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Chris:

I don't know how old your boat is, but here is what I think is happening based on my experience on Hull #450, 1994.

Teak is naturally dark but sunlight bleaches it in time to a light, honey color. In the thirteen years that passed before I bought my used boat, the interior had been bleached by sunlight to a MUCH lighter color. One could see this behind things such as cushions and fixtures screwed onto the bulkheads.

But the bleaching appeared to be shallow. This meant that when one sanded the varnish to the point of reaching the wood, the thin, light bleached surface would disappear and the darker, original wood would show. And while you certainly shouldn't, in my opinion, be using a machine to sand your interior varnish, ANY sanding will cause darkening if you break through that light colored film of bleached wood.

If this observation is true, it is complicated by the fact that outside varnish is usually replaced more often and is colored amber which makes it darker generally, so the difference doesn't show so much, and the wood in the head on my boat was oiled, which is darker as well. But Catalina appeared to use a clear (or nearly clear) water-based varnish on the inside teak bulkheads, which allowed the difference to show more than on the outside. So sanding through the varnish equals dark wood.

I know this doesn't actually solve your problem but frankly, based on my experience, I don't think it can be solved if you want it to go back to light unless you can find a VERY sophisticated teak bleach.

I know others will have something to say on this but that's my two cents worth...

Good luck.

James Collins