New gauges and some beautiful mahogany (tutorial)

[natemoore]

I used the old whatchamacallit (bezel?) as a template for drilling the new holes and cutting to size.

 

[natemoore]

I used this water-based grain filler back when I had time to build guitars. Mahogany is very porous, and if you don't fill the grain it will be very textured.

 

[natemoore]

Apply with a brush, wait five minutes, then scrape off the excess at a 45 degree angle to the grain.

 

[natemoore]

I sanded down with 500 grit, sprayed three or four coats of conversion varnish sealer, wet sanded with 400 grit paper using VM&P Naptha as a lubricant, applied medium brown aniline dye until I got the color I liked, sprayed three or four more coats, wet sanded again until I was happy with the smoothness. I'm not being as picky as I would with a guitar, where you have to repeat this process many times before you get an absolutely glasslike finish. So there are some pores showing through. I know this is time consuming, but I'm doing other things on the boat while I'm waiting for the sealer to cure (30 minutes).







Conversion varnish isn't readily available to most of you, but since I'm a cabinet guy, I've got a gallon or two of this stuff in my cabinet. It's probably not an ideal coating for a boat either since it's probably lacking in UV protection, but I've done my own experiments with it, like leaving a door coated with conversion varnish exposed to direct sunlight for a couple of months with no visible signs of deterioration. So with my boat sitting under a shed covered with a boat cover, I expect this to last a long time.

You can wet sand polyurethane too, and I'm sure that epoxy systems are the best method, but I'm just using what I've already got in my shop.

 

[natemoore]

I'm ready for gloss conversion varnish topcoat, but I've got a couple other pieces I'm working on, so I'll finish those and post pictures later.

 

[Woodonglass]

Nate you did a nice job on your dash panel. I been messin with wood for 40+ years. Here's a little tip on how to fill the Pores of Mahogany prior to your finish. Hand Sand it with 150 grit and leave the dust then dilute some tung oil or boiled linseed oil 50% with some mineral spirits and make a slurry with the dust and wipe the surface with the slurry @ a 45 degree angle. Do this a couple of times and the pours will be filled nicely with the natural filler. Works great. Only draw back is it takes a couple of days to dry. Doesn't effect staining in fact it helps keep it more uniform and less blotchy. You can use water to make your slurry too, but it will raise the grain of some woods and unless you use distilled water you run the risk of the minerals in the water staining the wood a bit. The oil may darken the wood a bit as well so there is that issue as well, but thinning it with the MS lessens that quite a bit.

 

[natemoore]

Nate you did a nice job on your dash panel. I been messin with wood for 40+ years. Here's a little tip on how to fill the Pores of Mahogany prior to your finish. Hand Sand it with 150 grit and leave the dust then dilute some tung oil or boiled linseed oil 50% with some mineral spirits and make a slurry with the dust and wipe the surface with the slurry @ a 45 degree angle. Do this a couple of times and the pours will be filled nicely with the natural filler. Works great. Only draw back is it takes a couple of days to dry. Doesn't effect staining in fact it helps keep it more uniform and less blotchy. You can use water to make your slurry too, but it will raise the grain of some woods and unless you use distilled water you run the risk of the minerals in the water staining the wood a bit. The oil may darken the wood a bit as well so there is that issue as well, but thinning it with the MS lessens that quite a bit.

That sounds like a good technique, but the drying time of those oil finishes is a show stopper for me. I'm too impatient. I need that five minute drying time on the filler, and 30 minute cure time on the varnish, otherwise my piddling slows down to a crawl. ;-)

 

[25thmustang]

The wood looks very nice! I'm a sucker for glossy mahogany or teak on a boat!

 

[natemoore]

I used the other half of the resawn board to make this storage compartment cover. There's still some small pores telegraphing through the finish, but overall it looks good, and so much better than the oxidized/weathered aluminum cover.

 

[natemoore]

Here's the finished dashboard cover for the switches and fuses. UPS just arrived. I hope it's my new switches/fuses from the iboats store.

 

[natemoore]

This is the cover for the live well/ice chest compartment. It's made of teak. I know teak is oily, and I gave it a good bath with acetone before I started the finishing. It stained darker than the mahogany, but is still nice looking. Beautiful grain. If it peels off, I'll make a new one out of mahogany. Otherwise, call this cosmetic upgrade done!

 

[25thmustang]

Get them all mounted on the boat and take some photos. Looks good!

 

[natemoore]

Get them all mounted on the boat and take some photos. Looks good!

Yep. Will do. Switches/fuses came in today. Just need that new helm and steering cable which should arrive tomorrow.

Now I just need to revive this old thread and complete my boat upholstery, install new carpet, then I'll have a brand new boat.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...reupholstering-of-boat-seats-captain-s-chairs

 

[natemoore]

Got it all put back together, including new helm and steering cable.

 

[25thmustang]

Looks classy! Very nice.

 

[natemoore]

Looks classy! Very nice.

Thanks. I tried for a couple of hours to hand paint the switch labels in gold paint with a tiny modeling brush, using what looks like architectural lettering. I'd do two or three really nice looking letters, then mess up one. Wipe off, repeat, about a dozen times. Finally gave up.

I ordered some clear inkjet waterslide decal paper. We'll see how that works.