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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Galley Cabinet Restore

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Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/19/2012 : 19:38:36

One of my big projects this year is my brightwork. It all needs to be done. I thought I'd start with "functional" brightwork: My galley cabinets and drawers.

Mine were in fairly poor shape. The teak fronts were badly stained and had minimal patches of old varnish. The drawers under the sink were difficult to pull in/out, smelled very musty, and the top drawer was continually "dusted" by debris. The cabinet under the stove was literally falling apart. The drawer was in good nick (so I thought) as was the spice rack bottom drawer, but the cabinet itself was disintegrating. So, out they came and home they went.

The stove cabinet fell apart, as expected. Some Homer had tried to repair the drawer and butchered it. I'm not a master woodworker or cabinet maker, but I can at least get something square.

As you can see, the sink cabinet was pretty nasty, but I was able to salvage it. I cleaned it up, reinforced it, and added a piece of marine grade plywood to the top, nicely sealed to stop the debris "snowfall" on my utensils and silverware. I used the pieces of the stove cabinet to cut new marine grade plywood and build a new cabinet. I decided to build a cubby instead of a drawer, as it will be more usefull to me personally under the stove. I gave both pieces 2 heavy coats of Killz and 2 heavy coats of indoor/outdoor glossy brown furniture paint, to seal the wood.

Cabinets done structurally, it was time to start sanding and cleaning the teak faces. If you're going to do this project and don't have a little Black & Decker Mouse, get one! Teak is a very soft wood and easy to work, so the Mouse with 120 grit paper cuts down to new, clean wood very quickly! Followed by 220 final, the surface ends up being very nice and smooth, ready for coating. Be careful with that 120 as it will cut quickly, but it makes very short work of the hardest part. Here are the pieces ready for the final coating:

I bought some Cetol Natural Marine, certainly intending to use it on the exterior pieces, but considering it on the interior pieces as well....however, not that I'm at the crossroads, I'm second guessing myself and thinking about using good old fashioned varnish on the interior pieces, and saving the Cetol for exterior only. The interior being much more protected from the elements, several coats of varnish well tended should last years inside....

I don't know...what say the group? Cetol or Varnish?

Scott

When we left, we had just enough fuel to make it to San Juan. And now... we are out of fuel!

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 03/19/2012 : 20:22:27

I used high-gloss spar varnish on mine (Minwax Helmsman varnish) they look like this:

http://littleboatiris.blogspot.ca/2011/05/big-install.html

I have that last drawer on my to-do list for this spring.

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 03/19/2012 : 20:29:02

I just did the same thing, and went with Cetol so it would match the exterior. However, I'm in the process of varnishing my tiller, and I REALLY like the way that looks, and how easy it is to apply. It takes forever, because you need a hundred coats, but each coat literally takes only seconds to apply, then you just have to wait for it to cure. In 5-10 years, when I'm ready to tackle refinishing everything, I might consider varnish.

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 05:56:23

Really nice job Joe. I like the cetol but I'm sure whatever you use it'll be great.

Edited by - DaveR on 03/20/2012 05:57:08

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 06:29:33

My policy is cetol for exterior finishes, and varnish for interior stuff.

Edited by - on

NautiC25
Admiral

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USA
957 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 07:01:58

Nice sanding job! As soon as I move to a slip better accesible, I'll start doing mine. I'm thinking about a darker cherry varnish though. Nothing glossy either. So Cetol is not an option.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 07:11:25

I vote for a simple oil finish.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 07:54:32

Thanks guys....I've thought about oil....I've oiled my share of swim platforms on power boats....but it's not the finished look I want.

If I do traditional varnish, I'll use Minwax. I use their stains, pre-stains, wood dough, and varnish...excellent products for working with fine woods.

BTW - I mean modern formulations, not classic linseed oil varnish, soft old school stuff.

Edited by - on

65Roses
1st Mate

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26 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 08:45:01

Minwax Helmsman Spar works great inside. I did all mine last year with 2 coats, adding a couple more coats this year although not truly needed.

Edited by - on

Sam001
Vice Commodore

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USA
441 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 10:17:55

I did oil before on the "boats"
After all the cetol talk, I used cetol on Bobbin'e exterior
and I have done some and will do all inside with cetol

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 10:18:11

Nice work Joe and thanks for taking the time to share.

I've always said owning and maintaining a boat like the C25 is similar to owning a cottage on the lake - literally!

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 10:24:13

I was scared off the oil treatments when I heard that some of the oils were staining the wood black and/or going mouldy. I don't know if there creedance to that as I have never seen it first hand. I figure if mould starts growing on varnish, a quick wipe with a rag soaked in bleach should fix the problem.

Edited by - on

Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 16:32:13

I've had a real hard time getting a nice satin finish with traditional varnish. However, with Polyurethane satin, the final coat gets scrubbed with Johnson's paste wax and steel wool. The finish is so soft! It is really nice.

Edited by - on

Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 16:38:34

Joe Diver, try [url="http://www.ugl.com/zarWoodFinishing/zaroilWoodStain.php"]Zar[/url] stains once. They are by far my favorite stains and finishes for fine furniture. I honestly tried Zar once and threw away all my Minwax products. They are great!

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 16:39:16

lemon oil will never darken your interior even after years of applications.

Edited by - on

Sam001
Vice Commodore

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USA
441 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2012 : 18:33:26

and vodka will not either after many spills :-)

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2012 : 17:28:38

2nd coat going on. Light wet sand with 400 to smooth the first coat.

Edited by - on

Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2012 : 16:27:19

Looking good, whatcha puttin on it?

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 03/24/2012 : 06:41:29

Helmsman Clear Gloss.

Third and final coat went on yesterday after a light wet sand with 400. I had been using inexpensive brushes to apply then tossing them, but for the final coat I spent some money on a very nice brush. Made a big difference. The final coat is solid, smooth, and looks wet all over.

One thing that helped was to use a bright work light, at an angle, so I could see the coverage layer and get it perfect.

I have a few more things to do yet before they're read to reinstall. I had hoped to have them done by this weekend but....no....

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 03/24/2012 : 15:15:02

Scott,
That's an interesting tidbit, thanks! I've been using the foam brushes, but maybe I'll try a good brush for my final coat of Epiphanes.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2012 : 10:29:59

Project complete (minus reinstall on boat)

Finally got them put back together. Home Depot only had one set of the brass offset hinges, so I'll have to replace the bottom set later. Fixing to head out to the lake to re-install the cabinets, break in the new motor, and maybe even get some sail time in if we have some winds!

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3466 Posts

Response Posted - 03/25/2012 : 17:03:15

Joe,

You did a great job !!

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 03/26/2012 : 06:47:31

Thanks Larry!

The sink cabinet went right in....but the stove cabinet, that I had to fab up from scratch, is just a tad too big. I'll have to cut about 1/4" of the opening to get it in.

Not sure how that happened...I used the old pieces as a template, and compared the new pieces with them and they were exact.

Oh well, no big deal. I'll just bring a coping saw out with me next time I go and get the stove cabinet installed. Once I get it in, I'll post a final picture of them installed. The sink cabinets sure do look good in there!

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 03/26/2012 : 19:28:55

Looks terrific! Having done some finishing myself lately, I know how much effort it takes.

Edited by - on

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