Ok, I took the advice I got a while back and used Watco Teak Oil on the ash gunwales of my Prospector. The result is very nice. Two questions:
When I lightly sanded the yoke I accidently broke through the walnut stain. After oiling it looks very nice but you can see a lighter color on the edges. It looks a little distressed… ok to much hgtv that my wife watches. Can I put some walnut stain on over the teak oil or do I just live with the character?
Secondly, there is a rough finish at this point. I remember the word smooth being used with regard to rubbin the gunwales down with an old t-shirt. The directions recommend rubbing compound. How do I get that smooth finish you talked about?
Thanks for the help! God Bless. Dwayne
Just restain
with a color matched stain. With wood I have always used increasing grades of wet/dry sand paper (330-660 grit) with water and then finish with fine steel wool to get a silky smooth finish. BUT you will have to then restain, and rub down with steel wool again before you apply the teak oil (everytime you hit wood with water the grain will be raised).
The problem I see in using a rubbing compound is that it will get into the wood grain and then you will have to sand it out. I only use rubbing compound on paint objects (i.e., car paint) and metal.
I would not use rubbing compound
Your Watco oil is good stuff. The wood needs to be restained after cleaning and sanding the wood in order to get the color right. The final sanding should be steel wool as previously pointed out after the stain has dried. A T-shirt is fine for application and buffing out the oil.
An alternative to just sanding is to use a two part teak cleaner such as Teaka. The first part opens the pores of the wood and kills bacteria that live in the wood grain and apprear as dark stains, after cleaning with soap and a brush the second part closes the wood grain. Then sanding steel wool, stain if reqd, and oil.
Happy Paddling,
Mark
Distressed look
Maybe watching some wood working shows on HGTV might not be a bad idea.
I didn’t see your earlier thread regarding this situation. If I had I might have suggested that you sand very carefully and that you pay particular attention to not “sanding thru” the any stain that might be present, or through the patina of the wood (natural darkening).
Are you really sure it’s stained rather that simply darkened from age?
Adding stain now will most likely stain the entire piece of wood – it may make the entire piece darker, but the areas where you sanded thru the stain will most likely remain lighter (“spot staining” is very tricky). But you could give staining a try – or live with the “distressed” look.
If, on the other hand what you sanded thru was simple “age darkening” (most woods are photo-sensitive / they darken with exposure to sunlight) time will take care of evening up the color. Move on and forget about it.
Changing subjects somewhat - Regarding the roughness.
It’s rough because you sanded all the way through the previous oil finish, through the underlying stain and down to and INTO the wood grain. In other words – you were “heavy handed” with your sanding. To get rid of the roughness/make it evenly smooth: “Sand” the entire piece of wood with a fine, or extra fine Scotch-Brite abrasive pad (or generic equivalent “non-woven abrasive sanding pad”) available at any home center or paint store. DO NOT use steel wood*. You should be careful to sand only in-line with the direction of the grain.
Once you have the wood smoothed down proceed with reapplying oil finish and then buff out with a cotton rag (follow can directions). Leave alone and allow it to cure at room temperature for a few days. If it’s still a bit rough to the touch after 3 or 4 days repeat the process.
*You should never use steel wool on wood that may be exposed to water. This is because water and steel wool “bits” that break off and are left trapped in the open wood grain will chemically react with most woods and create really nasty dark stains.
Best of luck! Randall
Good point, NO steel wool
Was not thinking of the application. I have only used it on indoor furniture
Good advice from arkay and the others
My experience is the same. And never ever use steel wool on an outdoor piece of work. Good luck with your project!
Randal a few of us my be headed your way
soon to paddle somewhere close to you. See trip board.
I use steel wool…wood hasn’t rusted out yet 8-p
but
don’t you rub, massage, oil and pamper your boats so much that any little steel wooly bits wouldn’t stand a chance of rusting in salt water?
something to think about …
You can get bronze wool
at West Marine.
True…very true
I just spent several weekends bringing each boat into the shop one at a time and going over each one. Something I do once a year weather I feel like it or not. I know I should just get a maintenance free special but I already did that with aluminum canoes.
This year I actually used some 3M green stripping pads to rub in the Watco oil. They work well, maybe better than steel wool and can’t rust. http://www.craft-supplies-online.com/productdetail.asp?item_nbr=112-7413
What do you think should I buy a Tilly hat or a 50 dollar PA fishing licence?
here’s the thing N.T.
You can buy the $50 fishing license and be free and clear. But, we both know if you buy the jute Tilley and skip the license, you are going to get nailed on the first outing for not having a license. It just goes with the territory.
Now I got busted for no fishing license back in 1989 and it was a $50 fine. But, I was a resident. How much for you? Who knows, but with a Tilley and no license, you’re sure to find out.
We can weigh all three sides of the argument over a beers at Pymo. See you soon.