Teak support

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Joe R

I have a hunter 240. Some of the teak was in need of touching up. So I bought some teak oil from a local distributor. Now the wood looks worse than before. I talked with my dealer, and now they tell me they used Cetol orriginally and that you cannot apply teak oil over Cetol. Can anyone tell me, and in what sequence of steps to do to resolve the problem. I like the Cetol best as it leaves a beautiful finish. I have a three step kit from my original purchase of teak oil including a cleaner and a brightener. Should I use those (minus the teak oil), or should I sand and re-apply the Cetol? Thanks, Joe
 
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Jay Hill

Depends on the following...

...HOW bad does it look, what kind of shape is it in, HOW much time/effort do you want to put into it, and HOW long do you need it to last? I trust you're talking about the teak on the exterior. Here's some suggestions: Wipe off as much of the oil as possible; on top of Cetol (base or gloss) it's not doing the wood any good at all. It's just making a mess. Before I begin with Cetol instructions, please be aware of another product, Armada, that has the same general purpose but does not have the "orange" tint that many people find offensive or unsightly. I use the Cetol base and gloss for two reasons: 1) I can get it by the gallon a lot cheaper and I have four boats to keep up. 2) The Cetol Gloss overcoat has a UV protectant in it as well as staying just a wee bit soft; when you drop something on the handrail or teak, it dings the Cetol and not the wood. (If you've got two thin coats and one thicker one.) You can step all over it, drop stuff on it, run lines over it, scrub it, clean it, rain on it, hail on it, ridicule it, say mean, uncaring things to it, and it really doesn't care. Two years later, you just give a 4-6 minute smoothing over with sandpaper and apply one more thin coat of the gloss. After about 6-10 years, you will have to remove the teak and start over but you will have few or no dings and the wood remains healthy. The Armada looks better, but the gloss doesn't last as long and it's more expensive. The trade-off? You have to look at wood with a bit of an orange tint but you don't have to mess with it as often. I'm nearly blind anyway, and as long as the wood LOOKS like it's in good shape with a bright clean finish, I am not so particular about the shade of the finish. I'd be happy to show you pictures of a completed job if you like. If the current Cetol application also has the gloss on top and the wood doesn't look that bad, you can sand over the gloss with 150, then 220, then apply more gloss on top. I suggest you use two thin coats vs. a glob on the first pass. If the wood is good shape but the finish looks horrible, I suggest you remove the current finish. Quick way: Electric orbital sander to sand off old stuff with 150 then 180 to smooth, mask areas, apply 2-3 coats of base then two coats of gloss. Long way but better results: Remove teak, take home to the garage, completely strip/sand down to bare wood, three coats base, two coats gloss, reinstall. don't forget to put duct tape over the holes in the cabin when you remove the handrails/steps/whatever. If the wood is severely cracked, I suggest you start over with new teak. It all depends on what YOU want it to look like.
 
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Gene Roberts

NO TEAK MAINTENANCE!

I replaced all the top side teak with a plastic called Starboard - now there is no problem with having to maintain teak. Keep the teak below deck! This post applys to all Hunters!
 
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Ken Palmer

If you like Armada....

You'll love Boat/U.S. Teak Coat. It is private label Armada, and sells for a better price. Look on page 306 of the 2000 catalog. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
 
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Bob Knott

Do it right, start over

I own a 380 and was faced with the same problem. The dealers job on the Aramada was poor and already showed it's age after one year. The problem is that coating over the old coatings is poor maintainence. When the finish is worn unevenly the best solution is to strip it, and start over. Fotunately that's an easy although messy job. Since Hunters have so little teak it's an easy afternoons work. West Marine sells teak stripper in two parts. Use it and follow the label directions, and have plenty of water available as you don't want this stuff on gelcoat so be prepared to clean up with towels and fresh water if you spill. A Better way is to take the seats off and do them at home in a work area so water gets contaminated. Once done the teak with look brand new and will need three coats of cetol or Aramada, I prefer Armada as it looks more like varnish than Cetol which has an orange tint to it. Once you are done it'll look great for two years or more. Since you put teak oil on the cetol by mistake I really think you need to start over and get it right, then you can relax, sail and watch everyone else varnish away!! Enjoy Bob Knott H380
 
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Bob Howie

Topside Teak Finish Repair

That fella Jay in Fort Worth gave you some pretty good advice and, as a longtime Cetol and Cetol Marine Gloss user, I concur with just about everything he said. In my opinion, forget ever using teak oil; it's for folks who like to do nothing but work on their wood and I don't and I don't know anyone who does! Since you have a conglomeration of finishes working against you, I would suggest you buy some Interlux Interstrip 299E -- a gel-type stripper that won't attack your gel coat -- and glob that on your old finish, using it liberally. And, just because it says it won't attack gel coat, well, protect the gel coat as much as you can. It takes about 15 minutes and the old finish literally bubbles right off. I use nylon paddles like body shops use to smear around auto body putty to get rid of the old finish and then use fine bronze wool to get all the little bits of finish off, too. Now, this is going to "fuzzy" up your wood a bit, but you can sand that down later. After you get all the old finish completely removed, I'd recommend a good two-part teak cleaner -- my favorite is either Teak-a or Semco -- and following the directions. The teak will turn a light blonde color, it's natural color; more than I can say for some! Let the teak dry completely. Then, you can use either Cetol or Armada. Main difference is Cetol has pigmentation in it, Armada doesn't have as much. I like the color Cetol imparts -- personal choice -- so I apply three coats, but after I sand the wood smooth using 120 and then 220 grit sand paper and a tack rag to remove all sanding residue. After the three coats of Cetol, I have started using Armada's MC2000 moisture-cured polyurethane top coat. I am finding it is really good stuff, cures in the presence of humidity within 3-6 hrs., and can be recoated within about an hour depending on the humidity. If you let it cure fully, you can lightly sand between coats, use a good badger-hair brush and lay up about 5 coats and you get a very durable, hard, UV-resistant finish that looks great and I defy anyone to tell me it ain't varnish! If it wears, sand lightly around the wear area and then recoat. All this offered as just something else to ponder!!!
 
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