A whaile back I saw a 365 that the owner had refinished the teak looking formica with a clear varnish like coating. The effect was very good and it looked like fine varnished wood. Has anyone ever tried this to know what primer should be used and how much surface preparation should be done?
I guess we would have to define "fine varnished wood". As long as the formica was clean, varnish would stick to it to it just fine. Varnish being a relatively clear substance would only resurface what was underneath. In other words, if the varnish applied was high gloss, the look would be glossy. If it was a hand rubbed no gloss finish, the look would be dull and glossless. What ever was underneath however would still show through. If the formica was worn or gouged, the final product would look similar just with a uniform surface finish and gloss.
Hope this helps..
Dale Tanski
The PO of my boat varnished the wood formica and I have to say the effect was not that good. They used a semi gloss which looked foggy and I could see the brush strokes and curtain sags. So I've been in the process of stripping it all which is an improvement.
My solution may be to laminate teak vernier to the formica which I can buy at wood workers supply for $45 sheet. All my interior wood gets rubbed with tung oil. Looks like fine furniture and seem to hold up nicely.
My neighbor has been rubbing cetol on his cleaned wood formica. That seems to be working for him.
FYI: I installed new teak holly sole last year. That was finished with 2 coats of West system 105/207 on all 6 sides and then semi-gloss poly urethane over the epoxy for UV protection and to cut down on the glare. The poly over epoxy took over a week to get hard even out here in the AZ desert which should give a good indication of the difficulty in apply it to a vertical formica surface. The sole can be done with 2 4x8 sheets if you can solve the puzzle as to how to cut it and still have all the stripes line up. Which is crtical to doing a proper job. Can post pics if there's an interest on the details.
sv "Tartanic" Pearson 365 Ketch
Pete,
Many non water base polyurethanes actually need moisture to trip off and cure. Without sufficient moisture they will take forever to "dry". Just curious, how does silicone caulk set up out there in Arizona? Silicon if in too dry of atmosphere, will sit there indefinitely and just get sticky gummy.
Applying formica over formica does work wonderful and relatively easy to fit in the dry mode. The only issue is cleaning up after the router if you are machining any edges or openings. That sounds like a nice fix and I bet it looks great. Please post a few shots of your interior with the new sole if you could, I for one would love to see the new Tartanic.
Dale Tanski
Dale,
I decided to hold up on laminating the teak veneer because as you pointed out how to deal with the openings remains a problem. Best I figure is to route out all the nice wooden edge molding and reinstall new stuff after the veneer is in place and cut. Seems like to much work for now as I near the bottom of the 5th single spaced page of my to-do list(s) before I sail her.
Also: The cat has not sailed yet nor do I think the overprotective first-mate will allow it. But they keep seagulls off the deck. Radome not so much. My slip neighbor sails his Tahiti-ketch single handed with a pet parakeet.
Pete
Pete,
Why can't you just laminate the new sheet on, drill a hole for the a router bit and follow the opening with a laminate bit that has the bearing on it?
If there is a lip that sticks out, take a hand block plane and remove the lip till its flush with the old formica, then cover.
Dale