teak bright work

[Bobg]

Last september I sanded my wood work and put 7 coats of Cetol Natural Teak, when I went up to the boat this spring, a large amount of it was gone, I tried putting a few coats on, but where it had faded off, I couldn't get the finish uniform, the faded areas were still light, compared to the non faded areas, I suppose I should have put a clear coat on as well, back to the sander again.

anyway, here is the question, does anyone know what catalina used on their boats when new?    My companion way doors have held their finish, as well as my cockpit table, I wonder what was put on them when new?  I will call catalina, but with the vast knowledge of this board I just wanted to throw it out there, Thank you

[mregan]

I used the same product about 3 years ago.  It's still going strong.  I did however use 3 coats of Cetol Marine Gloss over the Natural.  I think it protects the Natural somehow.  PM me your email address. I can email you an article Practical Sailor did a few years ago comparing different exterior varnishes.  It's too large to post.

[Clay Greene]

7 coats of Cetol seems like a lot. I put on three coats as a base and then a maintenance coat every year after light sanding.  It held up fine. Last year I did the gloss as the overcoat and it has lasted as well.

I doubt that Catalina put anything on the teak trim. Probably left it to the owner to decide whether to protect it or not.

[Mike Dervin]

Thanks to previous posts and suggestions I was able to remove the exterior teak from the boat. I have stripped all the old finish from the wood and I am presently completing the process of fine sanding it to get a smoother surface. I plan on applying multiple coats of natural cetol followed by a few coats of cetol gloss.  Does the bare teak require a stain before applying the finish? If so, does anyone have a suggestion as to what stain to use?

[mregan]

No stain needed.  Just 2-3 coats of the Natural Teak followed by 3-4 coats of the Gloss.   If you look on the cans I think it says 2 coats Natural and 3 coats Gloss.  I like to go one coat over on each.  Figure I'm getting a bit more protection.  I'm doing the same thing now.  You need to use both products together.  They are designed to work that way.

[Clay Greene]

That seems like a lot of coats of Cetol.  The more you put on, the less it is going to look like teak and more like Cetol.  I used three coats of Marine Natural followed by a single coat of Gloss.  It is not varnish - you don't need to sand between coats.  I used Gloss as the annual coat so more of that would build up over time. 

[mregan]

I don't find any color difference between 2 or 3 coats of the Natural or any difference between 2 or 4 coats of the gloss.  I pulled all the exterior teak off the boat last fall and have different pieces with different number of coats next to each other.  Once you get 2 coats of either product on, they look the same as the pieces with 3 or 4 coats.

Also, I think the can says at least 2 coats of each.

[TonyP]

I love Deks Olje ... but some teak should be left bare.
Tony

[Ron Hill]

Bobg : To answer your question on what Catalina used when the boats were new?  answer- NOTHING

When you sanded and then put on all of those coats and had it flake off, something was wrong!!  Teak is a naturally oily wood and here's what I do after sanding : 
1. I use a 50% solution of bleach and water on the teak to kill all the mold spores.
2. Then I re-sand to smooth the grain that raised and wipe down the teak with lacquer thinner to take any oil off the teak. 

I've never had any teak finish flake off, especially after 3 coats of the light and 1 coat of the gloss Cetol.

A few thoughts

[cheyne]

I have to agree with most of the replys regarding Cetol. I use 3 coats of natural then two coats of gloss and have had good results.

[Stu Jackson]

Ladies & Gentlemen,

The "natural" progression of "dealing with exterior teak" usually runs like this:

--- teak oil

or

--- Nothing

--- varnish

--- cetol

--- nothing

---teak oil or Semco

--- nothing

--- varnish

--- cetol

Repeat as necessary... :D:D

Nothing much has changed in the last 25 years about this subject...

[Noah]

Wood finishes are a very personal "thing". I throw my vote behind Epifanes Gloss Varnish: <http://www.epifanes.com> It has worked very well for me in the past on teak on several boats. Easy application (for a varnish) and has good UV protection.

[Andrew Harvey]

I gave up with Cetol. Started using a product called "Semco". It is very thin or watery,but after you strip and sand the teak it soaks right in.
Any faded areas can be easily touched up every year.
It is not glossy, giving the teak a natural look.

[Hawk]

I've used Signature Honey Teak from Tom in Florida. It is a two part and has some mixing involved,,,I have mal-mixed it once so rushing is to be avoided. You would have to sand to bare first but it comes up glossy and not that orangy colour. You have to watch it and typically apply the clear once a year. I've liked it.

Tom

[stevewitt1]

Hello All:

In my 38+ years of boating I've fought the teak battle like others, over and over.  Win some, lose some but seldom a draw. 

When I refitted my 31 Allmand I put all new teak handrails, toe rails, coaming box trim etc. on her.  All exterior teak I finished to Epifanes Tropical recommendations.  It all looked like it was encapsulated in glass.  Now, fearing Mother nature breathing over my shoulder, waiting to show me who's boss I had to act and act quick!
That's when I bought a Thomson Mini Walking foot sewing machine, a binder feeder, Sunbrella and matching binding.  I made sun covers for virtually all my exterior teak.  When I left the boat, covers went on.  The day I sold the boat all the teak looked like it was just finished.

Steve