Interior water damage

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Greg W

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Joined
Oct 23, 2023
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Looking for guidance on the best way to fix this interior water damage. The teak appears to be veneer. Is it difficult to put new veneer down? It is cracked so a sand and oil likely won’t work.

I will be rebedding the window as well and looking for any damage to the glass and core in this area.

Thanks in advance!
 

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That's typical water damage from stopped up drains. Will be hard to refinish. I might suggest sanding and faring then painting GB beige, like original.

Go to my blog, Grandbankschoices, see how to re bed windows.
 
Looking for guidance on the best way to fix this interior water damage. The teak appears to be veneer. Is it difficult to put new veneer down? It is cracked so a sand and oil likely won’t work.

I will be rebedding the window as well and looking for any damage to the glass and core in this area.

Thanks in advance!
The best way to repair is to remove the veneer and reapply. Not as difficult as it may appear. The difficulty will be getting a piece of veneer that matches what you already have. My best advice is buy a piece of teak veneer and practice on applying before attempting it on the boat. I would also be sure to apply whatever finish you intend to use to make sure the finished piece looks acceptable.
Search internet for "teak veneer" There are all sorts of YouTube videos on applying. I made a repair to cover a large hole on a cherry veneered panel in my boat. The whole job was actually pretty easy. But I made the mistake of applying some stain before I did a "test" piece. As a result it makes the repair stand out. But it does look better than the large hole I wanted to cover up.
After watching several videos I ended up spreading 3 layers of wood glue on the veneered piece after trimming and confirming a good fit. Allowed each coat of glue to dry. Then laid piece up and taped in place. Using a household iron on medium 3/4 heat setting, I "ironed on" the piece. Amazingly simple. Still holding tight after 3 years. And except for the color, looks pretty good.
If you look at the attached picture, just below the red warning label below the electrical panel you can see the repair. Good luck!!!
 

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I'm in the same situation and I've done a lot of research. I've had good luck striping the varnish off the existing teak with varnish stripper. Sanding it off risks going through the veneer. Then lightly sanding and applying Tung Oil Finish from someone like Minwax. The advantage of this approach is you wipe it on and then see how dark it is. If it isn't dark enough, apply a second coat the next day. Just stop when you get it right. I've had great success.
 
Looking for guidance on the best way to fix this interior water damage. The teak appears to be veneer. Is it difficult to put new veneer down? It is cracked so a sand and oil likely won’t work.

I will be rebedding the window as well and looking for any damage to the glass and core in this area.

Thanks in advance!
Repair dry rot and wallpaper
 
That's tough, to get really looking good again. I'm actually more of a woodworker than boater and I've tried to fix areas like that (usually veneered table tops that have been badly water damaged). You can sand, stain, use fillers, I've even used very fine detail brushes and multiple shades of stain to try to disguise a repair, but I've never been quite satisfied with the result. Instead, if the panel or area allows it, I found new veneer to be the easiest and best looking solution in the long run. You just sand the rippled or damaged area flat, and then overlay something like this, link below. Comes in "mahogany" as you can see, although in this day and age that usually means what is sometimes called lauan -- but it usually matches pretty well with the right finish. I always experiment with a piece of scrap veneer for matching. Have to be very careful with that PS veneer though, don't plan on sanding it or you'll rub right through (1/64th -- although you shouldn't need to sand it really, maybe just a brass wool polish before finishing).

 
Looking for guidance on the best way to fix this interior water damage. The teak appears to be veneer. Is it difficult to put new veneer down? It is cracked so a sand and oil likely won’t work.

I will be rebedding the window as well and looking for any damage to the glass and core in this area.

Thanks in advance!
IMG_20240906_152449069.jpg
 
If you take a puddy knife and peal the entire sheet that's rippling off to the next layer of veneer and then lightly sand it you should be fine you'll be able to stain it will it and put finish on it
 
THis makes a ton of sense to me. And failing what I've done in the past this was my next step. How do you transition the edges? Just sand them to blend? I see multiple sources of PSA backed Teak veneer so the right wood shouldn't be a problem.
 
I did learn that once the wood has discolored to black or dark grey, then you're pretty much screwed. I've heard of wood bleach and maybe that would work but my limited experience with it says it will not.
 
Teak plywood panels. You can get 4'x8' sheets. I redid the interior of my salon wall, chart table and other items. This finish is with oil.
 

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Her'es my repair. To the far right original, to the far left damaged. In between 8" is the repair with Tung Oil.
 

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The first thing is to fix the leak. Make sure it is completely fixed before you start doing any teak repairs. Then pick your preference of which method of repairing the teak. I have just used epoxy filler on damaged paneling and then painted it with Brightside. But I liked the interior brighter than all teak. And someone else also liked it because when I put the boat up for sale it sold in one day.
 
The first thing is to fix the leak. Make sure it is completely fixed before you start doing any teak repairs. Then pick your preference of which method of repairing the teak. I have just used epoxy filler on damaged paneling and then painted it with Brightside. But I liked the interior brighter than all teak. And someone else also liked it because when I put the boat up for sale it sold in one day.
I am a bit suspicious when I see the teak painted over, but I do like the brighter finish. I painted over the teak after repairing a leak and repairing the wall and we like the added brightness in the forward state room
 
What is to be suspicious about? If the buyer asked I would have said that the panels were damaged by a leak but the leak was fixed. Then painted. It looked great so what is the issue. Not like I was trying to hide anything since the whole salon was painted…
 
Looking for guidance on the best way to fix this interior water damage. The teak appears to be veneer. Is it difficult to put new veneer down? It is cracked so a sand and oil likely won’t work.

I will be rebedding the window as well and looking for any damage to the glass and core in this area.

Thanks in advance!
We had a similar problem...varnish stripper a heat gun..
wash with oxalic acid light sand with 600 grit....Blend in damaged area with teak stain(amazon ) thin for color varnish thinned over damaged area then varnish entire area for continuity
 
What is to be suspicious about? If the buyer asked I would have said that the panels were damaged by a leak but the leak was fixed. Then painted. It looked great so what is the issue. Not like I was trying to hide anything since the whole salon was painted…
I would have no problem buying a boat that you are selling.
Not everyone does a proper repair before covering up the damage.
 
THis makes a ton of sense to me. And failing what I've done in the past this was my next step. How do you transition the edges? Just sand them to blend? I see multiple sources of PSA backed Teak veneer so the right wood shouldn't be a problem.
I have a 1971 Grand Banks 42 Hall 289 beautiful all wooden boat the veneer in a few spots is delaminating but back in the seventies they made veneer plywood with all high quality sheets of veneer they didn't use substandard veneer on the inside of it so if you take the entire sheet off which isn't that hard to do once you start popping it it'll just peel all off I found a little putty knife works fine then you just send the edges you get all the old varnish or staying off of it and you don't put anything back on it you just take it rub it down you know after sanding cleaner all up get her oiled and put varnish on it you don't need to add a piece of veneer back the veneer underneath it once you sand will be damn near identical or on my grand Banks anyhow it's pretty much identical to the piece that was on top of it once I've reverse the door on the liquor cabinet that I sent a picture of you'll never be able to tell
 
I have a 1971 Grand Banks 42 Hall 289 beautiful all wooden boat the veneer in a few spots is delaminating but back in the seventies they made veneer plywood with all high quality sheets of veneer they didn't use substandard veneer on the inside of it so if you take the entire sheet off which isn't that hard to do once you start popping it it'll just peel all off I found a little putty knife works fine then you just send the edges you get all the old varnish or staying off of it and you don't put anything back on it you just take it rub it down you know after sanding cleaner all up get her oiled and put varnish on it you don't need to add a piece of veneer back the veneer underneath it once you sand will be damn near identical or on my grand Banks anyhow it's pretty much identical to the piece that was on top of it once I've reverse the door on the liquor cabinet that I sent a picture of you'll never be able to tell
Refinish the door not reverse
 
The first thing is to fix the leak. Make sure it is completely fixed before you start doing any teak repairs. Then pick your preference of which method of repairing the teak. I have just used epoxy filler on damaged paneling and then painted it with Brightside. But I liked the interior brighter than all teak. And someone else also liked it because when I put the boat up for sale it sold in one day.
Did you sell Black Dog?
 
i repaced my teak fineer but the colour was a lot lighter due the 30 years of life of the boat. after searching i use white oak fineer it have the same colour finish of the teak, when i try teak it looks a lot darker
 
Did you sell Black Dog?
No. I may because I am having more and more issues with my back and working on a boat isn’t as much fun as it used to be. If I do sell Black Dog I will get something a lot smaller and with outboards, no engine room to have to crawl around in. And BTW, we now have 2 black dogs, Radar and Bosun who is a 5 month old PITA…
 
I would have no problem buying a boat that you are selling.
Not everyone does a proper repair before covering up the damage.
I do try to maintain my boats well. I always try to go one step further than necessary.
 
I ended up spreading 3 layers of wood glue on the veneered piece ... allowed each coat of glue to dry. ... using a household iron on medium 3/4 heat setting, I "ironed on" the piece. Amazingly simple.

Veneer tends to curl when wet and often cannot be flattened again. So, I am curious how you kept the veneer from curling when you applied 3 layers of glue. Also, which glue did you use? Many thanks.
 

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