Brightwork question-gctid343476

[Bodie]

I'm in the process of refinishing some of the brightwork on my 3218 and have run into a situation I've not had to deal with in the past. As you can see in the picture, the places where two pieces of teak join together is filled with a black rubbery compound. I've always thought that the joints were left with a 1/4" gap that was then filled with the compound but in this case it's obvious that the joints are not that well fitted. There are places where the gap is almost non-existant and others where it is quite wide so it appears as if the areas have been taped off and then filled to create the appearance of a fine fit.My questions:Should I try to remove all of the old material and re-do the jointsWhat is the compound that is used to do this?

[img]/media/kunena/attachments/vb/646085=23779-IMG-20120112-00031.jpg[/img]

[Guest]

I redid all of my wood 5 years ago with Bristol finish, I also have some of the Black mystery filler which I played with in the begining and gave up on after messing it up in one spot, then just did over top of it, I think it could turn into a fairly big ordeal trying to remove it, and once removed refilling the gaps or trying to make them look more even and professional, I concentrated on making the wood look good and no-one noticed the black filler. I have been contemplating my next redo which will have to be before too long, I have been thinking about removing the plugs and taking the wood off the boat to work on, but I'm worried about getting the plugs and Black filler back in and looking good. Good Luck to you.

[Guest]

All the 32s have the filler. I forget what its called---sorry. It's a compound that is readily available and not hard to find.

When I refinished my wood, I just sanded the filler until it was scuffed clean of the old finish and smooth. It looked good after the new finish (Bristol) was applied. I didn't remove the wood from the boat, just taped it off on all sides. If you try to remove the wood you will end up chipping up the Teak around the screw holes and have to drill oversize holes for the new plugs. The new plugs wont match the old wood and stand out visually.

Here's a link to to my cockpit and bright work project.

http://www.baylinerownersclub.org/forum/showthread.php?46084-Reed-and-Jan's-3218MY-cockpit-refurbish

The Bristol has not held up as well as I had hoped. It needs a light sanding and a few more coats for the up coming season. If I let it go much longer, I'll have to start from scratch ---again.

[kwb]

Sanded over them when I stripped mine this summer - then applied the new Cetol over the top of it all.

Looks good and now almost a season in still looks good.

It can be redone but is a royal PITA and unless I was going for oiled and it was really in bad shape (which yours doesn't look to be) would I even consider doing it.

I will say that you have a couple splits in the end that I would address with a epoxy filler before the weather has a chance to do any more harm.

[Papa_Charlie]

That is the same material that they use between teak planking on decks. You can get it at most ships Chandlers.

To repair, use a very sharp utility knife with a straight edge and create a light scoring cut to outline the edge of the filler leaving clean wood on one side of the blade and the filler on the other.

Using a small and sharp wood chisel remove enough of the filler to allow for the minimum required thickness as called out in the instructions for the filler you purchase.

As you have gone through the thin layer of the filler and exposed wood, you will need to remove some wood to the minimum required depth in this area too. Score the wood to match the score you made to separate the filler from the wood earlier. Try to make a nice clean line so that it looks like a continuous, well formed joint between the two woods.

Once you have the area prepared for the material, carefully place masking tape on the wood right to the edge of your slot that you have created. Make sure that it is down good and tight to the wood.

Fill the slot that you made with the filler and smooth it with a putty knife. Fillers vary, some you can smooth easily by wetting and cooling the blade in ice water, Others require a dry blade and still others allow you to use a scraper after they are cured to clean up.

Remove the masking before your material sets up or you will play hell getting it up clean. This should leave a very clean line for you. Some fillers allow you to finish sanding. I would recommend one that allowed you to do this.

Talk to the person at the chandlers to ensure that you chose a product that fits the job and is easy to be used.

It isn't hard to do. I have done some on decks, a friend of mine who had a 32 CHB did his entire deck. He had no experience at all and was of moderate skill. They turned out beautiful, well except for where he forgot it was still wet and stepped in it. Other than that they were beautiful.

[Guest]

Bodie wrote:
teak join together is filled with a black rubbery compound.

If it has stayed rubbery, it's most likely Sikaflex 291

Bodie wrote:
There are places where the gap is almost non-existant and others where it is quite wide so it appears as if the areas have been taped off and then filled to create the appearance of a fine fit.

When you cut it out, you'll find that there's 2 depths to it. The upper gap is a uniform width, about 1/4 to 5/16" wide. Below that teak boards will be closer together.

Bodie wrote:
Should I try to remove all of the old material and re-do the joints

What is the compound that is used to do this?

To do a nice refinishing job, you'll need to cut out the old Sikaflex with a sharp utility knife. After it's all cut out, refinish the wood, applying whatever finish you prefer, then mask and re-caulk. Don't paint over Sikaflex with anything, especially Cetol. The caulk remains flexible, but the "paint" doesn't. It cracks over time and looks awful.

[Bodie]

Thanks for all of the input. Further investigation (and the removal of the black stuff from one of the joints) shows exactly what Pat and Mike described. It was still rubbery, so I had decided it was probably Sikaflex.Thanks also for the suggestion to varnish first, then finish the joints. I was thinking of doing it the other way around, since I've always just varnished over the Sikaflex in the past. Removing the old stuff will give me a chance to redo the ends where it has been sanded away by previous refinishers. Here's a pic of the joint once the Sikaflex has been cleaned out:

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