I have spent many months purposefully dithering over what to do about protecting the long neglected bulwarks, coamings, boomken, and all the other exposed timber adorning Adventure.
I have read many postings on various web forums, each extolling the virtues of their favourite varnishing system, varnish, oil etc, but finally I focused on Deks Olje No.1 and No.2.
These products from the Flood Paint company in Australia are designed to both impregnate and cover.
The No.1 is a thin mixture of oils and solvents applied wet on wet continuously, until the wood simply won't take any more.
The wood having been fully impregnated, it is left for three days to dry and seal.
I sanded all the timber down with the recommended sanding grit being nothing finer than 100 grit - the theory being that anything finer will close the pores in the wood and prevent penetration.
I was a little startled by how dark the No.1 made the Honduras mahogany of the bulwarks.
It went almost black in places and I was horrified at the dramatic change in colour, thinking
I had spoiled the whole job.
Later however the true rich colour of the mahogany came through as the topcoats were applied...
A light scuff sanding with 400 grit sandpaper prepares for the topcoats.
The top coats are applied one per day and the recommended procedure is to sand lightly with 600 grit between coats 5 and 6.I however sanded lightly before applying each coat in order to ensure the maximum adhesion.
As each topcoat went on, the transparency and richness of the finish increased.
Hopefully these 6 finishing coats will endure even the harsh conditions of a Dubai summer -temperatures commonly reaching close to 50º C, and I'll have only to scuff and once and apply a single top coat in Autumn to keep ahead of the game.
The photographs show the hatches missing - these have been removed so that I can work on them indoors, away from the 45 degree heat and humidity... ;-)
