TOPIC: '57 MFG Cambridge 15 footer

She is all wood from the gunnels up and interior. I have removed all of the old varnish and getting ready to varnish her back to life. There is some weathered gray on the bow deck. I've bleached the deck as best as I could. Filled in the gouges with a slightly lighter filler. My question is, should I stain the wood first or just lay several coats of amber varnish (Petite Flagship). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Post some pics if you can please. If you want it natural then just varnish but if you want to change the color some and cover the filler you used. I would use a filler stain then once it's dry start putting varnish on her.
This is my Wagemaker after using Chris Craft color filler stain and 12 coats of Epifanes varnish.


Bob

I agree with Waterwings. I have a '59 Thompson. You will get a much smoother finish by using a filler stain. I know Interlux makes one, along with some other brands that are available. The stain will give you a much richer color and the filler in the stain will fill the wood grain and give you a smoother finish without having to put on as many coats of varnish.
Good luck, and we like pictures!!
Bill

Wow, both boats look great. I did try to post some photos when I joined the site. I was only able to get my photo on my personal page. I will try again. Thank you both for your advise. If I can get "Sea Vette" to look half as good as your boats, I will be very happy. The name is based on MFG's history of making the Corvette bodies for GM back in the '50s. Should work out here in Calif. Thanks again

You might have to reduce the size of your pictures to get them to work.
Bill

I went with the Chris Craft stain and extremely happy with the color. I've laid down two coats with more to go til I get the glass look. Still trying to reduce my photos but just can't get them to transfer to my messages. When I first joined I was able to downsize my personal photo to my bio with no problem. Oh well, back to the boat. Thought I might as well replace the impeller on the '93 Johnson. After figuring out how to separate the shift linkage all went well. I should replace the thermostat too. Thanks for the tip on the Chris Craft color to hide the weathered deck areas.

Glad it worked out. Would still love to see the pics. Have you tried using Microsoft Paint and saving them as jpegs? That's how I do it and it seems to work fine.

Good call on the impellor.

Bob