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Painting the ugly fake woodgrain interior

9K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  branse 
#1 ·
Hello All,

Sunday Im closing on a beautifal 1969 Morgan 34. I love her shape, lines, layout, hard wood floor... hate the fake woodgrain interior. Ive noticed on yachtworld and boats.com that some of the morgan 34's insides are painted... Im guessing I know why lol.

So my question is ... is their any special prep work that needs to be done? Do I need to sand first or will the paint stick on its own. Im thinking a semi gloss interior paint.... any comments/suggestions? Although the white paint Ive seen looks nice Im debating a warmer colour. Btw Im a liveaboard, so its got to be like home lol.

Advice appreciated...thanks

deryk
 
#2 ·
I would be reluctant to sand the shinyl-vinyl faux, woodgrained bulkheads and paneling, since the resulting texture would be rough and inconsistent. But where preparation takes up 75% of painting prep on normal projects (wood base), I'd say your painting prep requires 90%. Applying the final coat of paint is the easy part.

First remove all detachable hardware, fixtures, devices and fittings and clean the vertical surfaces very well with a degreaser solution. Dry the surface well and then apply a shellac base primer - such as Zar or B-I-N, using a fine bristle, compatible brush.

After drying - typically fairly quickly, I would lightly sand the surface with 240 grit to remove any surface particles which may have been suspended in the primer, followed by dust removal.

Lastly, apply at least 2 coats of a good quality enamel paint - preferably no glossier than eggshell, or satin finish. You should avoid reflective finishes on older, irregular surfaces - all defects will be amplified. I would also avoid white, instead choosing a soft, neutral and warmer hue of buff, or tan. Hope this helps.
 
#4 ·
Thanks TrueBlue... She is a beautifal boat just needs some work to bring her back to where she should be. I need to take a lot of pictures and keep looking on yachtworld to get ideas. Updateing a boat will be alot of work but worth it.

thanks again
deryk
 
#5 ·
I wouldn't paint...

I can't imagaine being happy with how it would likely turn out. I have a `77 Pearson 30 with the same/similar faux woodgrain bulkheads. Here's a link to a site where someone covered with mahogany strips -- really classylooking, IMO.



More involved than painting, but not that difficult to do, won't add a lot of weight (if that's a concern -- guessing not for a liveaboard). I'm thinking about this as a project for next winter -- not ready to think too hard about that though -- just splashed this week :)

Link to the site: Spartina - Pearson 30 - Hull No 168
 
#6 ·
Those Mahogany strips look great but get difficult if the liveaboard doesn't have a table saw to cut them on. Getting them cut to 1/8 inch would make the flexible and easy to cut to the curve of the cabin top (a simple box cutter would do it). I think I'd try a horizontal pattern to break up the flow (you could lapstrake it for interest), or even a checkerboard if I was bored.
 
#7 ·
I was thinking about something like that too actually... took my parents out to Red Lobster for the 4pm dinner special (sigh) and was looking at the woodcovered walls and gave me some ideas. If its cheap enough harbour freight sells table saws pretty cheap.
 
#10 ·
Hello,

Well I went with oak, saw it at Home Depot was a little on the expensive side about 500.00 to do the salon, it looks alot brighter and much nicer inside (yeah I know I need to take photos lol) not totally finished , sadly not enough hours in the day to do it all. I roughed up the laminate and used an adhesive and nails to hold it. Ive got to redo the cushions over the winter, and havent decided if Im oiling the wood or varnishing it... but she looks so much nicer then the fake wood.
 
#11 ·
How thick was the oak ? I had been thinking of using Bella Wood 3/8 x 2.5 solid teak pre finished flooring on a bulkhead.
 
#14 ·
Are we going to have to by the man a camera to get any pictures out of him?..:p
 
#15 ·
Still Raining..by me a beer or two and I will find a camera...the boat is sitting at the dock 1:30 hours away. I will try to get some photos of the interior this weekend and put them up...I will see if I can capture the interior smells of the boat as well

Deryk..where are U ?
 
#17 ·
I can smell it

It does look very nice, Duck. If you're still monitoring this thread... I'm currently torn between a Morgan 34 and a Bill Luders 36. They are both in good shape. Assuming no serious inspection results issues, the Morgan has the edge because of draft (Luders is around 5.5). I'll be sailing on Chesbay 75% of the time.

How important has draft been to you on the Bay and what other restoration/maintenance problems have you encountered?

Thanks
John
 
#18 ·
John - I had to rebuild the head, replace all the hoses and put in a new holding tank. Engine and centerboard have been fine. I did spend 400.00 on a new instrument panel for the engine.

The shallow draft has been key on the bay. One of the main reasons I selected the boat. I am not sure how much of a difference there really is between 3.5 feet and 5.5 though. I can cut a lot of corners and get into out of the way places sometimes avoiding other boats.

I sailed Friday, beautiful, wish I was out today. Good luck maybe see you out...where is your morgan...check the sails carefully, lucky mine were almost brand new..
 
#19 ·
Morgan 34

Tha Morgan is in Hampton. The Luders is going to be in Annapolis for October. Their condition will go a long way toward the ultimate decision. Changing out the head I can deal with, but I'm not planning to take on a project boat.

The engine in the Morgan is an original gas atomic 4. I'll replace it immediately if I choose that boat. Not sure yet what the other has.

Glad to hear that draft has been a plus. I do wonder if two feet would make a difference. I used to sail the bay in a 6+ foot boat and that was significant. I hope to keep the boat in a marina near my home that is limited by draft.

'Twas a beautiful weekend for sailing. Hope to be out there next summer.

John
 
#22 ·
It was the era of wood panelling in our homes so we would have that rich feel of wood on our walls - trouble was it made our rooms very dark! but some white shag carpeting, perhaps some pole lamps.... Later on people painted them white prior to ripping the panelling out entirely in favor of white or pastel colors. You might try formica?
 
#23 ·
I agree, very classy. Looking at all the pictures there are great ideas out there. If you have a table saw and a belt sander, or better yet if mahogany slats are sold pre milled it would not be all that difficult with a waterproof glue. I have never seen stainless finishing nails, perhaps brass nails.
 
#24 ·
I used wallpaper, the vinyl kind that is made for bathrooms and kitchens and other high-humidity applications, and the heavy duty paste. The effect is great, but I'm lousy with wallpapering at home, let alone on the boat. I've thought of taking it off and having a professional redo it. The interior is much brighter and the wallpaper has held up for several years now, but the cuts and joining work is amateur--because, well, I'm an amateur.

The advantage is that the formica is not altered by sanding or whatever. If it didn't work out, I knew that the water-based wallpaper paste would just wash off. You still have to remove all the wall-mounted stuff. I broke toothpicks and put them in the screw wholes for clocks, etc. so that when the wallpaper was applied, the toothpicks punched through the paper and showed me where to screw things back in.
 
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