# Best choice for sailboat interior wood finish



## islands50 (Dec 4, 2007)

I have a 1981 Bristol 29.9 with a mahogany interior. After 30 years it could use a little work. Does anyone know what was used on the wood originally. I was planning to give it a light sanding and varnish. I would like to keep it light. Is there a light stain that would bring out the grain some. What other choices do I have besides varnish. The wood is in good shape but the finish is off in some spots. If varnish is the best choice witch type of varnish would be best?


----------



## okawbow (Feb 15, 2007)

I've had good luck on interior mahogany with Minwax Helmsman spar urethane. It's cheap, and you can get it at the hardware store. Easy to use, and looks great on areas that don't get exposed to much weather. My interior looks perfect after 5 years.


----------



## Cal28 (Jul 6, 2009)

... watching this thread as well ... as my '67 Cal 28 has mahogany throughout ... and I've even stripped paint off of the wood in certain places ... although this is an entire inside job ... and way down on my priority list ...


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

If you varnish over the wood, ANY spar varnish should work. I did this to my teak interior a few yrs back. I used "Top Secret" which is a lighter varnish. Some have some yellow in them, and do not do some woods justice IMHO. Some of them that are a bit yellow, do do other woods fine. I did a quick sand down with a foam back 200-300 grit on wood that was permanent to the hull, the rest that I could remove, I brought home and sanded a bit more with a disk sander, then applied varnish in the garage, took back and installed. 

I used a cloth, and did 3-5 coats. This looked better IMHO for my application than a foam or typical brush finish. 

I' recalling a few Good Old boat articles from the past that bestowed good things about all varieties of varnish tho. Same with some other rags. Woodenboat does a pretty good varnish finsh article upon occasion too.

Marty


----------



## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

okawbow said:


> I've had good luck on interior mahogany with Minwax Helmsman spar urethane. It's cheap, and you can get it at the hardware store. Easy to use, and looks great on areas that don't get exposed to much weather. My interior looks perfect after 5 years.


This is good stuff, holds up very well and is not picky about application. For interiors it is great though I did my hatch boards in it three years ago and they still look new.. If you want a satin finish do the first three or four coats in gloss then the last one in satin. This will give a beautiful finish that is not cloudy from too many coats of satin..

I also like Varathane oil based polyurethane, very, very durable and a great interior finish. Most builders these days are using water based polyurethanes. For brushing though, the water based stuff tends to kick off too quickly to self level well, at least in my experience..

If it was an oiled finish then some Weiman's Lemon Oil (LINK)will do wonders. This is fast and easy if you had an oiled finish. All Lemon oils are not equal some have silicone. Weiman's does not have any silicone..


----------



## Livia (Jul 20, 2006)

I'm 80% done with revarnishing our interior. I'm using Epifanes Rubbed Effect which was recommended on a number of threads, cut with Epifanes thinner to about 80%, applied with a foam brush.

I don't have any experience with other varnishes but this looks great.


----------



## svHyLyte (Nov 13, 2008)

We used the Minwax Satin finish which proved very pleasing.

FWIW...


----------



## islands50 (Dec 4, 2007)

Thanks for the replies. I think I will try the Minwax Helmsman spar urethane. Has anyone else tried using a coat of satin on top of 3 coats of gloss?


----------



## tomwatt (Dec 11, 2009)

Not on a boat, but that is the old-fashioned recommended process for satin varnishes... gloss underneath, satin on top. Reason being that traditional satins were achieved with the addition of flatting agent, which weakened the film slightly. Gloss underneath provided a stronger coating.
I'm not certain that's really required for "modern" urethane varnishes, but it can't hurt.


----------



## justjon (May 15, 2009)

I have started my interior (Cal 27 - lots of wood)and have been using exterior Petite varnish .. very high gloss. I'm worrying that this will look a little to slick? How do you feel about high gloss interiors? Glad to know that I can coat all with satin if it's awful..


----------



## weephee (Oct 25, 2008)

A friend of mine used high gloss varnish on his interior and I found it hard on the eyes after a while. It looked cheap in my opinion. A satin finished interior looks classy and relaxing. I used ephifane mat varnish and I'm very pleased with the results.


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

I use a combination of Minwax satin and Gloss Spar Urethane. Satin is used on nearly every surface and the gloss is used on high traffic or accent areas. I agree that gloss shoudl be used sparingly. You can use the satin over gloss but it really doesn't matter, IMO. Keep in mind that the difference between a spar varnish is that it has greater flexibility than a "normal" varnish, plus UV inhibitors. As such, it is excellent for exterior applications where there is a great deal of expansion and contraction. For an interior, it doesn't matter.

On our last Sabre and on this one, there was absolutely no finish on the teak. On Victoria, there were 20 years of dirt on the wood. The following link shows the results of a good cleaning and lots of Winwax. Click on the thumbnails for a larger picture.

VICTORIA (and her mistress)


----------



## justjon (May 15, 2009)

Thanks for the advice and the pictures. I can see now that the wear areas look great in contrast to the satin areas. i'm heading that way..


----------



## BELLATRIX1965 (Jan 2, 2007)

*Yup, rubbed effect!*



Livia said:


> I'm 80% done with revarnishing our interior. I'm using Epifanes Rubbed Effect which was recommended on a number of threads, cut with Epifanes thinner to about 80%, applied with a foam brush.
> 
> I don't have any experience with other varnishes but this looks great.


I'll second the Epifanes Rubbed Effect for interior work. IMHO, gloss varnish INSIDE a boat is hard on the eyes, and really cheap looking. 
The Epifanes will go over a base of gloss finish as recommended elsewhere in this thread. It's easy to apply (we use foam brushes) has excellent self-leveling characteristics, and dries fast. Nice stuff! (I have no connection with the company)


----------



## idontwantanaccount (May 18, 2005)

*spar vs poly*

Why use spar varnish, which contains UV inhibitors that generally make the varnish softer (i.e., less durable, I would think)? Wouldn't a polyurethane be better for an interior?


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

Account - Minwax Spar Urethane is an awesome product. We use it on the floor and for trim inside the boat. I've used it on exterior applications too. It's easy to apply and easy to obtain.

I agree that judicious use of gloss is important for aesthetic reasons. IMO, we've hit the right balance. Our web link is above.


----------



## Dugn8r (Jun 30, 2010)

As a chemist and mechanical engineer, I toured a few boat manufacturing facilities here in Maine and over the last couple of years. I have discovered the highest end ones have moved to a process that ensures a durable, long lasting finish that cannot be achieved any other way.

Varnish is amazing, however, it fails when wood absorbs moisture and expands and contracts. The begs how to you maximize the capabilities of the varnish? THe answer is epoxy.

Epoxy is expensive, but how much is time worth? Whenever I make a new wood piece or refinish an old one, I saturate the wood grain with epoxy first and brush it out just like with varnish. Once it has dried, it is sanded with a 220 grit foam sanding sponge. If the wood absorbed a LOT of epoxy, I recoat it with another layer of epoxy. If there is a thin film of epoxy left, I will proceed to coating it with a good U.V. resistant varnish ( like Epiffanes). 

Epoxy by itself will discolor from UV rays, so coating it with UV resistant varnish is a must. On the same token, the epoxy will stop the wood from expanding and contracting and provides an amazing base coat for the varnish. THe varnish's life will be doubled or trippled. The wood grain will be harder than iron which will make damaging the wood nearly impossible. AND... the finish will be crystal clear. A coat of epoxy and a coat of varnish will look like 12 coats of varnish.

I always use gloss varnish because it is far more durable than satin finish. So, what do I do if I want the finish with no sheen? Easy... After it is dry, get a felt block and 4F pumice stone powder and rub it to the desired satin sheen. It's a bit more work than using satin varnish, but the hardnessis more than 60%.


----------

