Speedboy
02-26-2005, 09:20 PM
Here are some photo's showing how I am going about installing 1/8" thick Teak flooring onto the 1/2" Okoume plywood floorboards in the Rascal Runabout. Between the front of the seat and the dashboard there is very little floor showing (about 24" long), so I figured it would look better than rubber matting if I attempted to install teak using the The Gougeoun Brothers method described in their boat construction manual. There happened to be a cutoff piece of teak lying in the bargain bin at the local lumber yard (24" x 10" x 1.5"), so I had them cut it into 1/8" thick strips 1.5" wide (edge grained). Unfortunately, this pretty much destroyed their bandsaw blade. :rolleyes: Note that it is not recommended to go greater than 3/16" thick for this type of teak veneer deck, because of excessive expansion and contraction forces in the teak. Anyway, here are the photo's showing the steps:
Step 1: 2 coats of West system on the 1/2" Okoume floorboard
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/p7d9689e0c12bf9d7a28de3b9ba627a23/f4ffc047.jpg
Step 2: Pre-cut Teak pieces to desired shape
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/p1f2a71431f4e23aae8087bc8323ec155/f4ffbf4f.jpg
Step 3: Masked top side of each teak strip to minimize epoxy cleanup.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/pa260d0874eae057c8ef14429ae7fc523/f4ffbf4c.jpg
Step 4: Cleaned bottom side of each teak strip with Acetone and wait 15 to 30 minutes for evaporation (no photo)
Step 5: Mixed up West System 404 High Density filler with West system epoxy and then added small amount of 423 graphite powder (5 to 10% by volume)to color the resin. Mixed to consistency of heavy syrup. Spread onto okoume plywood (previously sanded with 60 grit and washed clean). Installed teak strips using 2 ea. 18 gauge brads 3/4" long partially installed so they could be easily removed after epoxy cured. Used tongue depressors to create 3/32" space between each strip.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/pc0b30c1605f199a80a89fa9f827e6ed6/f4ffbf50.jpg
Step 6: After all teak strips were bonded down and temporarily held in place with brads, I created a mixture of epoxy, 410 colliodal silica and 423 graphite to the consistency of peanut butter. This was used to fill in the space between the teak strips. Smoothed epoxy with curved end of tongue depressor to create slight concavity in epoxy (hopefully will minimize work in sanding). At this point I removed the masking tape before it all started to set up.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/pd190bb6beee26d90efdfbd45db783a73/f4ffbf51.jpg
Step 7: After the epoxy is cured, remove the brads and sand with 80 grit. The photo below is before sanding.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/pdc345d146061645f943bbe4de23d5bf3/f4ffbf52.jpg
Note that I have not yet sanded. I will send more pictures of the finished floor. I am hoping this teak will age to the beautiful light gray that I have seen on other boats.
Speedboy
Step 1: 2 coats of West system on the 1/2" Okoume floorboard
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/p7d9689e0c12bf9d7a28de3b9ba627a23/f4ffc047.jpg
Step 2: Pre-cut Teak pieces to desired shape
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/p1f2a71431f4e23aae8087bc8323ec155/f4ffbf4f.jpg
Step 3: Masked top side of each teak strip to minimize epoxy cleanup.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/pa260d0874eae057c8ef14429ae7fc523/f4ffbf4c.jpg
Step 4: Cleaned bottom side of each teak strip with Acetone and wait 15 to 30 minutes for evaporation (no photo)
Step 5: Mixed up West System 404 High Density filler with West system epoxy and then added small amount of 423 graphite powder (5 to 10% by volume)to color the resin. Mixed to consistency of heavy syrup. Spread onto okoume plywood (previously sanded with 60 grit and washed clean). Installed teak strips using 2 ea. 18 gauge brads 3/4" long partially installed so they could be easily removed after epoxy cured. Used tongue depressors to create 3/32" space between each strip.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/pc0b30c1605f199a80a89fa9f827e6ed6/f4ffbf50.jpg
Step 6: After all teak strips were bonded down and temporarily held in place with brads, I created a mixture of epoxy, 410 colliodal silica and 423 graphite to the consistency of peanut butter. This was used to fill in the space between the teak strips. Smoothed epoxy with curved end of tongue depressor to create slight concavity in epoxy (hopefully will minimize work in sanding). At this point I removed the masking tape before it all started to set up.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/pd190bb6beee26d90efdfbd45db783a73/f4ffbf51.jpg
Step 7: After the epoxy is cured, remove the brads and sand with 80 grit. The photo below is before sanding.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/pdc345d146061645f943bbe4de23d5bf3/f4ffbf52.jpg
Note that I have not yet sanded. I will send more pictures of the finished floor. I am hoping this teak will age to the beautiful light gray that I have seen on other boats.
Speedboy