Finishing touches on the teak (for now)

Nice!!

Beautiful lines.
What are you using ?
We have changed all of our brightwork over to Cetol Marine Light.

But not too heavy where you are unable to see the wood grains.

Teak

We start with a palm sander and use a 60 grit, then a 120. We wipe off the resulting particles of teak and use a cloth with acetone to give it a dry surface. Then we apply a 50/50 solution (paint thinner and varnish) for the first coat. Let dry a couple of hours. The next step is to take a 220 grit sandpaper and lightly drag it along the teak in one direction and wipe with acetone then apply a coat of varnish. Let dry four hours and do again, seven times. A few things to consider.

Watch the weather - should not be too humid - too much moisture in the air and the varnish will cloud.

We used a varnish we found at Lowes called Spar. It is not bad but does not hold up under general wear and tear (lines, the sun, feet) very well. Also could be us. We think that we will try a different brand next go around.

Sanding and varnishing is a dirty job. We work the wood first and then we clean the windows and decks!!

Read about all that sanding and refinishing you're doing, and remembered back caring for the teak on our older Catalina sailboat, and I got the shakes. We're taking delivery of Encore, an Albin 40 Sundeck on March 16, but it's never too early to start thinking about teak refinishing. I found this article on sealing teak with a two-part epoxy.

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/document.do?docId=351

The results look good, but I'm not sold on this epoxy method, as I've seen an older Marine Trader that has all the teak just treated with Australian Timber Oil, and it looks fantastic. The owner, an older single lady maintains the entire boat herself (teak decks as well!). Her boat is in the marina where we'll be picking up Encore next month, so I'll post some photos then.

Jim
M/V Encore (separate thread on M/V vs. M/Y)

MakinMemories said:

We used a varnish we found at Lowes called Spar. It is not bad but does not hold up under general wear and tear (lines, the sun, feet) very well. Also could be us. We think that we will try a different brand next go around.

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After a slow start with a 30' sailboat in 1977, I have tried just about every brand of varnish available. About 10 years ago I concluded that you actually do get exactly what you pay for. Since then, I buy only Epifanes. My varnishing program has been reduced to fixing holes and an average of half to all of the way around the boat every year with a single top coat. I never use sandpaper coarser than 120 grit or finer than 400 grit. I am very happy with the results, as my boat continually gets compliments.
Using a Badger hair brush gives the best finish.

koliver said:

After a slow start with a 30' sailboat in 1977, I have tried just about every brand of varnish available. About 10 years ago I concluded that you actually do get exactly what you pay for. Since then, I buy only Epifanes. My varnishing program has been reduced to fixing holes and an average of half to all of the way around the boat every year with a single top coat. I never use sandpaper coarser than 120 grit or finer than 400 grit. I am very happy with the results, as my boat continually gets compliments.
Using a Badger hair brush gives the best finish.

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Try Penofin exterior marine pentetrating wood oil. Read instructions carefully, really good stuff!

I'll be refinishing my 3 doors soon and plan to use the West System epoxy (105/207) with Epifanes (times 3) over the top. I've been sold on Epifanes since the PO told me that's all he ever used, so that's all I've used. I refinished the doors 5-6 years ago but the finish suffered from insufficient coats (my bad) and excessive sun in my covered slip where most areas are protected.

I'll be building some makeshift plywood doors to use while the rehab is underway. That will buy me enough time to do the job right at home. Last time I did the work dockside, a little bit at a time, and the results showed it.

I just have to figure out how to time it when Scary doesn't have much going on so I can tap his knowledge and skills. Sure wish Pack Mule and Deckrotte lived closer!!

Oh Al, all of us woodworking guys would be happy to come out to the left coast and help - if only we could be assured the fridge was sufficiently inspected and stocked

FoxtrotCharlie said:

Oh Al, all of us woodworking guys would be happy to come out to the left coast and help - if only we could be assured the fridge was sufficiently inspected and stocked

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If you showed up F-Charlie, I'd make sure BOTH fridges were stocked with your favorite food and drink.

The easiest method for me is to carefully remove the old varnish with a heat gun. It takes some practice, but once you can get an area to crinkle and bubble, and scrape it off with a wallpaper knife, it goes very quickly - much quicker than sanding. A little steel wool polish, tack cloth and start varnishing. I am hoping my next boat is almost all plastic and steel.