I am getting ready to completely redo my interior teak. Unlike many of you my cabin sole is not teak. In the past someone has used some sort of polyurethane or similar substance to cover most of the interior teak and it looks terrible. I need to strip all this old finish away but I am nervous about accidentally getting stripper on the gelcoat which is in very good condition for the most part. I do intend to use drop clothes and such but the thought of stripper eating away at my gelcoat is a fear. Are there any strippers out there that can be used to avoid this situation? Do I just need to sand, sand, sand? Are there any other suggestions?
Tony Aldridge - 38 Special

Hi Tony
The most effective way I have found is to use chemical strippers combined with a sharp hand scraper. You need some practise with the scraper, though, or you could gouge great chunks out of the wood. For most of the flat surfaces, you could use Peel-Away, which is safe on gelcoat, and which will stay in place, and you could use the special interlux Pint-Off for fiberglass on the other bits; you may want to consider a positive pressure respirator if you're going to use chemicals inside a boat, though. The stench is ferocious, and the fumes will eat your mind. One of the Citri-strip type products would be more user-friendly, but they are reputed to be not as effective. Lee Valley in Canada (www.leevalley.com) has a wide range of environmentally and personally healthier strippers which may be better to work with. (no connection with lee valley, just a fan). Sanding would take the rest of this year at least, if you did it as a full-time job. The veneers are so thin that you would be in constant danger of cutting through the top layer, and the dust is ugly.
No easy way on this, I think.
Jim Watts Paradigm C&C 29 Mk II Victoria, BC

Thanks for the information about Peel-Away. I will try to find some in my area. I also logged on to the Lee Valley site but couldn't pull up anything about strippers. It kept going back to the sanding section. Something I fear I will be doing a lot of. I did order a catalogue though.
Tony

Hi Tony:
I did this job on my 38MKII .......I don't think mine was varnished, or other, only 20 years of use and not much cleaning......I chose to sand it.....be prepared, either way this is not a fun job. I used a Porter Cable palm sander with foam pad and 120-180 grit, lots of it.
I started in the forepeak since we don't spend much time there, I reasoned that I could develop the technique in an area that wouldn't show every day (like the nav station area) if I screwed up.......I also broke the job up into 3 separate projects. The forepeak back to the head bulkhead............the head bulkhead back to the galley/nav station bulkhead partition, and then the nav area and galley area back to the stairs............I finished with a Minwax Helmsman satin finish urethane, that looks just great......and cleans up with a dust rag and some pledge. It was worth every bit of the effort.
You create so much dust in such a confined area that you need time to clean up and get all that dust settled away from the area you're going to refinish.....I went through a case of tack rags in the project......and I took 2 seasons to finish the job, I did it after launch, so I wouldn't have to climb up and down on the ground..
Let me know if you need more help, good luck, Ron Casciato, Impromptu

the finish on my 38-1978 is in good condition - not really dirty but faded esp. in head and aft bulkhead of forward cabin (spray? or sun ). I'm not ready to start varnishing this as it seams it could be lifetime job (less sailing more maint)Does anybody know what the orig finish was. looks like a oil finish.Anybody share a similar condition and solution?.

From your description, it sounds like you have an oil finish on your interior teak. I had the same thing on my 35 MK 1. As the oil mildews readily I changed to varnish. All I did was sand it lightly with 220, clean up the dust, wash with mineral spirits, use a tack cloth, and varnish 3 coats with Interlux Rubbed Effect Varnish #60. It was done about 1985. After that , we did some touch up on worn places around the galley , head sink, companionway every few years. The touchup was done by just a light sanding with 220 and a couple coats of #60. It looked great, like beautifully oiled teak, but didn't mildew. I sold this boat to Kate two years ago and it still looked very good. You could ask her how it looks today.
A friend of mine refinished the interior of his Tartan 42 with Cetol. It also looks good, but has only been done 2 years.
By the way, the sanding, cleaning and one coat of varnish was done in one weekend. It wasn't a big deal. I'd do the same thing on my present boat when it is needed.
Dave " Webfoot " 37 KCB

Thanks for the information Ron. As always you are a help. At the advice of an earlier reply I ordered Peel Away stripper. I hope it works as well as I have been lead to believe by the reply and "Practical Sailor". I plan on taking next week off from work and doing it all at one time. I hope I am not expecting too much from myself. I am primarily concerned with getting it stripped. While I Know the rest of the job is not easy I have to think that stripping is the worst part.
Tony Aldridge - 38 Special

Tim-
If it has faded, it might have been an oil stain. In which case you can try to find a matching color and re-apply, careful work can make it more uniform again. Linseed oil mildews especially fast and oxidizes, turning black as it ages. Teak oil doesn't appear to mildew for most folks, lemon oil is supposed to be almost as good. Other oils tend to have problems similar to linseed oil.
Oil versus "sealant" is a matter of religion, that's one you have to make on your own. I just note that either way works for many folks, the rest "depends".

Dave,
Good info. I plan on starting that project next week after I finish the sole. BTW, I have almost finished this project. I decided to use 4 coats of Cetol Light and it looks great. Cetol Light is not as shiny as the the regular, but it has a good satiny (sp) look.
I'd like to ask about your interior. Did you use the Interlux on all of the teak in the cabin, or only those areas that were well worn. What difference in looks did it make? I beleive your right that only oil was used originally. My worry is that doing all of it would show some of the 'non-professional' imperfections.
Klaus

I used the Interlux #60 varnish on all of the interior teak. In my humble opinion it looked great. It gave the teak a rubbed oil look, but was a hard finish. It wore well, didn't seem to chip, and worn spots could be repaired without stripping off the old varnish. After a few years I decided that the trim on the conpanionway needed an exterior varnish as it was exposed to the sun and weather. While at it I also did the hatch trim with an exterior varnish. I just varnished over the #60 without stripping.
Dave

The interior teak on Impulse still looks decent and I notice no/little degeneration since we bought the boat from you Dave. I was thinking of a little more re-touching as you describe, but - after reading this thread on stripping -- will definitely stay away from that scene!! The Interlux Rubbed Effect Varnish # 60 has a really nice look I think.
Kate Mullins New Hampshire Impulse, '72, 35'-Mk I