Teak Railings

Sanded to bare teak, using Cetol Marine. How many coats should I put, should I sand between coats, how long to wait between coats, is there a top coat I should put on.

3 coats of Cetol color and 2 coats of gloss..... Total 5 coats. No sanding necessary between coats. However sanding between the 2 coats of gloss will give a smoother finish if desired.
24 hours between coats.
Good luck!

Greetings,
Mr. k. I will offer a slightly different opinion than Mr. E. One coat Cetol Marine and 2 or 3 coats, preferably 3, of course, of gloss.
My reason for this is Cetol Marine does impart color to the teak and we prefer a lighter hue in our teak.
On some items I have sanded between coats to produce a smoother finish as Mr. E. mentions but with the amount of exterior teak we have I limited the "some" items.

5 coats of Cetol Gloss, sanding after coats 3 & 4.
Last refinish of the FB nameboards I applied a diluted teak stain to even up and restore color, without sanding really hard right back to "green teak". I`m watching that work, for its longevity.

So I am open to learn. I was under the impression that the Cetol gloss does not have any UV protection. Therefore the color.....either natural teak or Cetol light needed to be applied rather heavily beforehand.

Greetings,
Mr. E. The UV protection is the reason we use it. Cetol® Marine Gloss Wood Finish for Yachts | Interlux

Ronnie, I have been using 3 coats of the Marine Natural Teak, scuffing lightly between coats with a green Scotch fiber pad between coats. I have never used a topcoat, or two, of gloss but after reading this thread I think I'll pick up a can of gloss and give it a try. Conditions here are about the worst for the life of any coatings!
I'll probably be at the boat tomorrow drop by if you pass that way.

kartracer said:

Sanded to bare teak, using Cetol Marine. How many coats should I put, should I sand between coats, how long to wait between coats, is there a top coat I should put on.

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Prepping teak for Cetol is just like prepping for varnish if you want the best looking, longest lasting finish.

Clean and sand the wood very smooth. Then I'd put down at least 4 coats of the color coating and then 3-4 of the gloss.

If you're not using the gloss then at least 6 coats of the color coat.

With the color coat, depending on the weather, you can over coat without sanding between coat in the same day. I've put on as many as 3 coats in a day.

After 12 hours/over night, if the finish is smooth just scuff sand well with 3M green scuffy pads before putting on the first coat of the day.

One of the keys to a long lasting finish is to fill the grain of the wood and end up with a very smooth finish.

Cetol is ugly. Leaves an orange finish. Use Epithanes

Greetings,
Mr. MVD. Yup, Cetol does impart color that's why I only use 1 coat of the Marine finish (post #3). Epithanes is a varnish with none of the benefits of Cetol's easy application and easy repair/recoat. Varnish is WAY too much work.

But far more beautiful

Plus the OP is using Cetol. Varnish is not in the equation.

Im in Mexico. The Mexicans do beautiful finish work.

MVDarlin said:

Im in Mexico. The Mexicans do beautiful finish work.

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Hopefully just on railings, not on walls.

I had the entire interior varnished for $200. Satin finish

BruceK said:

Hopefully just on railings, not on walls.

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They do good work on stone walls. The Gated Communities in Texas Cities are, almost W/o exception done by Mexican Stone Masons. Paid for mostly with Gringole $'s. I have it on good authority that the IBMSM (International Brotherhood of Mexican Stone Masons) are quite excited and hopeful about the possibility of working close to their families and homes.

The Cetol "Natural Teak" color is much lighter and "less orangey" then the "Cetol Light" despite what the names might implicate. Not as pretty as varnish but a lot less work....less often.

What, nobody mentioned....

Finished all teak on boat, went with Cetol Natural and Man-O-WAR clear. Went to the local marine paint store and asked what they thought I should use. Owner said he has 6 different clears in stock, go out the back door and pick the one you want. Thinking where is this guy sending me, but he was following. In the back yard of his store in the weather was 3 6x6's all had different clears. They are all 2 years old and that is what they look like, you pick.
I used the same brush for the entire boat without cleaning it. Someone had posted a while back about putting your brush in a plastic bag then in the freezer until ready to use it again, IT WORKS.

MVDarlin said:

I had the entire interior varnished for $200. Satin finish

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You're in Mexico right?

kartracer said:

Sanded to bare teak, using Cetol Marine. How many coats should I put, should I sand between coats, how long to wait between coats, is there a top coat I should put on.

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Done my share of wood over the years and am NOT a fan of Cetol, I used it only once. It just does not look right ...... going with

Le Tonkinios Linseed Varnish this time around and I like the way it lays up and looks. FB

Capt.Bill11 said:

You're in Mexico right?

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Yep. Mazatlan. The laborers working in the yard earn $100 per week. Complete refit. Reglassed hull. Opened and cleaned fuel tanks. Repaint entire boat. Refurbish canvas. New props. New top end both engines. Bottom end port engine. New nav housing expertly made with fiberglass. Replaced cracked windows. Repaint and rebuild davit. Sand deck and replace missing plugs. Varnish all outside wood. Replace refer and freezer. Replace toilet hoses. Check my blog page MVDarlin

Ex Sailor,
I've mixed a lot of my own linseed oil for our teak on the Willard and had mixed results. Works fairly well but a bit sticky for a few weeks and that is about half of it's time between coats. I used raw linseed oil, not purified and on the first few coats thinned w turpentine. Perhaps it wouldn't have been sticky if I had used boiled linseed oil on later coats. Easy to use if you don't mask. When it gets on hard surfaces like paint or gel-coat it attracts a lot of dirt and looks terrible. But if one recoats often enough it protects the wood and gives it the warm wood look most like. I also added about 10 % oil varnish after the soak-in coats.

This Tonkinios site reads a little like a snake oil presentation but I've seen it before .. enen on TF. Most here think oil based stuff is just too old school to be any good .. out w the old in w the new. But we prefer it.

Sure wish you could buy a can of paint w the ingredients listed on the can. It was required by law in the past. Phenolic resin and tung oil or what. Tonkinios dosn't say specifically what's in their product either. I learned years ago phenolic resin and tung oil was the best resin and oil. The vehicle was listed and the percentages of all were there for all to see. Make a cheap varnish? Sure. Just put in more vehicle (solvent) and less resin and oil. No way to tell now.

But I'd like to use some Tonkinios oil and see how it goes.

Tried linseed oil on my home cedar deck once. What a mess. Took years to dry.

MV did it turn black?
Linseed oil is fungus food they say.
Gotta keep at it.
But oils and oil base is easy to do and if you geep it up a varnish finish lasts for many years. Removing at the end is not fun though. 10 years?

Don't use the original orange Cetol. Use the 'Natural Teak' Cetol, and then the Clear Gloss or Satin Gloss Cetol top coat. The whole idea is that the Cetol has pigment which tends to block UV; it also makes the finish darker with each ensuing coat. They also say that Cetol is more tolerant of leaks/water seeping under edges; I don't observe that that's true.

There is available both boiled and raw Linseed Oil. Neither is particularly UV resistant. The raw Linseed oil won't polymerize anytime soon and will remain sticky 'forever'. The boiled Linseed oil polymerizes in relatively short order and works perfectly well as an interior wood finish, though it is not terribly water resistant.

Cetol Natural Teak two coats and two coats of clear. I like the color and it didn't turn orange. It's a shame that sanded teak doesn't keep its color- that wold be my favorite.

There are plenty of choices, this was the one that I liked and worked for us.

mike

uh oh

You all make me glad to have gone stainless.

I'm interested in the views of this group with regards to a "maintenance" coat of varnish on rails. Already have 8-12 (lost count) of varnish, the surface is very glossy, so Cetol not an option. Currently in a boatyard for some mechanical work and asked them to quote the above. The reply came back for 2 coats, stating that their sanding would remove one coat so would need 2 for added build-up. When I have done this my sanding has been much less aggressive, unless I waited too long and the gloss was gone. I would lightly sand the surface to rough it up so the new coat would adhere.
What says the group? (except Mark, he manages to get a good shine on his rails without lifting a brush!)