.  I also did not remove any interior teak that was screwed and had plugs.

[Ron Hill]

Glenn : I would NOT recommend a varnish like finish on the step treads.  They might become slippery when wet!!

After all they are steps to be walked on - so even with boat shoes they will eventually show wear!!

A few thoughts

[Eisensail]

Glenn,
I like the stairs, nice job! Did you pull the floor boards out to refinish? I see they are missing from in front of the stars.




Phil Eisenberg, No Address
1990 Catalina 34 Mk 1.5
Hull 1222
Alameda, Ca.

[Gint]

I love this forum, thanks so much for the feedback so far, I appreciate it a lot! I love fixing things myself and so since owning a boat I've become a diesel mechanic, an electrician, a plumber and soon to be dabbling in carpentry! Couldn't do it with out the internet and people like yourselves. Thanks you 

[glennd3]

Phil ,

  I took the floor boards home to refinish a cople of years ago. I finished them with the west system clear epoxy, see photo. Last year when the picture you are referring to, I had taken them back home and put on a varnish over the epoxy after a light sanding. I am going to take them home again this winter and do a light sanding and reapply a coat of epoxy because the varnish chipped when I would drop something hard on the floor, ussually after my Manhatten

Glenn,
I like the stairs, nice job! Did you pull the floor boards out to refinish? I see they are missing from in front of the stars.




Phil Eisenberg, No Address
1990 Catalina 34 Mk 1.5
Hull 1222
Alameda, Ca.

[glennd3]

Ron I finished the steps with cetol and have a piece of tread on the top step. I have been fortunate so far and have not slipped on them. I am careful on the steps.

Glenn : I would NOT recommend a varnish like finish on the step treads.  They might become slippery when wet!!

After all they are steps to be walked on - so even with boat shoes they will eventually show wear!!

A few thoughts

[WTunnessen]

Starting with hand standing is always the safest option although I have carefully used a random orbital sander with 150+ grit.  My approach has been to sand, apply teak oil, and then coat with Minwax polycrylic which is water-based but can be applied over oil finishes. Teak oil kinda acts like a light stain on sanded teak but you will need to test how well it covers water stains.  There are pros/ cons with polycyrlic. I like that it is low fumes and drys super fast which allows me to get 4-5 coats on in a day and be done. I did the entire main salon in 2 days and that includes sanding. It's can be fussy to work with. But so far it's held held up well and has a good gloss. Might be worth looking into the water based poly that Catalina uses on new boats.

[Gint]

I noticed that the little shower seat in the head needs some attention as well.. I'm thinking that's not a bad piece to 'cut my teeth' with. We took a shower last night in there and I noticed that the water drips from the door (as well as the seat itself) where brown. I assume this is the oil "washing" off. Is this normal, or is it just a sign that the finish needs to be maintained?