Brightwork: The Art of Finishing Wood

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Item # MH-86576  ISBN: 9780071486576

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Few things transform a boat into a yacht quite as gracefully as the incomparable look and texture of oiled, varnished, and bare wood surfaces. Whether the spars and cabin trunk of a wooden Alden schooner, the mirror-smooth foredeck of a Huckins motoryacht, the thwarts and oars of a Whitehall dinghy, or the teak decks and trim of a production fiberglass boat, brightwork is the crowning touch that elevates one boat in an anchorage above the rest.

But it is also its owner's care and responsibility. There's no mystery to brightwork, but it's a finicky and time-consuming process, one that rewards orderliness and forethought and is unforgiving of missteps. Drawing on more than 10 years' experience as a brightwork specialist, Rebecca Wittman provides in this book all the information you need to avoid frustrations and costly mistakes and derive the greatest possible satisfaction from a process that can be its own reward.

She answers such questions as:

• What are the symptoms of a deteriorating finish, and what clues does each provide to its source and cure?
• When can chipped, flaking, cracked, or blackened varnish be patched, and when must it be removed to bare wood for an entirely new finish?
• Which woods can be left bare?
• In preparing wood for a finish it is really necessary to sand through all the grits from coarse to fine? (It isn't.)
• When, if ever, is it advisable to use an oil finish on exterior surfaces?

Ms. Wittman has strong opinions. She favors foam brushes over expensive, badger-hair brushes, which achieve no better results and must be cleaned after each use with toxic solvents. She uses chemical strippers only on detailed or convoluted surfaces that a heat gun can't master. And she has clear preferences for certain varnishes and oils over others.

Her writing is meticulously thorough, yet graceful and entertaining. Brightwork is both a reference guide and a celebration of the art.

The techniques she describes will produce the highest-quality finishes on furniture in the home, as well.

Table of Contents

Preface | How to use this book

Part One: An Introduction

• Chapter 1. The Heart of It: Making a commitment
• Chapter 2. Sad and Sorry Brightwork: A cautionary note for new boatowners
• Chapter 3. Choosing Finishes: Understanding your woods and how to dress them
• Chapter 4. About Varnish: The history of varnish, and how it is made

Part Two: The Refinishing Program

Chapter 5. The Yacht Refinishing Commandments: A basic set of precepts for the dedicated refinisher
• Chapter 6. Organizing Your Brightwork Thoughts: Planning the work, reading the weather, shopping for what you'll need, and preparing the boat
• Chapter 7. Stripping Old Finishes: Bleaching off oil finishes, and using heat guns, chemical strippers, scraping, and sanding to remove old varnish
• Chapter 8. Intermediate Prep Work: Sanding stripped wood, bleaching out stains, cleaning the surfaces
• Chapter 9. The Varnishing Prelude: Pastewood fillers, stains, and sealers
• Chapter 10. Oiling: As an exterior or interior finish, and as a method of sealing wood before varnishing
• Chapter 11. Varnishing: Instructions for interior and exterior varnishing, varnishing failures and their causes
• Chapter 12. Maintaining and Repairing Varnish: Protecting your beautiful finish, setting up a maintenance schedule, the varnish first-aid kit, determining when to refresh and when to strip again
• Chapter 13. Two Special Brightwork Projects: Spars and cabin soles
• Chapter 14. Rescuing Teak Decks: How to bring them back to life
• Chapter 15. Dockside Refinishing Etiquette: Rules for getting along on the dock

Part Three: Tools and Materials

• Chapter 16. Tools: What works best for the job
• Chapter 17. Materials: Stocking up on what you'll need, with recommendations for the best products

Appendix I. Safety for the Refinisher: How to ensure your own safety, and that of the environment | Appendix II. The Brightwork Refinisher's Dictionary: From "abrasive" to "Ziploc" | Conclusion: A Brightwork Junkie's Philosophy | Bibliography | Index | Photo Credits

"A first class and highly readable text that should be mandatory reading for anyone who owns or is contemplating owning a wooden vessel."—Sailing

"It's elegant--elegant as the work it describes so successfully, elegant in its writing, elegant in its photography, and elegant physically as a volume."—SAIL

"Brightwork provides all the information you need to avoid frustrations and costly mistakes and derive the greatest satisfaction from a process that can be its own reward."—A Cruising World "Editor's Choice"

About the Author

Rebecca Wittman cofounded a custom yacht refinishing company, The Teak Twins, in 1978. Since that time she has refinished countless boats in Seattle, Washington, and Marina del Rey, California, and has taught seminars on brightworks at Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats. See The Brightwork Companion for additional wood finishing tips.

Brightwork: The Art of Finishing Wood