Just When You Think You Know What You’re Doing…

Awlwood Red stain bleed results in dark bumps that must be sanded away.

You find out there’s more to know.

Well, that’s often the case here at Ashley River Boatworks, anyway.  In my last post, I talked about making a test strip to decide what stain and finish options to use in the Palm Beach 22 runabout we’re building.  I wanted to test some conventional oil based stains next to a new staining system by Awlgrip that I used on a previous project–a restoration of a 1949 Chris Craft runabout. Continue reading “Just When You Think You Know What You’re Doing…”

Varnishing the 1949 Chris Craft 17 ft Deluxe Runabout

Stern view after 3 coats of conventional varnish
Stern view after 3 coats of conventional varnish

Staining is just preparation for varnishing.  We talked about staining recently here.  Now it’s time for a bit of strategizing.  We’re anticipating about 6 coats of conventional varnish (Interlux Schooner 96) and then about 8-10 coats of AwlWood MA Gloss over that.  When you’re talking about that many coats, spraying is the way to go. Continue reading “Varnishing the 1949 Chris Craft 17 ft Deluxe Runabout”

Finishing the Dashboard

It’s easier to populate the dash and do preliminary wiring on the bench than in the boat.  I’m all about easier!
It’s easier to populate the dash and do preliminary wiring on the bench than in the boat. I’m all about easier!

We talked about patching some rotten wood in the dashboard of a 1949 Chris Craft 17 ft. Deluxe Runabout in an earlier post here.  Once we got the staining done, the next step was to lay on a bunch of varnish.  In our case, it took about 5 coats of Interlux Schooner 96 to seal in the stain.  Then we added about 8 coats of AwlWood MA urethane on top of that to get a really nice, deep gloss.  This is the scheme I plan to use for finishing the topsides of the boat as well.  The AwlWood is a new product for the U.S.  It’s been available in New Zealand for a few seasons, and has held up well there. Continue reading “Finishing the Dashboard”