winter project - dash restore
 

Well I have been working on a couple of projects over the winter and I am finally finished; I was able to launch the boat for the first time this year last weekend. I thought I would share the work from start to finish with a few pictures of the project. Here are the "before" pictures of the dash. 33 years of grime! Note, the picture on the right was the most recent "before" photo, the other two were as purchased a few years ago (just a different tach).

Here, I've removed the windshield and the gauges. You can really see how the teak is in need of refinishing.....also, at this point I have removed all of the seam seal between each of the teak pieces. I purchased a special hook blade for one of those multi-master tools - it worked great. Also have the deck masked off and plastic down in prep for stripping..

the cleaning begins....
 

I used a two part liquid teak cleaner/neutralizer, scrub brush, and water. Notice how dirty the water is in the bucket....I had to go through 10 of these! I did this step twice just to be sure it was clean.

onward - sanding
 

First 180 then repeat with 220. The same multi-tool used to remove the seam seal worked great for sanding. Vac'd as I went, then wiped with acetone.

now the fun begins - masking
 

I think I was seeing cross-eyed after putting all this tape down in prep for new seam seal.

and I thought the cleaning was messy - WRONG
 

Before the seam seal went in, I taped the bottom of each groove so the seal would only stick to the sides of the groove. I read this needed to be done so the seal wouldn't pull away from the side wall if it flexed - who knows? Here I apply the seam seal. I couldn't go too far before I peeled off the tape - it had to set just enough, but not too much.

sealer.....or should I say oil
 

After the seam seal cured, I did some research and calling around talking to "experts" I decided to use a teak sealer to finish the wood....well, needless to say, I did not like how it turned out at all. I ended up stripping it off and re-sanding the whole dash. Ugh. Luckily, the seam seal was sandable and I did not have to re-do it. I went back to using tried and true teak oil that I had used on numerous projects before this with great results. It laid down evenly, and buffed out to a nice satin finish.

Looks excellent. That had to be time consuming.

gauges
 

While all the wood restoration was going on, I had all the gauge pods stripped and polished to a chrome finish. I was also able to squeeze in a couple of extra gauges - GPS and oil temp. I went with white faced Livorsi gauges with polished rim. Also ended up making my own toggle switch holder that went into a polished old school Merc hooded gauge bezel to match the ignition key and trim bezels (which I also polished out). Keep your eye on the dash trim switch....I didn't like how it looked out of place so I fixed it; you will see in later pictures.

finishing up....
 

Put the windshield on after my Dad re-did the plexiglass (tinted it darker - real pain that took him forever!). Also built a matching teak "lower" dash that holds the radio and depth gauge (mounted in matching polished hooded bezel). Last three shots are after launch (notice matching dash trim switch now). I'm real happy with how it turned out.