Old Stone wrote:So guys - What finish do you apply to your teak interiors?
We have switched to Daly's SeaFin AquaSpar Satin.*
http://www.dalyspaint.com/PDF/specs/S-SAquaSpar.pdf* They call it a "waterborne polyurethane spar varnish."* It is intended for marine use but another use listed is for wood floors.
We first used it on a teak parquet floor panel in our forward head.* It looks great but this panel gets no wear--- it just supports the toilet.* So about two years ago we stripped and refinished the teak step inside our main cabin door. This step is used constantly and is abused by the dog going in and out, dirt on shoes, and so on.* We figured it would be a good test of the durability of the finish.* Today, two years later of year-round use, the step looks the same as it did when we first refinished it.* So we're pretty impressed.
We use the satin variety--- it comes in a gloss variety, too.* However, the more coats of satin you put on the shinier it becomes.* I think I put about eight or ten coats on the step.* While it has a definite shine, the surface is not glossy or glass-like.* Since interior teak does not get the weathering that exterior teak does, one really doesn't have to put on eight or ten coats, particularly on low-wear pieces.* So if one wants less of a satin "shine," applying fewer coats of AquaSpar will protect the wood in most cases just as well as a lot of coats.
At this point we would use it on any interior teak we wanted to refinish or repair.* Sometime in the future we want to refinish our main cabin sole which has been scarred and scratched and dinged after 37 years of use.* Assuming the AquaSpar finish continues to hold up on the step, this is the finish we will use on the floor.
If you want a really tough finish, Bristol is available in satin as well as exterior gloss.* But Bristol is expensive, worth it in our opinion for exterior work but perhaps not for interior jobs.* We've not used Bristol satin so cannot comment on its appearance.* At this point, we would stick with the AquaSpar.
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