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When we bought our boat it had some UV damage to the varnish on the bulkhead between the galley & head. This fall my dad sanded it down and applied filler stain... as you can see below it didn't go as planned. I'd prefer a natural finish without stain, though I'm reluctant to sand too much for fear of running through the veneer, so I turn to the group for help. Take a look and share any suggestions:

There are two possible materials your father could have used, one which is simply a colored varnish (such as MinWax varnish stain), and the second is actually a filler and stain that professionals use which has both colored pigment and filler, but no varnish component. Hopefully he used the latter, because if he used a MinWax type material you probably can never remove the color because the varnish will hold it in place.

I am not 100% sure this would work, but if he used the pure filler/stain non MinWax type I would try to reduce the color in the dark areas by soaking them with a solvent such as acetone, and wipe with absorbent cloth such as old cotton tee shirt material, while the acetone was still wet. This might remove some of the darkness but you probably won't be able to remove it all. Wipe with the grain rather than across it to pick up as much of the filler/color as possible. You might find that this would help distribute the dark color into the light areas and even out the overall color out a bit. I suspect about all you can do is try to blend the two areas. You might find if this does work repeated treatments might bring the two shades closer to uniformity.

Once I had done the above until additional treatments didn't reduce the color difference any more I would bite the bullet and carefully apply an additional coat(s) of stain (not filler stain or varnish stain} to hopefully cover what you have and even things out. Then follow up with pure clear or lightly colored varnish.

I do not like filler stains for the reason you have the above problem.. often they result in a blotchy look. You can't simply paint them on and leave them to dry.. you have to apply them and rub them while they are still wet to distribute the filler and color across the surface uniformly. I am certainly not a professional, so someone better qualified than I might offer a more workable solution, but if not, give my suggestions a try.

You are correct about not wanting to do more sanding.. the show coat of veneer is probably paper thin, and anything but a very light sanding might go through it and expose a dark glue layer. Once this happens you are faced with either painting the surface of covering it with another layer of veneer.

Thanks IRGuy. Thankfully it was an Interlux Wood Filler Stain (http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... do?pid=134).

My opinion - don't spend any time trying fix it. Filler stain the entire piece, paint it, or apply a veneer over the plywood.

Staining before varnish is a way to hide blemishes like yours and for some woods like mahogany a way to add UV inhibitors. Just careful not to sand through the stain as you prepare for the varnish.
I have used teak oil (http://a.co/7PoMjIv) on the interior trim of my boat and like it. I think it has helped hide some of the blemishes that would be highlighted by varnish - also the boat is not yacht finish. If you feel like living more dangerously you might try to lighten the darker areas with Oxalic acid (http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-mari ... --14087779).
Good luck - I'm sure it will turn out great.
Stephan

Max...

I checked the product info and think you might be in luck.. so try the solvent wipe method and see how the color can be redistributed.. I have found that the tee shirt material can get rather clogged with filler and pigment, but that is because it is removing the extra color that you don't want. Use lots of solvent, but be careful to well ventilate the space.. and use a respirator (not just a simple dust filter mask). Solvent vapors are explosive, so ventilation is very important from both a fire and a personal health concern.

Good luck!

IRGuy wrote:Solvent vapors are explosive, so ventilation is very important from both a fire and a personal health concern.

Since you're dealing with explosive vapors make sure the ventilator is explosion proof!...

Stephan wrote: also the boat is not yacht finish.
Stephan

Forgive my ignorance... what does 'yacht finish' mean?

I personally like it like this.
Its a wooden bulkhead and not a Louis 16 piece of furniture. It shows its age and the boat's age.
If I were to do something, I'd hang a nice poster, a bloated picture print of my friends and family, or, I 'd hang galley stuff (a shelf, the paper roll, etc, that would hide some key spots).

moguls2go wrote:Forgive my ignorance... what does 'yacht finish' mean?

It's not fancy, the headliner is not high gloss, the interior is original production boat, the cabin sole is not bright and it all looks like I've worked on it. I thought since some of the members here have done some incredible jobs you should have the benefit of knowing my advice comes from a different place.
Best,
Stephan

All good advice. Or, you could seal it and paint it white. It'll brighten up the interior.

Let me show my ignorance in woodworking,


Is that a wood veneer or the plywood bulkhead with laminate removed and cleaned up?

I thought Bertram used a laminate on top of the plywood in all our boats.

If plywood...wouldn't that have a bit more meat between layers then a veneer, so a good solvent cleaning followed by a nice sand should be ok to start coating?

My boat has formica veneer. You are lucky!!!

The cabin was retrofitted/refurbished by Hunter Scott several years ago, prior to us purchasing, hence the non-original materials. I'm new to woodworking, but I understand that to be a marine plywood with a teak veneer.

Doesn't look like teak to me. To my eyes, it's the face of douglas fir marine ply. That's why I suggested paint or covering with a nicer veneer.

I would call Interlux. They Have a location in NJ, and would probably have some suggestions. AzkoNoble Company.

I'm with Cam on this one. If you want it to look like teak veneer it.