Forums › General Discussion › Words of wisdom on the Cabin Sole

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    • #67363
      james bartch
      Participant

      Aloha to All

      I am wanting to re-do the cabin sole plates and looking for reccomedations on completing the task. chemicals vs sanding or both?

      will the use of chemical strippers raise the grain? and how much can you or should you sand on the teak and holly? and how good is the Ultimate sole products i see mentioned? any other products i should consider?

      you help would be greatly appreciated,

      jim

      Island Muse #217

      “things are looking up”

    • #71778
      Syringa
      Participant

      My sole was in very poor condition when I got the vessel not much varnish left and oil staining around the engine. I used a belt sander with 80 grit to remove the old heavy varnish. The teak stripping is only about 1/16″ or less thick so be very carful with the belt sander. I did sand through the teak in two small spots. I then switched to a Random Orbital Sander with 120 – 220 grit to remove light varnish, stains and smooth the sole. You will have dust everywhere so your cleanup will take you days. I used tack rags to ensure that I got all the dust off the sole then uesd Clear Minwax fast-drying Polyurethane with a foam brush. The overall job took about 100 man hours and does not look half bad if I say so myself. (anyway much nicer than when I started)

      Don
      S/V Syringa

    • #71779
      RichCarter
      Participant

      James
      I’ve refinished my cabin sole several times. I’m sure most owners have done it at least once. If you go the the beach and come back on the boat with sand on your clothes and feet, sand is bound to get below and wear the finish. Even normal traffic does a number on the sole, especially the aft half from the galley aft to the cockpit companionway. If something gets dropped on the sole, it can damage the venire.

      Chemical strippers can be used to strip the old finish off. You can also use a heat gun to strip the old finish or a paint scraper. I used a combination of all three methods. Be careful. The stripping solution can wick under tape applied to the bulkheads and damage the bottom half inch or so of finish. I ended up eventually putting molding around the cabin to hide damage caused this way.

      When the finish wears, dirt can work its way into the venire. Once the wood gets a dirt stain, it is very difficult to clean up. The holly strips seem to show dirt most. A 2-part teak cleaner can help clean the teak, but it doesn’t seem to help the holly. You can’t really sand any of it because its too thin. (you can sand a little bit with fine sandpaper if you are careful) I suggest examining what you have carefully before spening a great deal of time stripping the finish. You may find that the sole is not in good enough condition to restore. Its disappointing to spend a great deal of time refinishing the sole to have it come out poorly. That’s where mine was. I ended up replacing the sole in the aft half of the cabin and just refinishing the forward half.

      http://www.richardcarter.net/boat/sole/

      I used Ultimate Sole and had great results. At first, I had very poor success getting the finish to dry. It turned out that the stuff won’t dry if its cold. Here in the Northeast, you can’t really get the cabin sole warm enough during the winter.

      After stripping the sole, I vacuumed the cabin and let the dust settle. I then wiped the cabin sole down with denatured alcohol. I then used Minwax sanding sealer to seal the woodwork followed by two generous coats of Ultimate Sole. A single quart should be enough to refinish your sole.

      Rich
      BlackSheep $47

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    • #71783
      quent
      Participant

      On Clairebuoyant, we just bought more teak and holly veneer plywood and glued down a new sole on top of the old one.
      Quent

    • #81285
      cstewart
      Participant

      I was just reading some old posts to get ideas for refinishing my teak and holly sole and see that others had chemically (and heat gun) removed all the old finish. I had not planned to do that. My floor is in pretty good shape now, so I had just planned to lightly sand with a 220 grit to even things up and prepare the surface. Then I planned to re-coat with a quality flooring polyurethane, gloss. There is a lot of good press about Ultimate Sole, but it seems they are out of business since about 2010. I am also looking at Fabulon or Minwax floor finish. Any comments on what I am planning and does anyone know if the original Pearson finish was varnish or polyurethane. I guess i would need to re-coat with the same. Thanks.
      Charlie
      Sv/ OneEighty, hull 54

    • #81286
      Anonymous

      I used Ultimate Sole back in 2006. It has held up well. Great product but no longer available.
      I have a can of Fabulon I that used on the last two steps of the companionway steps.
      Wears like iron and does not appear to be slippery when wet.
      Not sure if it’s an issue but it does not build up. As in, ultimate sole or other products, you would expect that the more coats you put on, you could smooth out some of the imperfections (dents etc.). This stuff goes on like water and when it dries you have a nice gloss but the grain and any unevenness is still there. Not like being encased in varnish. If that makes any sense. Also no UV protection.
      Alan

      Sent from my iPhone

      On Jul 13, 2014, at 11:26 PM, cstewart via maillist <> wrote:

      I was just reading some old posts to get ideas for refinishing my teak and holly sole and see that others had chemically (and heat gun) removed all the old finish. I had not planned to do that. My floor is in pretty good shape now, so I had just planned to lightly sand with a 220 grit to even things up and prepare the surface. Then I planned to re-coat with a quality flooring polyurethane, gloss. There is a lot of good press about Ultimate Sole, but it seems they are out of business since about 2010. I am also looking at Fabulon or Minwax floor finish. Any comments on what I am planning and does anyone know if the original Pearson finish was varnish or polyurethane. I guess i would need to re-coat with the same. Thanks.
      Charlie
      Sv/ OneEighty, hull 54


      "People cannot discover new lands until they have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
      Andre Gide 1869-1951

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    • #81287
      kalinowski
      Participant

      I’ve been considering NuTeak synthetic teak and holly. No mess, durability and easy installation. Anyone familiar with this product? I’ve seen it used on topside decks. Looks great.

      Dan Kalinowski
      Jolly Lama #135
      Keehi Lagoon, O’ahu

    • #81288
      Anonymous

      The Bona finish products I used are really tough, non-slip, and easy to
      use. See article here (section on finish has “A Great Finish” as
      heading)
      http://www.dublerfamily.com/Regina_oceani/Articles/CabinSole.pdf I
      would not use anything else again.

      Pete

      On 7/14/2014 6:00 AM, Alan via maillist wrote:

      I used Ultimate Sole back in 2006. It has held up well. Great product but no longer available.
      I have a can of Fabulon I that used on the last two steps of the companionway steps.
      Wears like iron and does not appear to be slippery when wet.
      Not sure if it’s an issue but it does not build up. As in, ultimate sole or other products, you would expect that the more coats you put on, you could smooth out some of the imperfections (dents etc.). This stuff goes on like water and when it dries you have a nice gloss but the grain and any unevenness is still there. Not like being encased in varnish. If that makes any sense. Also no UV protection.
      Alan

      Sent from my iPhone

      On Jul 13, 2014, at 11:26 PM, cstewart via maillist <> wrote:

      I was just reading some old posts to get ideas for refinishing my teak and holly sole and see that others had chemically (and heat gun) removed all the old finish. I had not planned to do that. My floor is in pretty good shape now, so I had just planned to lightly sand with a 220 grit to even things up and prepare the surface. Then I planned to re-coat with a quality flooring polyurethane, gloss. There is a lot of good press about Ultimate Sole, but it seems they are out of business since about 2010. I am also looking at Fabulon or Minwax floor finish. Any comments on what I am planning and does anyone know if the original Pearson finish was varnish or polyurethane. I guess i would need to re-coat with the same. Thanks.
      Charlie
      Sv/ OneEighty, hull 54


      "People cannot discover new lands until they have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
      Andre Gide 1869-1951

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      maillist mailing list

      https://pearson424.org/mailman/listinfo/maillist_pearson424.org

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    • #81289
      Anonymous

      I have ultimate sole on my cabin sole also and it was a great product. I suspect however that it may have just been Gym Seal repackaged in a smaller can. Unfortunately, if you buy this stuff it comes in a lifetime supply bucket.
      http://www.duraseal.com/products/sports-floor/penetrating-gym-treatment/

      Since the cabin sole is an interior surface, there is no need to use an exterior grade finish.

      My cabin sole had dings gouges and stains on the aft half of the floor from the galley table to the engine box. Since it’s just a thin laminate, it was not possible to sand the defects off. I cut thin (1/4″) teak and holly strips and glued them down to the old floor using liquid nails, matching the pattern of the old plywood laminate. I sanded the floor smooth and refinished. It looks great!

      http://www.richardcarter.net/boat/sole/

      Rich


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