How do I refinish the wooden style rudder or daggerboard?
You can use 60 grit sandpaper to get the old finish off (make sure you get all of it). Don’t use the white ‘no-clog’ sandpaper for finish sanding – it’s coated with zinc stearate, and if stearate particles get onto the wood and you don’t get them all off, you’ll get “fish-eyes” in your varnish. It’s OK for removing old finishes, but sand afterwards with uncoated paper and wipe the blades down with mineral spirits or thinner before you start varnishing. Depending on the condition of the old finish, it may look blotchy when you get done because UV light darkens mahogany; this doesn’t hurt the wood, but if you find it objectionable, you can use a paste-type filler stain (like Interlux) to make it all the same color. Once you have all the old varnish off the blades, finish sand the whole thing with 100 grit and then 120 or 150. Don’t go any finer than 150 on bare wood. If you are going to stain, do it now. You will need about 8 coats of varnish on bare wood; that should hold up for years w
