Bertram33 User Forum

Hey guys back on the scene looking at a 33 with the oak interior, its a bit dried out looking. I was thinking about using 220 and some satin varnish. anybody gone down this road before?

I've done pretty much what you're talking about using tung oil as the varnish. The good thing about tung oil is that, despite what it's called , it's a varnish and you wipe or brush it on , then after it's soaked in and dried, you smooth it out again and keep doing it until you get the amount of gloss you like. One coat is very nice looking and it gets better and better as you go.It has held up well for the last 7 years . The other good thing , at least in my opinion, is that it acts a little like an oil, in that it doesn't leave a hard edge where you apply it so you can just take a rag and touch it up if you find a spot that needs a little work. Pretty much the only product I use on interior wood. There are different brands out there and I'm sure they all differ a little. In between coats you should use 000 or 0000 steel wool to smooth it out after the grain of the wood is raised on the first coat.

Frank, Two comments on using tung oil. I used to use it on an all redwood bathroom in the 70's & 80's. I started having a severe mildew problem. Since the tung oil is organic, mildew loved it. Quit the tung oil and the mildew problem went away. (Maybe my showers were xtra long) Second, on a boat I would NEVER use steel wool anywhere. Too much chance of getting small steel fibers everywhere & then having to deal with rust stains. I recommend using brass wool for that reason. Al

Hi Al, Like I said, tung oil has been on my boat for 6 years now without any sign of mildew. I've never seen brass wool in 000 or 0000. If it's available I'm sure it would be fine but a little vacuuming after the job gets rid of any small bits of steel. Of course I do have wood on the deck instead of carpet so I suppose if you had white carpet or something, steel wool might be a problem. BTW, didn't you have a mildew problem in your house insulation? You may want to get a shower fan.

Guys... I believe you can find BRONZE wool at West Marine. When I went to my local Home Depot and asked for it the salesman looked at me as if I was crazy. Never use steel wool an anything you have on a boat.. even a metal fitting will pick up a small amount of steel which will eventually rust and stain the surface.

You can never find good help these days... http://www.homedepot.com/p/Homax-Fine-B ... brass+wool Rick Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's Falmouth, MA