I have a 1971 and it's definitely mahogany. My project this year is to sand it all back (the original stain Uniflite used did have a hell of a lot of green in it as xing states). I've done the forward cabin, galley and head and will move into the main salon of my 36 Sport Sedan later this year. I've sanded off all the old varnish and stain. I'm using Behr Natural stain and about 8 coats of Epifanes Wood Finish gloss.
I haven't made up my mind whether I'm going to go with a satin coat for the final coat. I actually like the way reflective qualities of the gloss finish pick up light and make the cabin (especially the forward cabin) look bigger - almost as if the walls are mirrored, but with the beautiful wood grain showing through. It's just a great big pain in the &)*(@#$ when you lay down your sixth coat and get a great big curtain sag. Sand it down until it's flat and do over. The combination of the Natural stain and the wood finish has come up a beautiful mid-brown color, and the flame-like patterns in the wood really pop. Due to prior issues, I'm going to be bonding new 1/8th- inch mahogany-faced plywood over the old wood. The former owner had spread drywall compound over the wood, then painted with interior flat latex; I couldn't get all the white drywall compound out of the grain before my sander started burning through the veneer. A friend of mine went to a lumberyard and hand-selected the 4 best 4x8 pieces of mahogany veneer with the most dramatic patterning for the salon walls; I'll frame the top and seams with a contrasting wood, probably African Purpleheart. I'm also thinking of doing the salon in high-gloss. It'll be gorgeous! I'm also thinking of using a teak-and-holly veneer flooring, but may compromise for durability with a teak-and-holly pattern sheet vinyl. But now I'm getting off-topic. Maureen: If your wood is varnished (most likely), the best thing you can do would be to lightly sand with about 180-200 grit, and re- varnish. This is assuming you want to keep the original color. You don't have to strip it all off, you just have to scuff it enough that the new varnish will key to the old stuff. You won't believe how good it'll look. Because it's indoors, you should only have to do this once every ten years or so, and if you keep the curtains closed when you're away from the boat, the UV won't degrade the varnish too much. Ultraviolet is the deadly enemy of varnish; boats in southern climes with exterior brightwork have to be revarnished two or three times a year. Here in Seattle, for a boat kept under cover, once a year will do it. The problem with varnish is that if you don't do the sand-and- recoat regularly, the UV will finally split the finish, and then you're screwed. Then you have to sand back to bare wood, stain, and build up the varnish to between 6 and 8 coats. Oiling over varnish isn't really going to do anything except put an oily surface over a hard surface. The oil will either rub off or evaporate and you'll be back where you started. Plus, it'll suck up dust and dirt, which will transfer to you and your clothes if you brush against it, and will just end up looking dirty. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "UnifliteWorld" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/unifliteworld?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
