A little disappointed :(

[Brian D]

Well I started working on my hatch boards. Purchased a heat gun last week and waited until today to start. I was hoping that the heat gun would lift the old varnish and leave me with bare wood. Was I expecting too much? I guess so.The heat gun lifted only the top layer of the varnish. It came off easily, but left a heavy film behind. When trying to lift that, it turned dark. So I thought that I burnt the wood. After several hours with the heat gun, I decided to go to HD and get some stripper. So one of two boards is stripped but it took about 6 hours to do. Totally disappointed. I can tell you though, I will not varnish these or any boards on my boat. Way too much work. I'll stick with oil.Disappointment over.

 

[Rick D]

Geesh, Brian...

...all that foreplay and no varnish?

 

[Brian D]

LOL!

Ah, man, I hate it when that happens. LOL

 

[novelman17128]

HATCH BOARDS

Brian,Consider leaving natural and lightly sanding about every 6 months. Let it grey out naturally like on my 22' Venture. It looks fine to me and much less work.Novelman

 

[Rick D]

Novelman:

Did you get to the Ensenada race start? Rick D.

 

[Mike]

Reducer

Ah the joys of bright work! To each his own but I took the orbital sander in hand one fine day, removed all coating to the bare teak and applied the recommended minimum of four coats of Cetol (Sikkens). Two years later some scratches but the Cetol looks like the day I did it. I have an enclosure which protects the hatch boards which I'm sure helps. As one contributor suggested let her go au naturel. The silver grey of weathered teak is attractive to many people and it holds up about as well as teak which is coated.Perhaps you should try varnishing cream and make up with the teak. LOLRegards

 

[Brian D]

What's the difference between...

Teak Oil and Cetol?

 

[Bill Roosa]

Cetol last 2 years and Teak oil last a few months

nm

 

[TJ-LJ Champion]

cross your fingers....

.....we're about to try the same. We've stripped hundreds of coats of varnish already using several methods. I had read the post about using a heat gun and was too hesitant about doing it that way. The teak we could remove from the boat came home and Zip Strip was used in an open ventented garage. It takes patience to first remove the varnish layer a PO put on and then another round getting off the factory layer. No matter how you do it time and patience is neccessary what ever the product or method.On the transom and interior I used the soy stripper without caustic fumes or burning skin, also very safe for the gel coat, it worked great! And you can literally wash it off with a rag/sponge and warm water. I've been doing the walls/trim (interior) by just scrapping with allot of leverage to peal the finish off.We too have been stumped by how to finish with protectant and decided to go Tung oil with a small amount of varnish mixed in. This way as the wood needs to be re-done it can get another coat right on top with just a light sanding prior to application.We haven't done it yet, but I'm confident this will work, I'll let you know how it goes.....Laurie

 

[Brian D]

Bill...

Can one apply Cetol over Teak Oil?Laurie, I still have the hatch frame and sliding hatch to do. Those are affixed to the boat so I will need a plan for that. Don't want to get too much gunk on the fiberglass. I'll finish up the last hatch board today. It should take less time not that I have a little more experience. Might even go down to WM and get a small can of Cetol and put it on the ensign staff I oiled last weekend.

 

[LancerDude]

LogBooks..

Whatever method you use or product please note it in your Maintainance Log Book..this will help the next owner when he has to come back work on it.I am currently stripping all the interior wood on my boat so I can start with a known,compatable finish to brighten up the interior surfaces.Outside is next but is obviously Cetol so no problem there.If I knew what was on the inside I'd be in alot better shape but previous owner cannot recall what he used after so many seasons.So,I strip. David

 

[Scott]

I profess ignorance ...

but why don't you just take an orbital sander and sand off the old finish? I did mine in about 15 minutes per board. To get it looking really nice, I progressed from 80 grit to 300. Why work with all the chemicals?I'm not looking for a factory finish, is that the deal? My 20+ year old boat looks pretty good but nobody is pretending she came out of the factory yesterday!

 

[Big Windy]

Cetol

Cetol is the most durable stuff out there...lasts for several years. After that, do a bit of sanding, put on 3/4 more coats...good for another couple of years.

 

[TJ-LJ Champion]

Just a suggestion Brian

Tj and I just came in from the garage where we were stripping and cutting more teak flooring. I read this post to him and he suggested you take off the hatch trim to re-finish it. Your boat is an 85', chances are (unless I'm wrong) the caulking hasn't been changed for a long time. The hatch could use re-slealing and this will make the hatch finish more uniformly without hurting the gelcoat. We had to remove the hatch trim to get the walls out the companionway,not enough room for them to be removed in one peice. Just pop the plugs using a dry wall screw with battery driver. The screw grabs onto the wood plug and pulls out easy. Then of course you can get to the inside screws to remove the trim. When doing this in reverse just get a few teak plugs pop over screw, cut flush, sand and finish. You may know all of this already and I'm sure it's more work than you bargained for but just a suggestion.....Good luck with the project!Laurie

 

[Sean]

Caution

Caution...... Sailing could be hazardous to your health.. Heh heh

 

[NautiDuck]

Starboard

Buy a piece of starboard and use your hatch boards as patterns to make new ones. Problem solved forever.

 

[Waffle]

Re:A little disappointed

Nothing works better that a plam sander and Cetol. NOTHING.. I have used them all! Stripper, oil, varnish. Never consider a heat gun, that is a new one to me.

 

[Waffle]

Re:Can one apply Cetol over Teak Oil?

sand it off first!