[Rhodes22-list] True confessions........topic: woodwork.

[Jay Friedland]

Rummy-
I must be the fool in the group. Not only did I get the last boat Stan 
swore he would do with wood trim, but I added teak toe rails the full 
length, except for midship cleat track. My ladder also has teak rungs, 
but I also would always rather sail than maintain.

I originally tried Cetol, after oils,etc. but found although it held 
the season, it didn't look natural-too orange. The spin-off company 
Armada, has their version-I use the Satin Wood finish, which is more 
brown, looks greenish grey in the can. It is much closer to teak's 
natural appearance. I've used it 6 years with minimum touch-up during 
my 8-9 month season of exposure, only where chafing hits, etc. I've 
never taken the wood back to bare and unless there's any moisture or 
natural oil underneath, one or two coats is it with minimal or no 
sanding. Touch ups are easy to blend in, the grain shows through 
significantly even though it's a pigment base, which is the UV 
protection. Like all urethanes, it levels easily, and inexpensive foam 
brushes work well.

I absolutely love varnish, and I use the Z-spar Captain's Varnish on 
the tiller with 8-12 coats over West epoxy to seal it (also makes it 
less subject to cracking from stress). But in our neck, I would never 
try this outdoors. I actually use a standing garment bag as a drying 
enclosure. What type of spar varnish did you use? If it works, is easy 
to apply with good drying conditions, that would be my best choice. 
Most people don't recommend it on teak because of these factors, plus 
teak needs to be absolutely stripped of any internal oils with acetone 
so coatings don't lift, plus touch-ups are a bitch.

Practical Sailors this month changed their focus on testing coatings to 
best within types because appearance was most people's criteria for 
what they used, with longevity and ease of application after that. My 
stuff isn't listed, but hey, that's PS-they have representative 
products, and used Armada's MC2000 Synthetic, a sealer.
Jay



On Friday, March 7, 2003, at 02:07 PM, John Tonjes wrote:

> About two years ago we were all discussing our different methods of 
> taking
> care of the teak trim and our favorite brands. Some used the 
> traditional
> teak oil method while others opted for the cetol. I on the other hand 
> chose
> to use the WM version of cetol in gloss. I am happy to report that the
> product is a complete bust. After carefully preparing the wood I 
> applied
> three layers with tender loving care. In less than a year more than 
> 50% of
> the product had come off and needed refinishing, but being one that 
> would
> rather sail than work on the boat I waited another year.
> I have sanded back down to the original teak and this year I'm putting 
> four
> coats of Spar Varnish on it. Last year I replaced the kick plate in the
> cockpit with a piece of teak that I finished with varnish and after 
> one year
> it looks great.
> I know everyone says not to varnish teak, but it looks great and so 
> far has
> held up very well. The varnish I am using has ten times the UV 
> protection
> that standard varnish has, so that might explain why it's holding up.
> I was just wondering how the other products are doing that were used?
>
> Rummy
>
>
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