Semco vs CETOL?

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MitchM

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Jan 20, 2005
1,031
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
My boat has a lot of old weathered gray teak —-stored outdoors in rain for 12 yrs. . I see a few spots where a previous owner used CETOL. I used CETOL in the past but am thinking of now trying Semco. CETOL rrequires the proprietary wash then sanding the wood to a honey color before applying 2 coats CETOL. Semco does not suggest or require sanding after their cleaner is used. Being anxious to avoid work I am thinking of switching to Semco.



the uk sailboat communityisquite fond of Semco over CETOL . all commments welcome !!!
 
sail sfbay

sail sfbay

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Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
Sanded down all the teak the previous owner had applied Cetol, which yellowed and was flaking off, then applied 2 coats of Semco natural teak sealant on my powerboat teak railing, steps and door frames. No more tedious sanding, stripping and re-applying Cetol. Just apply a fresh coat of Semco every 6-12 months. Very happy with it. It is very popular in our marina. Cetol Versus Teak Sealer - Practical Sailor (practical-sailor.com)
 
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D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,800
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Becareful with the Semco teak cleaner, it is a 2 part cleaner with a strong acid followed by a strong base (or maybe it is the other way around), anyway, it is very easy to erode the soft wood between the grain which will leave the teak with a washboard finish.

I tried some Semco natural last year and was not terribly impressed. Cetol Natural Teak is not a bad color. Allegedly they have improved the formulation so it is not as bad as was in days past.
 
A

arf145

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Nov 4, 2010
495
Beneteau 331 Deale, MD
I've been using a slightly tinted Semco (Honey? Gold?) for years now and am happy with the ease of use and the results.
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,909
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
In my opinion, varnish is the only way to go! Nothing, absolutely nothing shows how much you care for your boat than well varnished Teak.
Yeah, I know it's a whole lot of pretty hard work, and pretty time consuming, but all those other finishes might do just as well on cheap plywood. I can't get over how, as I pass by them in a marina, all the other wood finishes look so cheap and unnatural.
Sorry guys, but that is my opinion.
dorade box old 1.JPG
Reflection Finish.JPG
 
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A

arf145

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Nov 4, 2010
495
Beneteau 331 Deale, MD
I absolutely agree that that looks fantastic, @capta! But I would either run around putting doilies on all the teak to protect it, or cringe thinking about the next time I'm going to have to do it.
 
Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,436
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
I sanded my cap rails and trying Le Tonkinois. It is a mixture of Linseed and Tung oils with some other tropical oils and resins. What caught my attention is the oils are boiled which kills the molds that cause oils to turn black. It was invented in Viet Nam decades ago and the French Navy has been using it for decades. I bought from American Rope and Tar. We have several people on the dock that are doing this.
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,909
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
arf145 said:
I absolutely agree that that looks fantastic, @capta! But I would either run around putting doilies on all the teak to protect it, or cringe thinking about the next time I'm going to have to do it.
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I agree that it can be a real worry, but in reality, we have learned to just take a bit of care and try to keep guests from having anything on deck that can damage the varnish. We do have a cover for the boarding area.
 
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Hayden Watson

Hayden Watson

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Apr 5, 2009
3,102
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
I have been very happy with Semco for the past three years. I wipe on a coat spring and fall with a 2" square of terrycloth and it looks great to my eye. I am not a fan of high gloss and Cetol looks like brown paint to me.
 

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capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,909
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Hayden Watson said:
I have been very happy with Semco for the past three years. I wipe on a coat spring and fall with a 2" square of terrycloth and it looks great to my eye. I am not a fan of high gloss and Cetol looks like brown paint to me.
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I have to admit that looks terrific. I stand corrected about Semco, but I'll never give up my love/hate relationship with varnish!
 
Hayden Watson

Hayden Watson

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Apr 5, 2009
3,102
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
capta said:
I have to admit that looks terrific. I stand corrected about Semco, but I'll never give up my love/hate relationship with varnish!
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Different flavors for everyone. I just do not like shiny except on solid color stuff like cars and boat topside and cabin. for anything with grain, I much prefer satin as the highest gloss. The reason I like the Semco is because it doesn't look or feel like it has any finish at all. The wood feels like bare wood (although without the oily feel of freshly sanded teak. The difference between bare teak and Semco is that it stays looking like that for almost a year without anything other than washing. I let it go one full year as a test and needed to do about 15 minutes of sanding and two coats on those spots so stick to a twice a year schedule.
It was developed for use on teak decking.
 
G

gettinthere

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Nov 26, 2008
1,970
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
I've just started with awlwood. from the awlgrip people. it has a primer to tie the varnish to the teak better... allegedly. what I like is you can recoat after about 2 to 3 hours. easy to get THREE coats in one day. with a foam brush.
 
sail sfbay

sail sfbay

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Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
Are you using awlwood as a primer for cetol? No sanding between coats? What do you do next time you need to treat the teak?
 
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