I have a lot of teak, and spent a lot of time this summer taking it down to bare wood. I bought some Bristol Finish at the Newport Boat Show yesterday. I'm a bit nervous about committing to a new product after being a Cetol user for many years. I looked through the archives and found about 10 posts, largely positive, but the lastest was a year ago, and nobody had had it on their teak for very long. Before I start to do my caprail etc., has anybody any updates on the long term performance of Bristol Finish? It sure looked good at the Boat Show... Derek
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Interesting Product!
Sorry, no experience with this product. Actually, never heard of it before but their web site makes it looks interesting. If it doesn't work out I wonder if you can varnish over the top of what you have without having to remove it?
Sorry, no experience with this product. Actually, never heard of it before but their web site makes it looks interesting. If it doesn't work out I wonder if you can varnish over the top of what you have without having to remove it?
Why would I switch? A good question.
Stu, I have generally been happy with Cetol, especially its low maintenance (relative to earlier products). I was thinking of using the Cetol gloss this year, but I heard stories that the gloss coat tends to peel and requires more maintenance. The claims from Bristol Finish are that it is much tougher and abrasion and u/v resistant than Cetol, and that here in the northeast we might expect 3-4 years between touch-ups. I am looking for the gloss varnish look and this product looked much more like normal spar varnish than Cetol. So I purchased a quart (with the boat show discount)... apparently good for 6 coats of 40 sq. ft. Derek
Stu, I have generally been happy with Cetol, especially its low maintenance (relative to earlier products). I was thinking of using the Cetol gloss this year, but I heard stories that the gloss coat tends to peel and requires more maintenance. The claims from Bristol Finish are that it is much tougher and abrasion and u/v resistant than Cetol, and that here in the northeast we might expect 3-4 years between touch-ups. I am looking for the gloss varnish look and this product looked much more like normal spar varnish than Cetol. So I purchased a quart (with the boat show discount)... apparently good for 6 coats of 40 sq. ft. Derek
Bristol
I know someone who's had it on for a couple of years now & is very happy with it. That's second hand of course, but better than nothing! BTW, I do believe you can varnish over Bristol but can't Bristol over varnish. Good luck - anything's better than Cetol!! ;-) LaDonna
I know someone who's had it on for a couple of years now & is very happy with it. That's second hand of course, but better than nothing! BTW, I do believe you can varnish over Bristol but can't Bristol over varnish. Good luck - anything's better than Cetol!! ;-) LaDonna
LaDonna - what's wrong with Cetol?
I haven't used but 2 products (5yrs) and like Cetol, but I'm always interested in improving what I have. Why is "anything better than Cetol"? Joe
I haven't used but 2 products (5yrs) and like Cetol, but I'm always interested in improving what I have. Why is "anything better than Cetol"? Joe
I have been using it for two years now
Derek, I have been pretty happy with Bristol Finish. It is basically about as much work as varnish, except you can get many more coats down in one day. The key is surface prep and getting full coverage. I did my hand rails two years ago and now is just starting to break down. I have some small bare spots. I generally redo the finish every year. I sand down the old stuff, put down about four coats, and let it dry. Then I come back the next day, give it a light sanding to smooth it out, and put down another three or four coats. That generally lasts one to two seasons, but at the end of the second season I defintely need to renew the finish. It looks great when applied, just like varnish, and seems pretty strong. I walk over the rails all the time and they have not worn down dur to that. My hatch boards take a lot of abuse and all they show are some surface scratches. Good luck, Les Murray s/v Ceilidh '86 C-36 #560
Derek, I have been pretty happy with Bristol Finish. It is basically about as much work as varnish, except you can get many more coats down in one day. The key is surface prep and getting full coverage. I did my hand rails two years ago and now is just starting to break down. I have some small bare spots. I generally redo the finish every year. I sand down the old stuff, put down about four coats, and let it dry. Then I come back the next day, give it a light sanding to smooth it out, and put down another three or four coats. That generally lasts one to two seasons, but at the end of the second season I defintely need to renew the finish. It looks great when applied, just like varnish, and seems pretty strong. I walk over the rails all the time and they have not worn down dur to that. My hatch boards take a lot of abuse and all they show are some surface scratches. Good luck, Les Murray s/v Ceilidh '86 C-36 #560
Joe - cuz it's FUGLY!
I can't exactly share what the F in FUGLY means but if you have a sailor's mind (and mouth), you'll get the idea! Hey, if you like it, God bless ya! ;-) LaDonna
I can't exactly share what the F in FUGLY means but if you have a sailor's mind (and mouth), you'll get the idea! Hey, if you like it, God bless ya! ;-) LaDonna
A lot of (somewhat) negative comments....
I posted the same question over on the Cruising World Bulletin Board (sorry Phil) and the responses are not that enthusiastic - in fact some are downright negative - about Bristol Finish. I'm really hesitant about committing to it, even though I now own a quart of the stuff. It looked gorgeous at the boat show.... Derek
I posted the same question over on the Cruising World Bulletin Board (sorry Phil) and the responses are not that enthusiastic - in fact some are downright negative - about Bristol Finish. I'm really hesitant about committing to it, even though I now own a quart of the stuff. It looked gorgeous at the boat show.... Derek
Greyed Teak and Cetol
I've just stripped all my teak. I bought the boat this spring and much of the brightwork was in disrepair. Some of the previous varnish was completely gone and the teak had greyed out. Some of the previous varnish was still in reasonably good shape (and thus the underlying teak retained its color). I used Cetol. I did not get the bare teak a uniform color before I applied the Cetol. I actually found that I liked the color of the Cetol when it was applied to teak which had greyed out. Where the previous varnish was still solid so the teak was a natural brown with a hint of orange, the cetol made it more orange (though still acceptable to me). If I have to strip it down again (who am I kidding - when I have to strip it down again), I'll probably let it grey out more uniformly before applying.
I've just stripped all my teak. I bought the boat this spring and much of the brightwork was in disrepair. Some of the previous varnish was completely gone and the teak had greyed out. Some of the previous varnish was still in reasonably good shape (and thus the underlying teak retained its color). I used Cetol. I did not get the bare teak a uniform color before I applied the Cetol. I actually found that I liked the color of the Cetol when it was applied to teak which had greyed out. Where the previous varnish was still solid so the teak was a natural brown with a hint of orange, the cetol made it more orange (though still acceptable to me). If I have to strip it down again (who am I kidding - when I have to strip it down again), I'll probably let it grey out more uniformly before applying.
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