A family member who is an accomplished wood-turner suggested that we use MinWax Paste Finishing Wax on our teak floorboards. I'm not knowledgeable about wood at all (other than knowing the challenges of maintaining teak in the traditional ways). Has anyone ever tried this approach? Are there downsides?
Teak Floorboards / Minwax Paste Finishing Wax
- Thread starter Monterey385
- Start date
Will you ever have a need or desire to refinish / re-varnish /re-????? in the future? How confident are you that in such a situation you could with some solvent/cleaner remove all the wax prior to the new finish?
My reasoning for asking is that in my opinion, wax is a very permanent thing. Not permanent in a durable way either. It is permanent in that you will find you can't get it back off or out of the wood. You can't varnish over wax. It will fisheye on Ya as bad as if you had sprayed it with silicon.
We probably don't know what prompted the recommendation but I am going to make an assumption the wax was recommended as an easy solution to a shiny floor. This will work to an extent but it commits you to ONLY using wax.
As Stu says, your boat, your choice, but this woodworking boat owner/restorer says to maybe skip the wax for a finish that CAN be topcoated without excessive application of some pretty noxious chemicals, (acetone or other de-waters in an enclosed space will overwhelm you very quickly).
If ease of application was the goal, a wiping varnish is a good choice. Several claim to be "Danish Oil" finish or some other "old-world" formula. Chemically they are more-or-less just thinned varnishes or polyurethanes. They go on with a rag instead of a brush. They build film-thickness more slowly than their brushed counterparts, but eventually deliver similar results. The nice thing about wiping finishes is they are easy for a first-timer and usually never run or sag; the wet edge is too thin. A large surface like a sole is an obvious easy candidate for wiping finishes. Keep some leftover material in the boat for an easy touch up as needed and when the sole needs refreshing scuff it with a scotch-brite and wipe on a fresh coat.
You ARENT varnishing in the traditional sense, but you ARE leaving that option for the future or future owner. If you go and wax it, someone, somewhere, sone time in the future WILL be cussing your decision....
My vote is to stay away from the wax. While we're talking about it, stay away from the furniture polish too.....
My reasoning for asking is that in my opinion, wax is a very permanent thing. Not permanent in a durable way either. It is permanent in that you will find you can't get it back off or out of the wood. You can't varnish over wax. It will fisheye on Ya as bad as if you had sprayed it with silicon.
We probably don't know what prompted the recommendation but I am going to make an assumption the wax was recommended as an easy solution to a shiny floor. This will work to an extent but it commits you to ONLY using wax.
As Stu says, your boat, your choice, but this woodworking boat owner/restorer says to maybe skip the wax for a finish that CAN be topcoated without excessive application of some pretty noxious chemicals, (acetone or other de-waters in an enclosed space will overwhelm you very quickly).
If ease of application was the goal, a wiping varnish is a good choice. Several claim to be "Danish Oil" finish or some other "old-world" formula. Chemically they are more-or-less just thinned varnishes or polyurethanes. They go on with a rag instead of a brush. They build film-thickness more slowly than their brushed counterparts, but eventually deliver similar results. The nice thing about wiping finishes is they are easy for a first-timer and usually never run or sag; the wet edge is too thin. A large surface like a sole is an obvious easy candidate for wiping finishes. Keep some leftover material in the boat for an easy touch up as needed and when the sole needs refreshing scuff it with a scotch-brite and wipe on a fresh coat.
You ARENT varnishing in the traditional sense, but you ARE leaving that option for the future or future owner. If you go and wax it, someone, somewhere, sone time in the future WILL be cussing your decision....
My vote is to stay away from the wax. While we're talking about it, stay away from the furniture polish too.....
that is some of the best advice you will ever rec on this forum about waxing wood ......i am a professional woodturner and know all too well about waxing wood ..if you are creating a decorative showroom piece for indoor use or display.... wax is fine but for a boat it's like water and oil ...the wiping finishes are a good choice as Phil has stated or 10 coats of spar varnish ...there is no perfect finish for an active boat when it comes to bright work just lots of maintenance and throwing pillows at every turn to keep it in bristol shape
Both of you are great ... I really thought I was going to get abuse given that I had posted on this topic with many responses a couple of months back ... but this is incredibly helpful ... Thank you both. I should also mention the floorboards are cockpit floorboards and not cabin floorboards and they will be exposed to weather. Does this change anything regarding the suggested approach?
No just run like hell from the wax suggestion do teak oil or leave them natural in the cock pit natural is the best choice or you could use Lemmon oil from time to time but you will have to continue to do anything you do other than natural/or bare wood wash with salt water from time to time
Related topic. We have teak cabin floor boards that have been sealed with a polyurethane (I think) on only the top side. All was good this summer but this winter, the wood shows significant darkening in several areas. I found condensation on the bottom side of the boards. I assume moisture is getting into the wood from the condensation. Any suggestions on how to address?
That is awkward place to be. I would probably attack this in a series of steps. Assuming you are layed up for the winter, start by removing the floorboards to a heated dry location and give them time to dry out. The color MIGHT go away. If it does, then take the time to seal the sides and backsides, hopefully encapsulating them and preventing or at least slowing the water ingress.
If, after drying, the floorboards are still blotchy, the decision tree kicks in. Is it solid teak or veneer? Solid material can withstand stripping and aggressive sanding. Veneers, (plywood, lumber-core) are much more delicate.
Is the stain is too offensive to leave alone? If you are not bothered by it, seal the backs and sides and be done with it. If the stain bugs you excessively, use a paste or liquid stripper to get rid of the poly. Follow the directions for use and neutralizing. A cleaning with Oxalic acid or TSP should even out the color. Rinse with water to get rid of Then sand to smooth your work surface. If you have veneer be VERY careful not to sand through. If the stain is light, rather than the cleaning step consider a marine filler stain to even out the color. Regardless your choice if you strip the board(s) your goal is a smooth workpiece that is uniform in color, either from Sanding or bleaching/cleaning.
So... in the event you end up stripping the old finish off, regardless whether you clean and sand, or lightly sand and stain consider this fact: Cetol is a micro-porous finishing product. It seals out liquid water nicely, but it is in a sense porous to water vapor. This is a key advantage over varnish; inevitably even a perfectly-sealed piece of wood will be compromised, a dent, a ding, or a scratch is all it takes. You get liquid water coming into the damaged wood. It gets soaked up and turns into vapor. It can only get out through the same damaged spot though, which is a tough trick. A similarly dinged piece of wood finished with Cetol will allow the water vapor to come right through. It also touches up easily with no need for stripping. These two points make it a great product for traffic areas.
This is the place where I say your boat your choice, but if I were in your shoes and ended up going down the strip-and-refinish path I certainly would prefer to use Cetol on the floorboards over ANY other material even if my topsides and deck brightwork was show-quality varnish; it really is an excellent product for that application.
Regardless your choice of finish, coat your repaired floorboard(s) all-over, top, bottom and sides when you go to refinish. 4 coats minimum.
That's my $.02 on the topic! Holler if you have any questions further
If, after drying, the floorboards are still blotchy, the decision tree kicks in. Is it solid teak or veneer? Solid material can withstand stripping and aggressive sanding. Veneers, (plywood, lumber-core) are much more delicate.
Is the stain is too offensive to leave alone? If you are not bothered by it, seal the backs and sides and be done with it. If the stain bugs you excessively, use a paste or liquid stripper to get rid of the poly. Follow the directions for use and neutralizing. A cleaning with Oxalic acid or TSP should even out the color. Rinse with water to get rid of Then sand to smooth your work surface. If you have veneer be VERY careful not to sand through. If the stain is light, rather than the cleaning step consider a marine filler stain to even out the color. Regardless your choice if you strip the board(s) your goal is a smooth workpiece that is uniform in color, either from Sanding or bleaching/cleaning.
So... in the event you end up stripping the old finish off, regardless whether you clean and sand, or lightly sand and stain consider this fact: Cetol is a micro-porous finishing product. It seals out liquid water nicely, but it is in a sense porous to water vapor. This is a key advantage over varnish; inevitably even a perfectly-sealed piece of wood will be compromised, a dent, a ding, or a scratch is all it takes. You get liquid water coming into the damaged wood. It gets soaked up and turns into vapor. It can only get out through the same damaged spot though, which is a tough trick. A similarly dinged piece of wood finished with Cetol will allow the water vapor to come right through. It also touches up easily with no need for stripping. These two points make it a great product for traffic areas.
This is the place where I say your boat your choice, but if I were in your shoes and ended up going down the strip-and-refinish path I certainly would prefer to use Cetol on the floorboards over ANY other material even if my topsides and deck brightwork was show-quality varnish; it really is an excellent product for that application.
Regardless your choice of finish, coat your repaired floorboard(s) all-over, top, bottom and sides when you go to refinish. 4 coats minimum.
That's my $.02 on the topic! Holler if you have any questions further
Woodster is spot-on. Wax where you are FOR SURE to be wet? No way... Too slippery! See my post above for interior floorboards.. While I respect greatly all the options available for brightwork, I prefer Cetol for traffic areas. That or just gray as Woodster points to. It is the least-slippery option.
I forgot. Can't believe I forgot....
Prep. Prep. Prep. Click on my avatar and search my recent posts re: finishing. You gotta get the oils out of the wood before you apply any finish. Otherwise, you are not going to get any penetration of your finish.
Prep. Prep. Prep. Click on my avatar and search my recent posts re: finishing. You gotta get the oils out of the wood before you apply any finish. Otherwise, you are not going to get any penetration of your finish.
I, too, have the teak grates in the cockpit of my C385. I wanted to keep the grates looking new (the admiral doesn't like the silver gray weathered look) but didn't use varnish or cetol as I was afraid of slippery when wet, which is not a good thing when sailing. I use true teak oil from island teak (link is island-teak.com). In the spring, I wet the grates, scrub them clean with cascade powder dishwasher soap using a medium soft scrub brush going across grain, rinse them thoroughly and let them dry for 24 hours. Then I apply the teak oil. It dries clean without gumming up and does not attract dirt like other teak oils I have use before. My grates are somewhat protected as I have both a bimini and dodger and one application lasts the short Lake Superior season.
Dave
s/v Suite Seventeen
C385 #17
Dave
s/v Suite Seventeen
C385 #17