teak coaming boards damaged

[Morgan3820]

Just installed brand new teak coaming boards and they were beautiful, really beautiful. Asked wife to cut off teak plugs and do a initial coat of varnish. Came home from work to find the teak around plugs heavily gouged from her efforts.

How do I fix this?, the coaming boards that is. Can it be fixed?

i hope someone comes up with something as I am very distressed about this

[Quickstep192]

How deep are the gouges? I would advocate sanding them out if they're not too deep. Alternatively, you can fill them with epoxy, sand level and varnish. The epoxy and varnish are similar enough in color that it disguises repairs reasonably well

[sander06]

I hope you didn't yell at your wife! I would doubt very much that she did it on purpose and you're going to need her help for other things on the boat as well. Keep her smiling and don't burn bridges. Just my own marital advice gleaned from hard experience.

[jbondy]

I've heard of folks thickening epoxy with saw dust from the wood being repaired to get a better match. Don't know if this works or is necessary.

Re the spouse - sounds like a keeper. We all make mistakes, but having a good boating partner - priceless!

[Ham1sh]

I wood first try mixing some of the teak sawdust with carpenter's glue and filling the gouges. When cured, sand and varnish as normal. If the gouges are limited to close to the plugs, you could drill out the area with a larger diameter Forstner-type drill bit and install larger plugs.

[sailingdog]

Morgan-

All good advice above...also, might want to show her how to remove plugs or do something next time you ask her. Many people don't know the best way to remove teak plugs doesn't involve gouging at the wood around them.

[Morgan3820]

Thanks for the advice All. I have previously saved some sawdust and will give it a try on some scrap

No, I did not abuse my wife and yes she is a keeper