So I am refinishing the wood trim on the exterior of my H-34 and I am trying to decide between Sikkens Cetol and Varnish. The Cetol is easier to apply in that it does not have to be sanded between coats. I've never used varnish. I appreciate any thoughts from folks with experience in this area
Cetol vs Varnish. Which is better?
- Thread starter markwbird
- Start date
It all depends on how much work you want to put in and what you like to see.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
The "natural" progression of "dealing with exterior teak" usually runs like this:
--- teak oil
or
--- Nothing
--- varnish
--- cetol
--- nothing
---teak oil
--- nothing
--- varnish
--- cetol
Repeat as necessary...
Nothing much has changed in the last 25 years about this subject...
Ladies & Gentlemen,
The "natural" progression of "dealing with exterior teak" usually runs like this:
--- teak oil
or
--- Nothing
--- varnish
--- cetol
--- nothing
---teak oil
--- nothing
--- varnish
--- cetol
Repeat as necessary...
Nothing much has changed in the last 25 years about this subject...
This question keeps coming up -- and it really has no "correct" answer, IMHO. Over the years, I have used both. I personally think properly applied varnish looks better than Cetol, but is much harder to prep and apply and doesn't stand up as well as Cetol. Using Cetol allowed me to sail more and maintain less....
Stu was close but not quiteIt all depends on how much work you want to put in and what you like to see.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
The "natural" progression of "dealing with exterior teak" usually runs like this:
--- teak oil
or
--- Nothing
--- varnish
--- cetol
--- nothing
---teak oil
--- nothing
--- varnish
--- cetol
Repeat as necessary...
Nothing much has changed in the last 25 years about this subject...
--- Nothing
--- varnish
--- cetol
--- synthetic wood (i.e., Trex) :dance:
http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/mods.php?task=article&mid=31&aid=7754&mn=34
2009 and it still looks exactly the same!
Have you tried Semco?
I've just done my teak and it turned our very nice. Yes the teak was grey and anything would look better. What I liked about the Semco was the clean up was very easy.
Any that got spilled on the deck wiped right up with no staining.
There's a few around here that have tried it and you have to touch it up but that's pretty easy to do.
I've just done my teak and it turned our very nice. Yes the teak was grey and anything would look better. What I liked about the Semco was the clean up was very easy.
Any that got spilled on the deck wiped right up with no staining.
There's a few around here that have tried it and you have to touch it up but that's pretty easy to do.
Everybody has their favorite and they all work.
I sanded or replaced the outside wood and used teak oil. Once a year I rub on some teak oil. After three years it still looks the same. I am not a fan of how Cetol looks after a couple of years.
I have been using a product called Deft on some interior wood projects and have been wondering how it would hold up on the outside teak. I like its looks and ease of using. Have any of you tried this product?
I sanded or replaced the outside wood and used teak oil. Once a year I rub on some teak oil. After three years it still looks the same. I am not a fan of how Cetol looks after a couple of years.
I have been using a product called Deft on some interior wood projects and have been wondering how it would hold up on the outside teak. I like its looks and ease of using. Have any of you tried this product?
ken13559
Ken13559. The old varnish is pretty much gone with mostly exposed grey wood and flakes of varnish hanging on so I started with the power washer which removed nearly all of the flakes. Then sand and Cetol. I am not looking for perfect, just much better. I've used Cetol before on new wood and I liked the results. I sold the boat about a year later so I never got to see how long it lasts. This was a year in the Texas heat though, with no signs of degradation. Not bad.
Ken13559. The old varnish is pretty much gone with mostly exposed grey wood and flakes of varnish hanging on so I started with the power washer which removed nearly all of the flakes. Then sand and Cetol. I am not looking for perfect, just much better. I've used Cetol before on new wood and I liked the results. I sold the boat about a year later so I never got to see how long it lasts. This was a year in the Texas heat though, with no signs of degradation. Not bad.
I used McCloskey's Marine varnish after cleaning the teak with snappy teak. It looks great, and I put 8 coats on. Seems very durable.
Ben
Ben
I've only used Cetol, so I can't comment on the others. On the wood it's great, but I've had a terrible time with little bits of it that got on the white fiberglass nearby. Just small drips or spatters from putting it on (maybe I should have been more careful). But once they're on there, I can't get them off with just about anything I've tried.
Anyone have any great suggestions to remove Cetol without eating through the exterior of the boat?
Anyone have any great suggestions to remove Cetol without eating through the exterior of the boat?
I have had some luck with a razor blade. Gingerly place the blade at the edge of the spot and "slice" it off no scraping.
I'll give that a shot on some of the spots. Unfortunately when I tried to mop it up with a paper towel some of it ended up not so much as a spot that I can get under, but just an area of slight discoloration. For that it seems like I'll need to try some kind of thinner/stripper, but I'm pretty nervous about using that kind of thing on there.