Well, I have figured a few things out but still need advice.
I determined that it's not the product or my degreasing fluids. To prove this I took a discarded piece of trim (off a 1986 boat) that was half grey and half remnants of old Cetol. I sanded part of it down to nice 'red' wood, left part grey and left part with the old Cetol. I made three of these samples and degreased one with acetone, the other with the Epifanes product (mentioned in their prep instructions) and left the last one as is. I coated with the product thinned 25% and checked back in 24 hours.
It dried properly on all the samples, no tackiness anywhere. So it's not the product - therefore must be the wood.
I should also mention that there was some confusion regarding the product, thinning etc. I'm using Epifanes Wood Finish which is not Epifanes Varnish. The manufacturer recommends the 25% thinning of the first coat when applied to teak. It's 50% for non-oily woods and the varnish is 50% all round. So I am trying to follow the manufacturer recommendations for this particular product in this particular application (oily wood).
Anyway, it must be wood. I used fresh lumber, not teak that has been sitting on a boat for decades or in a warehouse for years. It was very oily - there wasn't even any saw "dust", only slightly damp feeling stuff when drilled or sanded. I did degrease for a good 20 minutes with rags soaked in acetone and the surface even felt dry after that.
But it's still tacky after 4 1/2 days. Not all over but in places, typically on the cut edges that are with the grain. I've attached a few pics and anywhere it's a bit shiny, it's tacky. The worse tackiness is the shiny bands in the instrument cutouts.
So my question now is for anyone who has worked with fresh teak. I know this will eventually dry - but will the next coats also take weeks? Or should I be removing the Epifanes and finish it some either way? BTW I have read of people have the same issue with any and all brands of varnish - and typically on new wood.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris


I determined that it's not the product or my degreasing fluids. To prove this I took a discarded piece of trim (off a 1986 boat) that was half grey and half remnants of old Cetol. I sanded part of it down to nice 'red' wood, left part grey and left part with the old Cetol. I made three of these samples and degreased one with acetone, the other with the Epifanes product (mentioned in their prep instructions) and left the last one as is. I coated with the product thinned 25% and checked back in 24 hours.
It dried properly on all the samples, no tackiness anywhere. So it's not the product - therefore must be the wood.
I should also mention that there was some confusion regarding the product, thinning etc. I'm using Epifanes Wood Finish which is not Epifanes Varnish. The manufacturer recommends the 25% thinning of the first coat when applied to teak. It's 50% for non-oily woods and the varnish is 50% all round. So I am trying to follow the manufacturer recommendations for this particular product in this particular application (oily wood).
Anyway, it must be wood. I used fresh lumber, not teak that has been sitting on a boat for decades or in a warehouse for years. It was very oily - there wasn't even any saw "dust", only slightly damp feeling stuff when drilled or sanded. I did degrease for a good 20 minutes with rags soaked in acetone and the surface even felt dry after that.
But it's still tacky after 4 1/2 days. Not all over but in places, typically on the cut edges that are with the grain. I've attached a few pics and anywhere it's a bit shiny, it's tacky. The worse tackiness is the shiny bands in the instrument cutouts.
So my question now is for anyone who has worked with fresh teak. I know this will eventually dry - but will the next coats also take weeks? Or should I be removing the Epifanes and finish it some either way? BTW I have read of people have the same issue with any and all brands of varnish - and typically on new wood.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris

