There I was lying on my back on the deck of Sundown, stripping away…old varnish! (Get your mind out of the gutter, please!) It’s actually a lot of work stripping the old two-part varnish from the entire exterior of our sailboat. My husband, our friend, Larry, one of our sons and I are using heat guns, putty knives and carbide scrapers to remove the fossilized finish. (For more photos of our stripping work, check out the Photo Gallery.)
As soon as the varnish is off (and we’re very close…only a wee bit more to remove in the cockpit), all of the little wood working issues will raise their pesky heads. There are scarf joints that are a bit gappy and could use refastening, checks to fill and damage into which to glue graving pieces.
After we complete the woodworking projects, we’ll start sanding with 60 and 80 grit paper using circular sanders and hand-held sanding blocks; we’ll finish with 150 grit (180 if Larry gets his way). Once the teak is baby-butt smooth, we’ll begin layering on new varnish. Stay tuned!
-krs & cmy
Sundown Sailing Adventures 
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