Time to redo my teak bright work for the first time. A couple questions from the collective knowledge pool. I have concerns about removing the trim not knowing how it has been fastened over the many years , has anyone experienced removing gel coat along with the trim? And I'm planning to use Cetol Marine ,teak or natural ? 3 coats or more ? And then re-bed with butyl tape? Best grit sequence for sanding?
Best way to refinish teak ?
- Thread starter C22BC
- Start date
That's how three coats of Cetol Marine looks, just for reference. Butyl tape will work great to bed it. As long as some yahoo didn't use 3M 5200 to bed it last time, you shouldn't have to worry about gel coat coming off.
Prep is key.
Sand to 220. Smooth all over. Then wash your wood parts with acetone and clean rags. Scrub with a soaked rag then discard. Grab new dry rag and repeat. Do this til no more color is coming off onto the rag.
You are removing surface oil with the acetone giving your finish a better bite.
When the acetone is flashed off, (3-5minutes only) move quickly to get first coat on. The oil-free surface will allow penetration into the wood.
I've used many products. I haven't really hated any. It's SO much personal preference.
For what you are doing the Sikkens Cetol products are great. I have a cedar bar in my garage that spent its first several years on my deck above my dock. The original Cetol coating is still great. The finish, while inside and indoors now is fully 13-years old. I want to tell you the first 4 years were outdoors, year-round.
These results are unexpected, as I would have thought I would need to touch it up already, but my results help support my adamant stance that proper surface prep is key:
When getting ready to apply any finish to teak, put the finish IN the wood, not ON the oil
Sand to 220. Smooth all over. Then wash your wood parts with acetone and clean rags. Scrub with a soaked rag then discard. Grab new dry rag and repeat. Do this til no more color is coming off onto the rag.
You are removing surface oil with the acetone giving your finish a better bite.
When the acetone is flashed off, (3-5minutes only) move quickly to get first coat on. The oil-free surface will allow penetration into the wood.
I've used many products. I haven't really hated any. It's SO much personal preference.
For what you are doing the Sikkens Cetol products are great. I have a cedar bar in my garage that spent its first several years on my deck above my dock. The original Cetol coating is still great. The finish, while inside and indoors now is fully 13-years old. I want to tell you the first 4 years were outdoors, year-round.
These results are unexpected, as I would have thought I would need to touch it up already, but my results help support my adamant stance that proper surface prep is key:
When getting ready to apply any finish to teak, put the finish IN the wood, not ON the oil
Nope, that's "marine" finish. A little darker than natural.
For comparison, I have stolen a partial pic of Hawk232's boat. These hatchboards are done in "natural" finish. (Hawk and I are friends, so he probably won't sue me ... and if he does, he'll at least settle out of court ... I think)
Cetol Marine Natural with 2 coats of gloss
Before
After
Bra-VO!! What a beautiful boat!
Just IMO, I am not a big fan of Cetol. Its not a BAD product by any means, it just does not stand up to UV over the long run as well as other varnishes. On the plus side, it is user friendly and forgiving to apply. But unless you want to re-apply every season I'd do more than three coats. How quickly it breaks down and requires a refresh coat depends on your climate, how much UV the teak soaks up, and how much you keep the top-sides covered when not in use.
My personal preference is gloss varnish, like Epifanes (great UV properties) and others like it. Some people don't care for gloss, and the first coats need to be thinned when applied to freshly sanded and cleaned teak. There is always the method of applying two coats of epoxy first and you can spray the varnish as well.... this is the way the pros do it, especially when you go through the effort of removing all the teak from the boat to varnish and then re-bed.
My personal preference is gloss varnish, like Epifanes (great UV properties) and others like it. Some people don't care for gloss, and the first coats need to be thinned when applied to freshly sanded and cleaned teak. There is always the method of applying two coats of epoxy first and you can spray the varnish as well.... this is the way the pros do it, especially when you go through the effort of removing all the teak from the boat to varnish and then re-bed.
Have to concur with CD on cetol. Dealt with acres of teak on my IP32 for 10 years and 2 years was about max lifespan on Chesapeake Bay. As with all finishes if moisture gets underneath it's coming off. That's one advantage of the C22 is most of the pieces come off the boat easily so you can seal everything on all sides. I just finished all of the pieces on mine and chose to take a chance on Jamestown Distributor's TotalBoat Lust varnish. I can't yet speak for longevity but application was the best experience I've had. The 24 hour wait period on cetol always meant I rarely did more than 3 coats. Lust lets you recoat within a couple hours and sanding is not required ( though I did a few times.) I was able to get 8 coats on in a weekend and the results are really nice deep gloss - I need to take some pics. ( hat tip to stingy sailor for his trick of supporting the parts on little legs)
Every Cetol job I have done has gone at least 5 years, and as shared, one is going on 15. I'm not discounting your experiences in your situation, but share I have had great luck with Cetol. GREAT luck.
Maybe it's my prep work...
On my original C-22, I saturated all the exterior teak with WEST epoxy, then sanded it smooth, and gave a smooth coat. Lightly sanded the epoxy and applied several coats of varnish to give it UV protection. It would look beautiful for a couple years, then a light sanding and a couple fresh coats of varnish would bring it back. But now it's white plastic and stainless steel for me, but bless you guys with the pretty bright work!
Don
Don
Don, I totally agree with you on the white plastic and the stainless steel. Let's hear it for Starboard! With all maintenance there is to do on a boat, and how much of it gets deferred, it baffles me as to why people insist on having pieces of wood tacked on a perfectly good, low-maintenance fiberglass exterior.
Compounding that foolishness, they choose the most inappropriate exterior finish...transparent. If I was tasked with formulating the least durable finish, I would certainly make it transparent. Just let the UV in and let it dance around a little, and turn the finish to dust.
The only exterior teak on my Catalina 28 is the hatch boards, and I painted those with gray house paint. Looks great.
If I really want to see wood grain, all I have to do is go down the companionway steps. The cabin's full of the stuff. I'm currently in the process of refinishing the 20 year old finish in the cabin. Now, that's an acceptable lifespan, thanks to it's being protected from the elements. After 20 years it's only slightly degraded and just needs a light sanding and another coat of water based clear stuff.
Yeah, I get the aesthetic value of exterior teak. I grew up in the pre-fiberglass era, and can appreciate the look of varnish on mahogany or teak. But, not enough to be a slave to it.
So much for my unsolicited rant. Still, the point I would make to C22BC would be to spend the time wasted on refinishing your existing teak on replacing it piece by piece with plastic and stainless steel. Once done, you'll never spend another minute on it.
Anybody want to buy a full set of C-22 exterior teak? Mine is all off the boat, most of it has been sanded and coated with West System epoxy, just not varnished yet... I am 99% sure that I am going with a complete set of Starboard replacements from Catalina Direct.
