I am inside on the computer because of the rain...I am in the process
of redoing my exterior teak with cetol...I used it for the first
time last year on some of the boards....there was NO question this
year about what I would use to finish the rest of the teak....the
most difficult part is removing ALL of the old finish....parts of
the exterior teak on our boat get a real workout during the year
(racing).
This year the boat looked better than ever at the end of the season
(I have in the past put 6 coats of varnish on the teak....this was
fewer coats and actually held up better than the 6 coats of
varnish )....still had lots of wear in spots but when I started the
"prep" for this year's touch-up, it took me around 5 minutes....I was
amazed....usually it is HOURS....just a quick lick with the sander
and I was ready to go.
The first coat covered the unfinished areas and finished areas and
the result was amazingly even....I was impressed....the color is a
little on the orangie side...something I did not like, but the ease
of application is worth it....I have actually gotten used to the
darker color....also, drying time is less than with the varnishes
I have used...allot less....last year I did not put the gloss over
the finish and I think that is one of the reasons it did have a few
problems (with wear)...this year I am putting the gloss on as well,
so we will see what kind of difference it makes...soooo....to make
this short...I am using Cetol because it has been my experience that
it is easy to use, dries to recoat in less time than the varnishes I
have used in the past and is incredibly durable when used properly
thus saving me time and effort....others may have had other
experiences with this product, but as for me, I am sold....
Thena
28 Mar 2001
Jeff: I re coated our boat last year with 5 coats of Cetol lite and
no gloss. Every 8 to 12 months I have used a maroon scotch cloth and
buffed down the Cetol, then added one or 2 thin coats. I think this
is a really good approach and also know people who use Armada the
same way. After a couple of additional coats and re sanding, it
looks almost like it has a gloss on it.
Yes, stay away from the gloss coat. When I used it previously, it
broke down completely and forced me to strip the entire boat. A big
job I do not want to do again.
Mike
28 Mar 2001
A friend of mine has a benetaue 37, I think, with the entire cockpit
covered in teak. He went with Gloss Cetol and it still look great.
That is if you like cetol. I don't like the red tent. Anyway, even
after sanding, I would still use a good teak cleaner, One Step
formula will be easiest, and let the wood completly dry.
Steve
29 Mar 2001
The instructions on the can mention wiping down with something, but
since I was removing old varnish, it didn't apply to me...read the
directions...if sanding gives you a clean and dry surface, go for
it....that was all I had to do....I now know according to one of
the posts that the "gloss" may cause a problem....from what I had
heard, it would give me an even more durable surface.....we will
see....I have to admit, it is looking incredibly good (in pieces,
on the front porch with the dehumidifier going....trying to rain
outside).....in spite of the challenging conditions, this job is
going forward with less effort than in previous years....next year's
post will tell the story....good luck....
Thena
29 Mar 2001
ps...used "craft" foam brushes to apply the cetol....no more
picking bristles out of the wet cetol....put an even, thin coat on
and had minimal problems with the drips on the sides....buy a few
and pitch them after use...voila!
I would not use teak cleaner after sanding....if I used anything, it
would be acetone...you want to remove as much of the oil from the
wood as possible (teak is naturally very oily) because oil interferes
with the adhesion of your new finish...you want dry and clean....why
add moisture and oil when you already have the surface prepped?...
when in doubt, read the directions....... Yeah, yeah, yeah....I
know....it is a female thing....read the directions anyway....
Thena
29 Mar 2001
It is also a good idea to use tack cloth or something similar
immediately prior to application to remove all of the dust
particles. This is especially important if you did any sanding.
Paul
29 Mar 2001
The teak cleaner will get out a lot that sanding won't. You don't
want to leave a lot of partical on the wood and varish or cetol
over them.
Steve
29 Mar 2001
That is when you remove the dust by vacuuming or use a tack
cloth.......I would not use the teak cleaner after sanding...your
surface isn't clean until everything that is not supposed to be
there is gone.....I use the compressor and blow most of the residue
off, then use the tack cloth right before I actually put the finish
on....before we got the compressor, I used large, soft brushes to
clean the dust away...the compressor works better because it gets
the dust out of all the little nooks and cranny spaces in the wood
itself....after the first coat, I use old t-shirts...we have tons
of them.....during this past year, the color has grown on me....I'm
not crazy about it but it doesn't bother me as much as it did...I
am seeing more and more boats in the marina with the darker teak
(meaning they have witched to a Cetol finish)....I just hope that
by putting the gloss on I din't screw up....
Thena
29 Mar 2001
I oiled the teak of BlewDaze for just the first year ('96), then went
to Cetol finish. In the dry Colorado climate, the lemon or teak oil
needed to be applied every 2 weeks, so I used Cetol the next year ('97).
This has held up pretty well; the interior is still good, but the exterior
really needs to be refinished now. Not too bad . . . 4 seasons, in
the high UV Colorado climate. The exterior Cetol was showing a little
crazing last year, and this year is about 90% gone. Guess when that
stuff goes, it goes fast! I'm sure my negligence greatly contributed
to it's demise - should have been roughing-up and applying a new coat of
Cetol each spring, instead of ignoring it for 4 years?
My preference now would be Bristol Finish epoxy varnish, but since
BlewDaze already has Cetol, guess we'll stick with that treatment.
Cetol does have that orange, semi-opaque look that is not as beautiful
as a fine varnish job. But, 4 years with no maintenance is a big
advantage.
FWIW, Island Packet ships their boats with Scott's Liquid Gold applied
to the interior teak, and a couple coats of some type of varnish or
Cetol on the exterior teak. It's common for owners to upgrade the
exterior varnish to several more coats, but most leave the interior
unvarnished, using lemon oil, orange oil, Scott's Liquid Gold, or teak
oil for maintenance. Perhaps in this more humid climate, just oiling
the interior works well?
See you next weekend!
Regards, Pamela
13 May 2001
I've been using a variety of stuff. Actually, I wonder if it is
good or bad to use different wood treatments? I've been using whatever is
handy at the moment, and justify by saying that whatever I'm using has good
stuff in it that the last stuff didn't. So, I periodically use furniture
paste wax, teak oil, furniture polish, Murphy's Oil Soap, and lemon oil.
If it isn't in bad shape, the furniture polish works well. If it has been
a long time, teak oil does the trick. Again, I don't know if this approach
is good or bad. Sure is convenient, though.
Doug Gardner
13 May 2001
