Thread: Huon Pine Boat Deck - How do I Restore

The old caulking needs to be "reefed" out. This means you'll make a tool called a reefing hook. A rat tailed file's spike (the part that goes in the handle) can be heated and bent to nearly 90 degrees, which will make a fine reefing hook. Drag this hook through the seams, removing and breaking up the seam compound.

Once fairly reefed out, go back with 80 - 100 grit paper and clean the seams. Now, you can prep for new seam compound, assuming you've pounded in caulk.

The deck is best if scraped instead of sanded. Sanding leaves the surface fuzzy, but if scraped, with a sharp blade, the wood fibers are sheared clean which leaves the wood much better to holding a finish and it's much more attractive too. You can use oxalic acid to remove some of the graying, but it's difficult to get a uniform affect. Scraping will remove the graying completely, though you are abating the surface.

The only finish you should use on a deck like this is a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and tung oil. Don't be tempted to use linseed oil as it will just turn gray, then a dark gray/black with UV exposure. For every gallon of oil mixture you make up, add a couple ounces of Japan Drier so you don't have to wait a couple of weeks for it to dry. The Japan Drier should be in the last coat or two, not all of them

Initial oil coats on freshly prepped wood can be tedious. The wood can only accept some much oil at a time, so you apply thinned coats at first, say 2 coats at 70% mineral spirits, 30% tung oil. Let this "flash off" ( takes a few hours at least) then apply more, say two at 60/40, then more at 50/50, until the wood stops sucking in oil and develops a sheen all over. You'll be able to tell when you're close as some shinny spots will remain from previous coats. This is when the drier goes in the mix.