July 10, 2014

Spent the holiday weekend in LA with Carol.  Pretty low key:  saw a movie, went to the LA Maritime Museum and tracked down Peggy Slater’s house on the cliff in San Pedro.  Ate a lot of good food too.

With the cabin and decks looking good, the teak cap rails looked especially bad with their peeling varnish and discolored wood.  Time to start refinishing!  I did one section at a time.  The basic process was to strip off what remained of the old finish using a heat gun and scraper, sand with 80 and 120 grit sandpaper, wipe down with acetone and seal with penetrating epoxy.  So far I've done about sixty percent of the port side.  When I complete those steps on that side I will sand it all again with 220 grit, apply three coats of Cetol Marine, sand it again with 220, apply two coats of Cetol Gloss, sand again with 400 grit, and apply a “final” coat of Cetol gloss. I have found that process results in a finish much more durable than varnish, but still looks like varnish rather than the dull and too-orange look that results from too many coats of Cetol Marine. Then I get to start on the other side.  A lot more to do, but at least it all shows!