Strippin Isn’t all Fun and Games

Stripping is hard work!  For those of you who know what I’m talking about, you know that stripping is hard and not all fun and games.  NOW I know why people pay a great stripper, cause it’s long hours in the heat and has sucked the energy out of me big time.  

Now, for those of you with dirty minds who don’t know what I look like…you might think I’m talking about actual STRIPPERS or implying that I am a Stripper.  Nope, far from the truth.  I’m talking about the process it takes to get messed-up vanished wood all the way back down to just wood.  The process involves stripping it by hand with a blade and heat gun, then sanding it, cleaning it with acid and finally putting on a 50/50 layer of varnish and paint thinner as a priming layer.  Most of this process can’t be done in one day for larger teak areas (if you’re gonna do it right).  It’s an exhausting slow process.  Then if you’ve taken your teak all the way back down to raw wood…you’re supposed to put about 10 layers of varnish back onto the wood to get a build layer.  Between each layer, you’ve go to let it dry for 24-36 hours, so it’s a process.  Lastly, most folks put on a clear-coat layer that requires 1-3 coats, with 24 hours between coats.  Soooo, you want an older boat with lots of teak?  Think through it carefully or be prepared to pay.  Either way if you have a boat with teak…..you pay the price- either in cash or sweat equity, you’re gonna pay.  My wife retires in July with lots of friends and family coming into town, so I’ve told her I would get the brightwork (teak) and the rest of the curtains done before the parties.  But, since its nearly middle of June, I’m probably a bit behind.  The good news is that I’m about done with one of my last storage “sheds”…Minney’s run this week and the rest of the stuff either goes on the boat or goes to my parents for storage till we get back.  This is huge for us, as we’ve had the shed for the last three years and it’s time to give it up since we’re zeroing in on November.  We’re working hard to get prepped to leave; working on finding a mechanic to help with our oil leaks and working with a crack electronics specialist to get our long haul communications installed over the summer;  I’ve confident in our progress.  

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