Finishing Teak

[Jdaniel343]

I am finishing the teak on my 1977 Catalina 27 that I just bought.
The teak that is on the boat has been stained and appears to have some kind of shelac place on top of the stain. I have sanded all this off on one of the pieces.
I have Teak Oil and have ordered Sikkens Cetol.
I have built quite a few rifles and have always used True Oil on the wood stocks whether they be inexpensive or highly figured stocks. True Oil allows for easy touch ups and is a great protector of the wood even in extreme weather conditions.
I am thinking of taking one of the teak trim pieces and putting True Oil on 1/3, Teak Oil on 1/3 and Cetol on 1/3. Placing it out side and see which one still looks good by April.
Has any one else use True Oil.
We sail on Alcova Lake, WY, 6 months out of the year. Boat will be covered the other 6 months.

 

[RichH]

Ask yourself what happens to any 'oil' left on a gunstock and the gunstock that is left out in the weather continuously for 6 months.

 

[Charlie98117]

IMO, teak oil provides a great finish for not much effort.

 

[centerline]

i refinish gunstocks and have used tru-oil, and i refinish teak and mahogany on boats.... and i can say with experience that the tru-oil wont hold up in the constant weather/enviroment on the exterior of the boat.... it will look good for about a season, but no where near as long as the type of oil that is formulated for oily wood...

and spar varnish which is great as well on boat wood, isnt worth a darn for a gunstock application... in an effort to pass on to you the experience a lot of us have already learned, i would recommend that you use the type of finish that has been proven to work and stay away from experimenting like some of us already have.. which is the reason we can offer you this bit of advice

the "shellac" that is on top of the stained wood you have is someone elses brilliant idea of using the wrong product to finish the wood at sometime in the past... it is probably epoxy, kinda yellowed and opaque rather than clear and shiny.
someones experiment that didnt last....

a good spar varnish (I like epifanes), properly applied, will last a few years without any maintenance, but with just a little bit of proper maintenance every couple of years, it can look great for a lifetime.
cetol has different formulations available, and some of them can tint the finish/wood to an unnatural color as it cures...but it still seals the wood

 

[Joe]

The interior teak will do nicely with any type of oil, just like polishing furniture at home.... but the exterior... that's completely different... I really can't see the point of staining the wood. You can use one of the commercial cleaning products, or just scrub with salt water... then choose to leave it natural... or go the varnish/polyurethane direction.

There are plenty of YouTube videos on exterior teak treatments. Here's a nice one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=hYr89O_IhBQ.

I have been having good results with Min-Wax's Helmsman Spar Urethane. See pic below. About $20/qt at Home Depot. I'll never use Cetol again...But if you're lucky Rich H. might post a few pictures of his boat's magnificent brightwork

 

[Apex]

I am with centerline on preferences of varnish: I used Cetol Light on the Catalina 25. Looked ok, but did not like the tint. A dock neighbor used Epiphanes and it is gorgeous, he hasn't touched it in 3-4 years and looks great STILL. That is what I will be refinishing the Oday with.

 

[RichH]

A a former varnish-aholic, Id suggest that you consider to use one of the modern coatings such as Cetol,
... or one of the 2part + 2part acrylic-urethane co-polymer coatings which can last more than a decade with only minor maintenance and which are equal or better than varnish in gloss and 'dazzle' - Bristol Finish or Honey Teak.

The problem with any oil finish, including 'resinated' (varnish filled) oil finishes is that for interior or exterior they ultimately oxidize and turn very 'dark'; leaving one with a massive 'color and bleaching' restoration job.

The attached pic is what a 13 year old 'honey teak' job looks like on a 'teakey' .....

 

[Jdaniel343]

Thanks Centerline.
Thanks to everyone else.

 

[Captn TJ]

I am with centerline on preferences of varnish: I used Cetol Light on the Catalina 25. Looked ok, but did not like the tint. A dock neighbor used Epiphanes and it is gorgeous, he hasn't touched it in 3-4 years and looks great STILL. That is what I will be refinishing the Oday with.

Correct Cetol Light does have a tint - on the other hand Cetol Natural is identical in color to varnish

 

[emergpa1]

A a former varnish-aholic, Id suggest that you consider to use one of the modern coatings such as Cetol, ... or one of the 2part + 2part acrylic-urethane co-polymer coatings which can last more than a decade with only minor maintenance and which are equal or better than varnish in gloss and 'dazzle' - Bristol Finish or Honey Teak. The problem with any oil finish, including 'resinated' (varnish filled) oil finishes is that for interior or exterior they ultimately oxidize and turn very 'dark'; leaving one with a massive 'color and bleaching' restoration job. The attached pic is what a 13 year old 'honey teak' job looks like on a 'teakey' .....

the problem I have run into is the old neglected teak on my boat had lots of black and gray, deep into the grain of the wood. Even though I was moderately aggressive, it still bleeds through my carefully applied natural Cetol finish within 12 months in a lot of places. That makes it almost an ongoing project. Did you guys with long term good results start with near like new teak? Or did you aggressively remove all old gray? If so, what did you fill all the gouged out areas with?

 

[RECESS]

I Cetol about three times a year. Use brass wool to open the top layer and wood. And when I say "I", it is actually my wife taping and applying. I am the brass wool crew.

 

[RichH]

the problem I have run into is the old neglected teak on my boat had lots of black and gray, deep into the grain of the wood. Even though I was moderately aggressive, it still bleeds through my carefully applied natural Cetol finish within 12 months in a lot of places. That makes it almost an ongoing project. Did you guys with long term good results start with near like new teak? Or did you aggressively remove all old gray? If so, what did you fill all the gouged out areas with?

The 'blacks' usually means that there's a water leak 'behind' the teak and the moisture is migrating through the wood and collecting between the coating and the wood. The best you can do without entirely replacing the wood is to soak with TriSodiumPhosphate - TSP in order to 'try' to dissolve the fungus thats penetrated, then bleach the excess tannin migration with oxalic acid.
Ive had good luck arresting the spread of 'the blacks' by using clear non-greasy 'athletes foot' that contain 'tin'.
TSP will also dissolve / liquify the 'grey' - the UV burned wood cells.
Best is always to sand down until you get a good color 'hue' as any clear coating will allow continued sun bleaching and 'color development'; you want that to be consistent.

 

[malyea]

A a former varnish-aholic, Id suggest that you consider to use one of the modern coatings such as Cetol,

The attached pic is what a 13 year old 'honey teak' job looks like on a 'teakey' .....

RichH....plz confirm what product you use. I need to redo my H30 exterior teak and lean towards a Cetol. Thanks

 

[kito]

I Cetol about three times a year. Use brass wool to open the top layer and wood. And when I say "I", it is actually my wife taping and applying. I am the brass wool crew.

3 times a year?. I applied 2 coats of Cetol to my C22 crib boards over a year ago and they still look good. The first year I cleaned them and applied tung oil (teak oil) and looked nasty within 6 months. I don't care for Cetol on interior wood but love it on the exterior.

 

[Dalliance]

Honey Teak

I have been using Signature Honey Teak. It's a four can catalyzed urethane enamel product. After cleaning, bleaching and careful prep according to the Mfr's instructions, you apply three or four coats of the Honey Teak mixed with the catalyst, then four to six coats of the clear enamel mixed with the same catalyst. There is also a Flow Fluid which acts as a thinner and is used for clean up. The Honey Teak provides the color and UV protection, while the clear Enamel gives the depth and weather protection. Because it's catalyzed, it's possible with the right temperature conditions, to apply most if not all those coats in a single day with no sanding between coats.

I stripped and refinished my handrails, companionway rails, hatch boards and steps in 2007. Since then, I've only done a maintenance coat (maybe it was two coats) on the handrails in 2011, and some touch up repair and clear coats to the companionway rails in 2012. This is way less maintenance than the mfr recommends but mostly everything still looks great. One advantage of a six month sailing season.

The only issues I've had, I brought on myself. I stripped and refinished the eye brow trim with the same product in 2012 but skipped the cleaner & bleach step and also applied it on a hot sunny day. One or the other of those, or both, may have compromised the results because there are some areas that started to fail the next year. So follow the mfr.'s instructions closely. Also, like any paint or varnish coating, you need to ease any sharp corners or the product will not build up and will fail at the edges. My steps have grooves in them and I eased the edges, but maybe not quite enough, so there is some peeling there, but I have also neglectfully done no maintenance to them since 2007. I noticed that because the steps were so pretty, some people won't step on them, so I'm thinking of just stripping the steps and letting them weather gray to look like a walking surface.

The attached photo was taken in September 2014 to show my new dodger and sail cover canvas, but it does give at least a glimpse of all the exterior teak areas.

 

[silverbeard]

About four years ago we used Honey Teak on all of the exterior teak on our boat. It takes time to prep the teak and apply the Honey Teak but we are pleased with the final result. At the end of each season, the teak looks like new. We did have one little chip which I attributed to something getting dropped on it. It was easy to fix. Just mixed up a couple of drops, applied and let dry. Fixed.