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Old 05-10-2019, 01:09 PM   #1
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City: Vancouver Rowing Club, Coal Harbour, Vancouver, B.C.
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Re-doing my cap rails

I've been very lazy and did not keep up my cap rails, which I did in 2010. On my 41' Marine Trader it works out to close to 100' feet of cap rail. I was happy with the work I did last time with Cetol but I wouldn't mind going one class better and trying Epiphanes.

Question

Would it be a good idea to use a sealer, such as West Systems epoxy sealer to seal the teak? Would the varnish fix more securely to the teak and would water ingress have less liklihood of creating water marks?

On my hand rail and teak grab rails I used multiple coats of natual cetol and then finished it off with gloss. This really looked good. Does Epiphanes have a satin and gloss product you could to the same with? Or, is this not needed with a better product like Epiphanes?

Also in my flybridge my bright work isn't as damaged. I would like to sand off the gloss and redo with Epiphanes. Would that be a dumb idea?

Like to have a bunch of you guys chime in with an opinion.
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Old 05-10-2019, 02:43 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grahamdouglass View Post
I've been very lazy and did not keep up my cap rails, which I did in 2010. On my 41' Marine Trader it works out to close to 100' feet of cap rail. I was happy with the work I did last time with Cetol but I wouldn't mind going one class better and trying Epiphanes.

Question

Would it be a good idea to use a sealer, such as West Systems epoxy sealer to seal the teak? Would the varnish fix more securely to the teak and would water ingress have less liklihood of creating water marks?

On my hand rail and teak grab rails I used multiple coats of natual cetol and then finished it off with gloss. This really looked good. Does Epiphanes have a satin and gloss product you could to the same with? Or, is this not needed with a better product like Epiphanes?

Also in my flybridge my bright work isn't as damaged. I would like to sand off the gloss and redo with Epiphanes. Would that be a dumb idea?

Like to have a bunch of you guys chime in with an opinion.
Epiphanes is varnish pure and simple. Maybe a better quality, but it is still varnish with all of the work that goes with it. 3 coats of Cetol Natural Teak and 2 gloss will be half the work. Will the Cetol look as nice? Probably not. But it doesn’t look bad and lasts twice as long when done correctly. I have used both pretty extensively.
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Old 05-10-2019, 02:49 PM   #3
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My husband and I used Epifanes for a number of years. He actually took a multi-week course at the Center for Wooden Boats here in Seattle so he could learn and pick the brains of people who know these things :-).

What we've learned is that it's not something do you and then let be for a year or so - the initial application starts with sanding to raise the wood grain (by hand or w/power sander). Then it was recommended that 10 -12 thin coats (thin w/mineral spirits) be applied. And scuff sand by hand in between each coat. After that, maintain annually by scuff sanding and applying 2-3 thin coats.

It's not that much work (our boat is 34' and we have cap rail, two doors, and brightwork on the eyebrow and flying bridge) - once you get the initial work done. The big problem, which you'll no doubt deal with being in BC, is the lovely wet weather we have in the Pac NW. Each coat could take a day to dry, and you can't rush it.

Epifanes does come in both high gloss and satin, by the way.

We found something else last year that you might want to look into: Bristol Finish. It dries super-fast and also comes in a high-gloss finish. We tried it and it weathered last winter (we don't moor under cover) fairly well. However we will still do the scuff-sand + 2 or 3 coats this year. The difference is we can do that in a day b/c it dries so quickly. It looks just as nice as the Epifanes did, in our opinion anyway.

Frankly - I'm ready to go for a Camano or Ranger Tug that has 0 brightwork. It looks so beautiful but it's kind of a pain.
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Old 05-10-2019, 03:16 PM   #4
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debbiet,
Are you using the Bristol Finish right over the existing Epiphanes?
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Old 05-10-2019, 04:03 PM   #5
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The only exterior/not covered teak on our boat are the handrails, and they convert to stainless about 8' from the bow for a stainless pulpit. I'm going with Pettit Flagship Varnish - has extremely high UV protection - and I do love the look of a freshly varnished handrail
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Old 05-10-2019, 04:27 PM   #6
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Some satins don't provide UV protection as they're intended for interiors. You might want to check whichever one you use.
You're not going to put varnish over Cetol, you have to strip back to bare wood. Using epoxy under your varnish won't stop moisture getting in the joints/edges. Every pro I know that thought epoxy under varnish was the answer no longer does it.
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Old 05-11-2019, 12:20 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Cigatoo View Post
debbiet,
Are you using the Bristol Finish right over the existing Epiphanes?
Yes - just scuff sanded the varnish, unless it was in rough shape then took it down (as you'd have to do no matter what).
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