I've been using marine spar varnish on teak for almost thirty years so far,
and while it takes a lot of maintenance it suits me. Here's how I do it.
Teak has a lot of natural oil in it, it's true, but this can be handled.
Before the first coat on unfinished teak, I wipe the wood down with acetone
on a rag to remove the surface oil. When you do this, you shouldn't flood
the wood with the acetone because that just brings up more oil from deeper
in the wood. Just a wipedown with a rag that's well-moistened with acetone
does the job.
As a base coat, I use a clear penetrating epoxy sealer, such as Smith's
CPES. It's a two-part epoxy with a watery consistency that's mixed 50-50. I
brush it into the wood with a good-quality disposable bristle brush, putting
it on wet-on-wet until the wood won't soak up any more. The epoxy has a
pretty long pot life, so as the wood begins to take up the epoxy I just put
the pot in the shade for ten or fifteen minutes and then go back and put on
the next coat. Keep this up until the whole surface of the wood stays shiny.
The next day, I use a hook scraper to scrape off any bristles that came out
of the brush and then sand the sealed wood lightly with 150-grit sandpaper.
Now it's ready for the first coat of varnish.
Use the best quality marine spar varnish you can find The higher the
proportion of ultra-violet inhibitors, the better. If you didn't use a
sealer as described above, you'd thin the first coat of varnish with mineral
spirits, about 25% or so. If you used a sealer you can put the first coat on
full-strength.
Keep putting coats of varnish on until you get up to at least six coats as a
bare minimum. Eight is better, ten is probably more than most people have
the patience for. It's certainly more than I have the patience for.
Once you have a good buildup, you need to maintain the finish. In a southern
climate such as Southern California, you'd re-varnish three times a year. In
northern climes such as Washington state, twice a year is probably enough.
Once you have a suitably thick build-up of coats, each time you refinish
you're trying to sand off just as much varnish as you're going to put back
on with fresh coats. For teak on a boat that lives on or near the sea, I
start out by scrubbing the varnished wood down with soap and water and
rinsing thoroughly to get rid of all dirt and salt. For the recoat, sand out
the wood with 150-grit paper, or 180-grit on the corners and rounded
surfaces. Clean it carefully and put on two new coats of full-strength
varnish. Between these coats, if they're applied on consecutive days,
there's no need to sand. I rub the first coat down with a fine 3M abrasive
pad to remove any dust that settled, and to dull the finish just enough so
that I can tell the difference between the previous coat and the
newly-applied second coat. (This procedure applies to the original build-up,
as well).
It sounds like a lot of work, and it is. The older I get, the less I look
forward to it, but I enjoy the finished product as much as I ever did. One
of these days I suppose I'll break down and go to paint instead of varnish,
but that day hasn't quite come yet.
Tom Dacon
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was told the other day that only an oil finish would be correct for
> teak on boats. Is this true??
> Mikey
Mon, Jun 28, 2004, 1:32am (EDT+4) [email protected] claims:
I was told the other day that only an oil finish would be correct for
teak on boats. Is this true??
Who told you that, an artiste? Or, an interior decorator?
In the Orient, I've seen any number of things made out of teak,
including boats, and painted. Of course, over there it's the equivalent
of pine, or poplar, here.
Me, as long as you're paying, I'd say put anything on it you damn
well pleased. But, based on what you'd probably pay for it, I don't
think I'd paint it. However, there are various finishes available
labeled for teak, on boats. Your money, your call. Personally, I
wouldn't listen long to anybody who's telling me only one thing is
"correct" for wood, or much of anything else.
JOAT
That the peope have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves
and the state.
- Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776
Oil finish.. the only correct thing? Not true!
If you wish to use varnish, be prepared to spend a lot of time maintaining
it. Even Marine Varnish (oil based) does not adhere very well to teak.
You can use teak oil (Watco makes an exterior teak oil) and have less
maintenance, but it will still require annual work to keep the oiled teak
looking good.
Marine supply stores (Boat US, West Marine) sell a product called Cetol. It
is a treatment for clean fresh teak that is similar to varnish but requires
a heck of a lot less maintenance. I use this on my boat and after the
initial 3 coats in the first year, its a matter of using 0000 bronze wool
and then applying one more coat each year.
Your final alternative is to do nothing and let the teak turn grey. Teak
has so much oil in it and is so weather resistant that you can just leave it
alone. We have a garden bench that is 12 years old and the only thing I do
is use a fine scotchbrite pad and Simple Green cleaner once a year.
Above all, never use a scrub brush on teak. It will scrub away the soft
wood and leave you with extremely rough wood that will gather dirt in the
pores created by scrubbing.
Happy sailing
Dustmaker
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was told the other day that only an oil finish would be correct for
> teak on boats. Is this true??
> Mikey
Mikey,
Define 'correct'.
It's more a factor of FUNCTION. In the days of 'Fighting Sail', one of the
sailors almost daily tasks was to 'Holystone' the decks. This was the
equivalent of sanding the Teak on a repeated basis. The only 'finish' was to
swab daily with seawater. {I won't go into the red paint around the guns, or
on the Gundeck}. Bear in mind, that at that time most of the sailors didn't
wear shoes, yet had to have a great deal of foot purchase. Hauling on
halyards to raise heavy canvas sails/spars, around the capstan, and heaving
tackle for guns.
While today this isn't so urgent, and Teak is a LOT harder to get, the same
sort of function still has a place. For the handholds on cabin tops, &
elsewhere, I would simply keep them clean for MAXIMUM grip. On my small
sailboats I initially oil them to saturation. Then, 'as needed'. Good grip,
yet some cosmetic protection. I do the same with hardware mounting blocks &
backing plates. If you can afford it, or the boat 'came that way', I'd
recommend oiling the decks as well.
For those areas of TRIM or 'Brightwork', {'non-handled' parts} I tend toward
a SPAR varnish. {Cetol has a number of Pros and Cons}. What ever you use
WILL BE 'slippery' when wet. ANY 'clear' finish {varnishes, Cetol, etc.}
WILL need periodic 'refreshing' to maintain that 'Bristol Fashion' look. How
often depends on degree of care and YOUR environment. As far as 'flaking'
goes, the major cause of that is improper or incomplete prep work.
{Actually, that same statement goes for a LOT of things !!}. Teak is an
'oily' wood - which is why there are 'complaints' about gluing it, as well
as finish problems. A accepted practice when using epoxy is to wipe it down
with Acetone, or Lacquer thinner, have it 'flash off', and immediately apply
the epoxy. I'd recommend the same thing for the first coat of varnish.
Also, for ANY varnish work - think in terms of at least 4 coats - I
typically use 6. Make them thin, this initial ones well diluted, and 'build'
the finish. Takes quite a bit of patience, but makes the long-term
maintenance easier.
Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop
{PS - to me it smacks of sacrilege, but paint {a couple of good coats}is the
ideal protective finish. Slippery, but great UV protection.}
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was told the other day that only an oil finish would be correct for
> teak on boats. Is this true??
> Mikey
On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 01:32:41 GMT, [email protected] scribbled:
>I was told the other day that only an oil finish would be correct for
>teak on boats. Is this true??
>Mikey
I just came back from a one-month sailing trip around Vancouver
Island. The owner of the sailboat used Teak Oil as his interior
finish. He will no longer do so. After doing the dishes the first
night out, the table ended up with rings from setting wet glasses on
it. The rings are still there.
Luigi
Replace "nonet" with "yukonomics" for real email address
www.yukonomics.ca/wooddorking/antifaq.html
www.yukonomics.ca/wooddorking/humour.html
<[email protected]> wrote in message
...
> I was told the other day that only an oil finish would be correct for
> teak on boats. Is this true??
> Mikey
Correct according to tradition? Perhaps.
Correct as it is the only way? The people at Sikkens, makers of Cetol
Marine finish will disagree with that. For less pigmentation of the finish
go with Marine Light.
Ed
[email protected]
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome