Hatch Boards and Honey Teak
In my case the hatch boards were about a year old and had not been previously treated with any finish or oil. Originally I'd hoped I could do the job at the boat to save making temporary hatch boards--and I'm glad I didn't try that. So, I made temps and took the boards home. It was a nice, So. CA Spring weekend with temps in the upper 70's. Mixing wasn't too bad once you get the hang of it (the supplied mixing cups help). First coat of Honey went on OK, waited approx 1 hr and applied second, and then third, exactly to the instructions. Waited appropriate time and put on first coat of clear. Started getting bubbles; looked like a bad case of warts all over. Called Honey Teak and discussed this with them (at least they answered the phone on a weekend!). Was told "no problem"; and advised to mist my hands with water and to "caress" the finish to work out the bubbles since it was still in the wet stage. Well, despite my attempts at this gentle massage technique, the bubbles persisted, but were not quite as bad. At this point I just about aborted the project and started over with new teak; but I didn't. Also at this point I sent Honey Teak a detailed email inquiry to find out what went wrong or how to fix this--never got a reply and I really didn't feel like talking to them further.Over the next several days I coated the boards with 4-6 coats of the clear on each side; letting each coat cure a day and then wet-sanding with 600 grit between each coat. The bubble problem became less and less, but I still ended up by wet sanding with 1200 grit followed by a polish job with an electric buffer and 3M medium grit rubbing compound (like you'd do on a car). They did come out looking very nice and have held up well so far (approx 3 years; and they get direct afternoon sun daily). Would I term this a "simple" job a child can do--I think not. I have a feeling that the material I happened to receive might have been partly to blame--perhaps it was just about out of date, but that is only a guess and speculation on my part.If you do use this product, be sure to sand all edges and give them a generous edge break. I did that, but not enough and those edges are showing wear and are going to need touch up first.Personally, having gone through this experience, I'd explore other materials. One would be Bristol finish. Or, I've heard good things about a different type of product--Penofin (www.penofin.com). You put on light coats and wipe off the excess. You may need to treat the boards once or twice a season, but I'm told it only takes minutes (a maintenance task rather than a project). I'm told it provides UV protection and doesn't mildew like some oils tend to. Penofin does offer a Marine Oil Finish and you may have to search a bit to find it.Good Luck and hope this information is helpful. You may want to post this in the technical section of the C310 site.Regards,GaryC310 #230