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cabin sole refinishing

barefoot

Scott J Brown
I refinished my cabin sole last week with a product that worked
extremely well, and I thought I would pass it along. I had
posted a query some time ago asking for suggestions and got
several good ones. I even bought some Gymseal and tried it on
the bilge cover, which I brought home for the purpose. The
Gymseal worked fine except it took about four days to dry fully,
which meant that to put on the three coats it seemed to need, and
to do it in the moist marine environment (which would probably
increase drying time), would mean keeping the boat out of
commission for a couple of weeks. So.... I got a recommendation
from a woodworker friend for a really good coating that dries
very fast. It's Fabulon water-base polyurethane varnish. (There
are other similar products on the market, but my friend said he
thought Fabulon was the best. The Fabulon water-based product is
called "Crystal.") I found it at a building-supply store (not a
hardware store). This stuff dried enough for an additional coat
in an hour (so I got on five in one day), and could be walked on
the next day, no problem. I am very pleased with the result.
Two caveats, however: the temperature of both the wood and the
air must be between 65 and 85 degrees F, not very humid or very
dry, and the wood must be absolutely dry or the varnish over it
will be milky -- a problem I have in a couple of spots.

 
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