one more teak/ cetol question

[Wanderlust]

As the new owner, Im redoing the teak on my MKII 30 for the first time. Im using Cetol natural with gloss chaser. Looks good and Im happy. Im down to the toe and rub rail. Theyre both stripped and I can see theyre basically two separate pieces of wood (which I should have realized as a carpenter)
So Im looking for some opinions.
1. Do you think doing the complete toe rail but only the top and side of the rub rail (mostly covered in bronze strip) would be a mistake? Will it help the rub rail to dry quicker or will the top Cetol lift? Its a tough piece to maintain on the bottom (we dont haul out every year here in WA)
2. Maybe let the whole rub rail go grey or just use oil?
3. Do I take off the bronze strip if I do the complete Cetol job on it? I think I know the answer.
4. Does anyone have any tricks for the scupper tunnel in the toe rail. A very wet spot and the first to go bad.
5. As a house carpenter, we sometimes caulk between exterior joints. Small bead nicely tooled using tape. But I never see it on boats. Say between toe rail or hand rails and decks. Is this tacky even though it would seem to solve a lot of water/ varnish issues. Maybe a no-no as it would like a house job and ALL our boats are pristine and perfect.

[Oswego John]

4. Does anyone have any tricks for the scupper tunnel in the toe rail. A very wet spot and the first to go bad.

Hi Wanderlust,

Being a carpenter, (on the east coast they fondly refer to them as wood butchers ), you already are aware that the end grain of wood absorbs moisture greater than any other plane of the wood.

When a hole is bored through a toe rail, a lot of new end grain area is being exposed. Unless the hole is treated and protected, it has the potential to deteriorate faster than the rest of the toe rail.

Depending on the diameter of the existing scupper hole, I would suggest wrapping sandpaper around a pencil or suitable sized dowel and sand the decayed wood fibers out, away from the holes, clean them up and apply some kind of sealer to the bore of the hole.

Anything you use for a sealer is better than nothing. Some people use epoxy or poly resin. A thinned coat followed by a regular coat of varnish would work. One of my friends uses Wood Life deck coating.

The sealer can be applied with a "Q" Tip or even several tips that are taped together to make a large Q tip for bigger areas.

Good luck,
O J

[Judith]

Sealing the inside surfaces of the toerail scupper holes sounds like a great (and more lasting) solution. Nice, OJ: I like it! However, I'm confused about the sequence.

If sealing were done before applying Cetol, would those areas take the finish properly, i.e., uniformly with the rest of the toerail? If Cetol goes on first, does that interfere with sealing?

On the caulking question: There does appear to be a bedding substance between toerail and deck. I've gotten the impression that's where the discussion about butyl vs. various 3M products is relevant--or am I misunderstanding the situation?

Wanderlust, I bet your instinct is telling you, yes, remove the bronze. The other options appear to be simply finish around it (finicky, with potential for some messed-up bronze) or tape it off (a PITA), both of which seem more trouble than they're worth. We will need to remove bronze strips for rubrail repair on both sides But I'd take them off even if rubrails were OK. . .

We're sneaking up on wholesale teak repair/refinish, so this is an interesting topic for me, as well.

Judith

[Boyd]

I find that removing the bronze rub rail and applying at least two coats of Cetol to the piece pays off in the end. Its a good idea to get some of the finish into the screw holes. The underside and the face under the rub rail don't get any sun so they last a very long time. When you go to apply a maintenance coat, don't bother removing the bronze rail as the finish under and behind it should be good.

Those pesky scupper holes are a problem. There is no way to get there without making a mess on the deck. I took a rattail file and cleaned out the old varnish, enlarging them a bit in the process. I put two coats with a small brush and they have stayed good for about 5 years even though I have redone the sides and tops which get all the sun several times since.

Just get everything well sealed at the edges. I just brush even with the deck and its never failed there. The failures occur on the top surface that gets all the sun.

Boyd
s/v Tern
CD30 MkII
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

[Wanderlust]

thanks for the replies. I guess I didnt think of the sun as being the worst culprit in the varnish wars. Yeah, maybe I will do the underside of the darn rub rail. The bronze strip, that Im not so sure Ill get to, but maybe. I guess I just had a 100 year varnish failure event when the POs varnish job went kablooie in one year.
I was thinking water but maybe it isnt alway like that so sealing edges with caulk maybe an ugly overkill. Ill try it without. Now, wheres that darn brush.....

[Steve Laume]

I like the 100 year event analogy.

If the PO wanted the boat to look real pretty when she showed for sale he might have put on just a few coats of varnish. I didn't have time to build a finish on the gunnels of a dink one time. I think I got on three coats and by the end of the season, it was all off like a wedding gown.

The grey teak on Raven is holding up quite well. I am into my fifth year though and after upgrading, adding and replacing lots of stuff it might be about time to bite the bullet and man the brush, Steve.