Temporary Brightwork treatment

[Comoshun3]

I have just closed on a Selene 47 and am anxious to get out cruising again.
I have a list of several projects to work through before I stray too far from home.
After filters and fluids, one near the top of the list is to address a partially completed brightwork restoration.
The PO began stripping the teak cap rails with the intention of “letting it Go grey”.
I prefer however, to restore the original varnish finish.
After reading threads here and elsewhere I am a little overwhelmed and would like to delay finishing the stripping and restoration to next year (or later).
My question is should I put something on the exposed teak to protect it (and maybe look more uniform with the in stripped portion) while I get my act together to finish the job in the future ?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers Rod.

 

[BruceK]

One coat of Deks Olje #1 followed by 2 coats of DO #2 is supposed to be a good temporary varnish solution.

 

[Comoshun3]

Thanks

 

[STB]

I want to be a smart ... and suggest that any brightwork treatment is a temporary brightwork treatment

My new plan is to avoid trying to do it all at once, ever: Whenever I have a few minutes!! The plan is to scuff a section between two stantions and apply a couple of coats and then, every 2-4 coats move on and continuously work my way around the boat and brow. Then repeat.

...we'll see if it works.

I'd suggest either leaving it grey until you get to it, or doing a small section at a time, as tine allow and making progress over time.

 

[Crusty Chief]

I have just closed on a Selene 47 and am anxious to get out cruising again.
I have a list of several projects to work through before I stray too far from home.
After filters and fluids, one near the top of the list is to address a partially completed brightwork restoration.
The PO began stripping the teak cap rails with the intention of “letting it Go grey”.
I prefer however, to restore the original varnish finish.
After reading threads here and elsewhere I am a little overwhelmed and would like to delay finishing the stripping and restoration to next year (or later).
My question is should I put something on the exposed teak to protect it (and maybe look more uniform with the in stripped portion) while I get my act together to finish the job in the future ?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers Rod.

First off, congrats on your new boat, hope you enjoy her as much as we have enjoyed Pairadice. Hull #14

I would recommend you find a top notch Varnish guy and have him do the cap rails the first time. Pay close attention to how its done by a pro, especially what products he uses and the sequence. You’ll learn so much in a short period and in the long run, probably save yourself a bunch of heartache. We used Epifanes over a few polyurethane base coats and then Epifanes with UV protector for the final coats. Total, 3 coats of Poly, 8 coats of Epifanes and 2 coats of Epifanes UV. We get tons of compliments on the finish.

Last but very important, get cap rail covers made and use them. Between the rain, sunshine and everything else the finish wont last long unless you cover them.

Good luck!

 

[Woodland Hills]

Throw away the varnish and pony up for Awlwood when you get around to refinishing. Looks great, goes on rapidly and easily and lasts for a lot longer than any old fashioned varnish. Do it right the first time and you won’t have to do it for another decade.

 

[koliver]

I have just closed on a Selene 47 and am anxious to get out cruising again.
I have a list of several projects to work through before I stray too far from home.
After filters and fluids, one near the top of the list is to address a partially completed brightwork restoration.
The PO began stripping the teak cap rails with the intention of “letting it Go grey”.
I prefer however, to restore the original varnish finish.
After reading threads here and elsewhere I am a little overwhelmed and would like to delay finishing the stripping and restoration to next year (or later).
My question is should I put something on the exposed teak to protect it (and maybe look more uniform with the in stripped portion) while I get my act together to finish the job in the future ?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers Rod.

My experience with teak generally is that when left exposed to the sun and rain, it will deteriorate, whether coated or not. My decks have been left to go grey. The perimeter board has been varnished, so I have a good comparative with varnish adjacent to grey. The grey has worn, now over 40 yrs old, and the varnished wood is proud of the grey by as much as 1/16". In some places the grey is looking like I should be replacing the whole board, but like you, I choose not to do so, at least not this year. My boat has been in a shelter for the winter, almost 30 yrs of its life, so this is mostly summer weather damage.

If you leave your rails another season or two you will be dealing with that much more damage, so I would prioritize it up a little on your list.

Every finish that you put on will require preparation of the surface. That prep will use an almost identical number of hours of your time, so choosing your finish will only make a difference to final coating time.

Crusty makes some good points, and with the same boat as yours.

I choose a varnish over an oil. I have tried oils, including Deks Olje, and found it failed early, looking like another recoat is required, so was really no saving in the amount of work required. Over the years, varnishing since my first sailboat 1977, I have tried every brand name of varnish I have seen, but in the last 10 or so, I have settled on Epifanes, as it requires fewer coats than most others, levels well and retains a good shine longer. You get what you pay for, so its expense is justified. Unlike Crusty, I have never tried one without UV protection, and have never put on as many coats as he suggests. With the amount of teak I have, 2 coats on any board is often all I can manage in a season, and I get to about 1/2 the boat in a given year. Epifanes is the only brand that goes on thick enough to last till the next time.

Canvas (Sunbrella) covers will help, though a shelter offers the best protection.

Welcome to the Forum, and I hope to see you using your boat in the Gulf Islands.

 

[rgano]

With one of the most teak intensive boat out there, a GB42 woodie, I came to love my clear penetrating Epoxy sealer (CPES), my Epifanes, my Sunbrella covers, and my covered slip. Thus, showroom condition was achievable. HOWEVER, were I to be starting out anew these days, I'd have to very seriously consider the synthetics as mentioned above, especially if they were compatible with CPES as an underlayment. So, with that as a prelude, consider two to three coats (all in one day) of CPES which will wear OK for a year even though it is not UV resistant. Then you would be ready to lightly sand the CPES and go with what you want a year later when you are ready.

 

[Comoshun3]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, both for now and when it comes time for a more permanent job.
I'd like to protect the wood and prevent it greying, but at the same time, I'd like to avoid applying something that will be a lot of work removing next year.
Does Tung, or another, oil come off ok? What about CPES?
Can I use the Awlwood primer and pause the project of a while?
Thankfully, I have covers for the cap rails.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Temporary .....
Sand lightly and apply one coat of thinned Varnish.
Repeat if needed/desired.

 

[rgano]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, both for now and when it comes time for a more permanent job.
I'd like to protect the wood and prevent it greying, but at the same time, I'd like to avoid applying something that will be a lot of work removing next year.
Does Tung, or another, oil come off ok? What about CPES?
Can I use the Awlwood primer and pause the project of a while?
Thankfully, I have covers for the cap rails.

The beauty of CPES is you do not have to remove it as I think it goes under just about anything. Check out the literature on it, and I think you'll see it applies to and possible through itself to penetrate and seal the wood. OIL would ne a no-no if you whish to use varnish or one of the space-age finishes later. However, if you want to use the easy to wipe-on oil based coatings (multiple times a year if just oil, then oil away.

 

[Comoshun3]

Thanks again

 

[Choices]

Awlwood primer coat should be sealed. I think you could go a couple months before topcoating though.

I am still amazed at people that sand and touch up varnish every year.

The local brightwork pros prefer epiphanes and other varnishes for ease of application and repeat business. They get to apply it every year.

The clients that specify Awlwood are every four years plus.

To me it was a no-brainer. Looks better, lasts longer. I got plenty of other things to do than brightwork.

You can go to my blog, grandbankschoices, and see the results I have had. You can see the evolution of my projects and the finish.

 

[Cigatoo]

You have my attention now.

“The clients that specify Awlwood are every four years plus.”

It doesn’t sound like you have reached 4 years yet. Any thoughts on what happens in 4 years? A few additional coats or strip and refinish?

 

[STB]

I didn't have as many coats on it as I should have....and in 2.5 years it started flaking off. I scuffed everything, light sanded the grey off the peeled areas, touched up primed the areas where it down to wood, and applied more coats of the topcoat.

You could see the difference in color where I touch up primed (it was darker and redder), but it was good enough for me.

 

[sean9c]

Your original question was looking for a temporary solution. That would be just slap on some varnish until you decide what you want to do with all of your brightwork.
Be careful of using CPES, it's epoxy, it doesn't like UV, unless you keep it overcoated with something to provide UV protection it will break down and go milky

 

[Choices]

I am about five years I think. They say scuff and add a coat each year. I did not do squat for three years, and I stopped at most places at three coats.

Last year added a coat to rear gunles and name boards.

My teak steps are on original cost and really look good.

This was my first brightwork, and use of Awlwood. I think stripping it might be a bitch. It is very hard, you can not scratch with a finger nail.

Any questions shoot me a pm.

 

[JOHN CLAYMAN]

When I was Ted Hood's General Manager more than 100 Selenes were built under my supervision and we also did much of the design and engineering work for Jet-Tern. I would be very pleased to help you with your boat. At first it was an uphill struggle teaching them how to build proper boats, but over time the boats improved and I am proud of what we accomplished. The first question I have is what is the hull number.

 

[Deano]

I did mine with three coats of Cetol five years ago. This year added two more coats and that brought it back to life again. Only light sanding was required.

 

[Cigatoo]

When I was Ted Hood's General Manager more than 100 Selenes were built under my supervision and we also did much of the design and engineering work for Jet-Tern. I would be very pleased to help you with your boat. At first it was an uphill struggle teaching them how to build proper boats, but over time the boats improved and I am proud of what we accomplished. The first question I have is what is the hull number.

There's an offer that you should not turn down!

 

[henrymei]

Throw away the varnish and pony up for Awlwood when you get around to refinishing. Looks great, goes on rapidly and easily and lasts for a lot longer than any old fashioned varnish. Do it right the first time and you won’t have to do it for another decade.

My friend just had a disastrous experience with Awlwood. He was told he should have wintered the boat in a controlled environment. Currently he is redoing over 120 feet of toe rail!

 

[ronobrien]

A friend who was stationed in San Diego told me he used 1 coat of West epoxy, then layered with varnish. He claimed that the epoxy helped stabilize the base and preserve the varnish coats. Although this isn't the temporary fix you were asking for, I though it might have merit.

 

[Cigatoo]

My friend just had a disastrous experience with Awlwood. He was told he should have wintered the boat in a controlled environment. Currently he is redoing over 120 feet of toe rail!

Be interested to know the specifics on the "disaster". Was it operator error or a fault of the product?
Beautiful Wilbur by the way!!

 

[Goldcar]

We just redid the brightwork on our 55 Fleming that went to disrepair. They stripped and replaced with 15 coats. It's looking amazing. I asked about covers and was told that water will always get in and it's not worth the cost of the covers. FWIW

 

[Avalon36]

I just refinished the toe rail on my Downeast. It's a big job. Once I got to bare wood, I applied multiple coats of clear penetrating epoxy sealer. Personal choice is Smith's. It goes on fast and easy, will seal the wood and give you a good base to start from next year.

 

[Dave Gruenwald]

What's wrong with the old way?

What's wrong with just Teak cleaner once a year and then teak oil?

 

[STB]

What's wrong with just Teak cleaner once a year and then teak oil?

Nothing at all. But, in many places, such as Florida, teak oil lasts ~3 months. So, one needs to keep applying it. The good news is that one doesn't need to sand between coats. Also, preferring or not preferring the lighter color and high shine of some treatments to the less shiny and darker color of teak oil is a personal preference.

 

[angus99]

When I was Ted Hood's General Manager more than 100 Selenes were built under my supervision and we also did much of the design and engineering work for Jet-Tern. I would be very pleased to help you with your boat. At first it was an uphill struggle teaching them how to build proper boats, but over time the boats improved and I am proud of what we accomplished. The first question I have is what is the hull number.

OP here. Very kind of you to offer. If that was meant for me, I have a DeFever—not a Selene or Flemming—and would have to locate the hull #. Also, for my refit, we’re using Awlwood, which may not please brightwork purists, but we are very happy with.

 

[angus99]

What's wrong with just Teak cleaner once a year and then teak oil?

Not a fan. We used oil on our Cal 28 and it bred mould, or some other critters, and required constant upkeep. We’re opting for “low-maintenance teak” . . . an oxymoron, for certain.

 

[SoWhat]

You can temporarily protect sanded teak with Epiphanes RapidCoat. You can put 2 or 3 coats on in a day. 4 or 5 coats should last a year, is easy to apply, and easy to recoat. Semigloss so I can put it on with a chip brush. I thin the first 2 coats.