One coat of Cetol on the decks has shown me that despite several scrubbings with oxalic acid, and plenty of sanding, the white beech will still look a bit patchy, varying between yellow and darker browns, but I hope that with a reasonable surface quality the colours will simply look 'woody' and of suitable patina. The merbau has come up beautifully red.
The panels above have three coats of Jotun alkyd primer and two coats of Norglass marine decking enamel for a non-slip surface of the sole plates aft. The grey was chosen to give it a workboat kind of simplicity as there is so much timber elsewhere, and while these boards may be temporary, I wanted to see what a neutral floor might do to lift the appearance of the brightwork. The square holes in these two boards are to provide a bit more air movement around the bilge and they are shaped in a grid of squares to reference the grate at the feet of the helmsman.
This panel is shown with only primer on it but with the restored grate. I need to decide whether to paint the floors on the inside hull sides grey like the panels above (to unify the inside a bit) or repaint in the cream which is also the topsides colour. The little box at the top of this pic conceals the Yanmar control panel, ignition and warning lights etc. When in use the lid folds up and away.
Your usual exceptional work, Rob. You wouldn't want that old beech to look new, would you? The patina is part of the package. I've only recently started using Cetol for my own work and find that with some depth of material, the colors tend to blend nicely. Looking forward to photos of the work from a distance, showing how all this fits together.
ReplyDeleteYou're getting quite a bit done for winter. The weather must be mild.
I agree about Cetol, the color does even things out and I find it very easy to apply.....but rather expensive. The climate here is milder as we hoped. It still gets quite cold in the mornings but blue sky makes regular appearances. The main hold up is that the boat pen is oriented so that in the first sun our boat is shaded by the neighboring boat, so it doesnt dry off the rain or dew till late morning at best, and then any varnish needs to go on inntime for afternoon air moisture, sometimes a tight window, but there is always plenty to do here. But the days have begun to get longer too, and soon i guess we will be grayeful for that shade!
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