"Living inside a teak tree"
Great minds must think alike. Of course lesser minds may do this too....
I and the Admiral have discussed this same "problem" since we bought our boat in '94. We really do not want to permanently cover up the teak veneer on the inside of the cabin sides, but... we would lilke a more "light" look to the interior. Since the veneer is thin, any kind of glued-on surface must be permanent, IMHO.
So, what to do?
We are now thinking of going from a drab, factory-stained oil finish to a bleached natural (golden) teak finish.
We have previously refinished the cabin sole pieces, the table and leaves, and the teak plywood settee backs. In each case we removed the old oil and stain with Teaka A & B. This was followed by carefull sanding. Then 5+ coats of gloss varnish went on. Between the reflectivity of the new surface and the much more golden color of the teak, it is much brighter. Much.
This is still way short of the light reflectivity we could get with an off-white plastic laminate, I admit.
There is a sort of "plan B" we have been mulling over. This would be the system many cruisers use when getting their external teak ready for sun exposure in the south seas. They first do a really good varnish job on it. Then they lightly sand that well-protected surface and over-coat it with light colored paint to keep the UV off while they voyage. Upon return they removed the paint and re-varnish as needed -- with the wood still in excellent condition. I know a sailor at our club that bought an older Islander 41 with all the cap rails painted in this fashion. He said it was easy to sand and scrape off the paint and revarnish. Now it is fully restored and the cap rails look like new.
For the inside off the cabin, this would allow you to have the "Hinkley style" painted surface, and still someday return it (relatively) easily to a varnished surface.
Worth a moment's consideration, IMHO.
Best,
Loren in Portland, OR
Olson 34 #8
