After attending the LONA Rendezvous and the International Rendezvous in the last two years, I noticed most of the the 30 Ultras had the same type of wear on the galley tables. It is especially rough near the companionway steps. That is most likely due to contact from hands and sunlight. When you flip open the table you see this beautiful wood and finish on the rarely used surfaces.
My winter project is to get that bright, smooth finish onto the surface that gets used and abused.
Has anyone refinished the top surface? What comes close to matching the original finish? Is the original a polyurethane, a stain and a polyurethane or a wax?
Try Epifanes Rubbed Effect Varnish. It’s a nice, flat finish that matches the interior woodwork. If you are taking the finish off down to the wood, you can use Iosso Teak Cleaner to brighten the wood. It might also help with the sun bleaching.
Cautionary note: The teak on this plywood is extremely thin. It is cabinet plywood and does not have the thicker veneer that the flooring does. Sand very carefully.
If your tabletop is teak veneered plywood I suggest not sanding off the old finish as the veneer is very thin. To get to bare wood without removing any veneer, use a card scraper instead, together with a heat gun to soften old varnish, or a citrus-based paint remover gel.
You nailed it. It is veneer. The whitish wear area is from a previous owner trying to sand out a chip in the veneer. There is a 6 inch diameter area that is pine ply.
Bob,
I have the Epifanes and Iosso products. I have sanded a 4 foot by 6 inch piece of plywood. The plan is to treat it with the cleaner, apply several stains to the board. Treat it with the Epifanes and see which one looks more like the teak that has gone through the same process. If I can find one that brings the grain out of the wood I should be ok.
It won’t be perfect, but it will be better than it is now.
I always use dyes rather than stain to match a specific colour, just my preference but I find it easier to mix and match.
If you really want to refinish the damage you should re-veneer the piece that has the damage and then match the aged colour.
The picture shows new veneer on the bulkhead (it’s not teak behind the mirror) and new teak in the cabinet, matched with dye. Not perfect but close.
A well-crafted repair that’s clearly visible isn’t something to be ashamed of. I’d much rather look at an honest repair than at something that I know is just hiding a spot that should have been fixed properly.
I hate to suggest it, but if you’re not a skilled woodworker or it doesn’t turn out like you hoped, you might want to consider using the Almond Formica to cover over the top. It matches the rest of the plastic laminate you have in the galley. Just a thought.
