Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by whalerlibby on 08/14/16 - 3:35 PM

I just acquired a 1987 Montauk 17 and the wood had been cleaned and bleached and bare. Looking to do something with all of the wood to darken the color and give a nice shine finish to it. What are your suggestions? The wood pieces will be removed this week and will have some time to work on them.

Thanks in advance.

Posted by Finnegan on 08/15/16 - 8:38 PM

You mention darker color and shiny finish. That equals varnish.

First, sand wood smooth, eliminating all traces of black color streaks deep in the grain. Finish with #150. 3M Sandblaster or professional grade is the only paper I would ever use. Good sanding prop is the most important step in any varnishing process. Not sanding down all of the raised grain yields poor varnish rersults.

Stain with ZAR brand #120 teak oil based stain. Let dry for 48 hours. This is like applying a sunblock/UV filter to the wood, and prevents future yellowing.

Finish with 10-12 coats of Z-Spar Flagship varnish (has high UV filtering), or other good brand. Sand with #320 between coats.

If you do it correctly, it will look like this:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/lgolt...2637754273

All wood has to be removed from the boat for proper varnishing.

Posted by Jay Fitz on 08/17/16 - 8:35 AM

Finnegan, a bit off this topic, but regarding your picture....is that key/ignition mount an available aftermarket product? I have my key slot built into an old Mercury large round housing that also contains an old choke button that is no longer used. I'd like to replace the wood panels (just like yours) but don't want to re-use the original Mercury housing. It seems like the key slot can be removed from the larger housing so I just want to have the key slot mounted just like yours is.

Any ideas? Thanks.

-Jay

Edited by Jay Fitz on 08/17/16 - 8:51 AM

Posted by whalerlibby on 08/17/16 - 9:15 AM

Finnegan wrote:
You mention darker color and shiny finish. That equals varnish.

First, sand wood smooth, eliminating all traces of black color streaks deep in the grain. Finish with #150. 3M Sandblaster or professional grade is the only paper I would ever use. Good sanding prop is the most important step in any varnishing process. Not sanding down all of the raised grain yields poor varnish rersults.

Stain with ZAR brand #120 teak oil based stain. Let dry for 48 hours. This is like applying a sunblock/UV filter to the wood, and prevents future yellowing.

Finish with 10-12 coats of Z-Spar Flagship varnish (has high UV filtering), or other good brand. Sand with #320 between coats.

If you do it correctly, it will look like this:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/lgolt...2637754273

All wood has to be removed from the boat for proper varnishing.

Thanks. Really like the way that finish looks. After talking with a few people I think I may just stick with a teak oil.

Posted by Finnegan on 12/29/16 - 9:45 AM

Jay - Just noticed your old request that I never responded to at the time - evidently missed it.

Anyway, the round Mercury branded ignition key switch mount that I use on all of my boats is still available from Mercury, and actually comes as part of the engine key switch ignition harness to the engine. But I am sure the key switch mount is available separately. It has been in the Mercury line for about 30 years. You might be able to find one on Ebay.

In addition, I use the Teleflex (now SeaStar Solutions) square bezel underneath it. It is about a $3 item They make them for both large and small size gauges.