Interior varnish

[Laysula]

We have a Bavaria 350 of 1993 vintage, some of the lockers around the galley are starting to look a little tired and we would like to spruce them up a bit. Has any one done this on an older Bav? Specifically looking for recommendations on varnish and do I use gloss or satin and do I use clear or tinted?

[Symphony]

You may have to experiment a bit, but in my experience Ronseal satin is very good for interior finishing. Easy to apply and blends in well with existing finishes. In general satin finishes are best for interior but if your existing is high gloss and you want to blend in then you have to go with the same.

[JEN-et-ROSS]

We have a Bavaria 350 of 1993 vintage, some of the lockers around the galley are starting to look a little tired and we would like to spruce them up a bit. Has any one done this on an older Bav? Specifically looking for recommendations on varnish and do I use gloss or satin and do I use clear or tinted?

We also have a Bavaria of similar vintage (a B38 Lagoon 1991). If you find an answer I would appreciate you letting us know. In our case it's the area at the companionway that's looking faded, probably UV damage. I would have tried something myself but the mahogany looks as if it's been waxed rather that varnished so I've left well alone.
Also the Surveyor, 12 years ago, described the interior as "hand rubbed mahogany" ??....................Bill

[Symphony]

Love the use of the term "hand rubbed" - typical marketing speak to imply craftsmen cabinet makers lovingly rubbing in wax by hand, when in reality the panels were sprayed with a clear coating before being cut out by machine and bonded in.

Not easy to refurbish as UV will have faded the colour of the underlying veneer so when you remove the coating you will need to do some work to restore the colour and graining before refinishing. I have done this in the past with reasonable success using chemical strippers, light sanding, Colron wood dye to bring back the colour then coat with Ronseal as suggested above. This works well on solid wood trim, but unpredictable on large veneered panels.

Problem is that you need to experiment right up to the finished article to make sure it blends with the surrounding woodwork. Best done in a piece where it does not show, but that is difficult when doing highly visible panels such as the ones just inside the companionway, which is why very few people attempt it, explaining away the drab finish as "patina" - a term as highly respected in the antique world a "hand rubbed"!

A much more sensible solution if the panels are really bad is to reveneer them which is not as difficult as it sounds and you stand a good chance of getting a match when choosing your veneers.

[JEN-et-ROSS]

Love the use of the term "hand rubbed"

Yes, I liked that piece of hyperbole as well.
  Your description of the renovation sounds as if a lot could go wrong and you end up with a botch-up, wishing you hadn't started.
So, since the UV damage is limited to a slight fading of the underlying stain.........I think I'll leave well alone.....Thanks for the heads-up.......Bill

[Laysula]

Just a quick update on my interior. I finally got round to tidying up. I lightly rubbed all my drawer fronts down with some 400 wet and dry and varnished them with international goldspar satin varnish.Though I say it myself, I am very impressed with the results.

[Stockie]

That's good to know the gold spar satin worked nicely, I can get hold of that in Australia.  I might give the solid wood pieces around the galley a refurb! Regarding the companion way area, I changed the varnished finish to a satin cream to match the inside of the roof moulding colour, then scrapped the steps, and the wooden hand rails, these bolt onto the now satin off white panels.  It makes a nice contrast and highlights timber handles and varnished steps. 

Cheers Richard

[Laysula]

Richard. Got any pics?
Steve

[Trundletruc]

Our yacht is in Greece and the inside varnish was faded in several places by the sun when we bought it. There were also a number of patches where the table top had faded or been bleached. After revarnishing the table top, reasonably but not brilliantly. I was about to start on the doors. Then I wondered whether the fading was due to the top surface of varnish drying out? I therefore wiped one door with Olive Oil, that my wife just happened to have in the gallery, and low and behold the vast majority of the whitish fading disappeared! Now I just give the doors a wipe of olive oil now and then. Saved a lot of varnishing!
Incidentally, I did the steps with Hempel 2 pack varnish and that worked very well without having to get all the previous coats off. Hempel 2 pack is not available from Hempel because it is supposed to be for professional use only but can be obtained from various other places on the net.