Honey Teak this weekend

[Jay B.]

I want to apply my Honey Teak to my cockpit teak this weekend. Teak is all stripped and sanded. Tomorrow I want to apply a 2 part stripper to even up the teak and remove any residual finish and/or mildew. I just want to know how long I can expect to wait for it to be dry enough to apply the finish. I was hoping to do the stripping Friday morning and the Honey Teak Sat morning. The temp tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80s with sunny skys.

[John Danicic]

Jay:

Do you mean the two part CLEANER like Snappy Teak?

If so, use the cleaner and wash it off with plenty of water then wait till the teak is completely dry. Your 80 degree temperatures should help speed things along. Apply the first three coats one after the other of Honey in the shade, a cloudy day or early evening/morning if you can. Sunlight tends to cause tiny bubbles. After the three coats of Honey, I would wait 12 hours before you apply the clear top coats.

<a href="http://johndanicic.com/CD-PicturePosts/ ... 8-teak.jpg" target="_blank"><img width="600" src="http://johndanicic.com/CD-PicturePosts/ ... k.jpg"></a>

A good product that Honey Teak. It is what I use on Mariah. I am very happy with as are about 10 boats in my marina.
Sail on

John Danicic
CD36 - Mariah - #124
Lake Superior - The Apostle Islands
CDSOA # 655

[Markst95]

A two part teak cleaner like te-ka will raise the grain, you would have to sand it again before finishing.

[Steve Laume]

I have read that those annoying little bubbles are the result of the expansion of the air in the wood's pores. It was recommended that the first sealer coat be put on well into the afternoon when temperatures are beginning to cool. At that time the wood, would be very warm so the finish would penetrate well and there would be no additional expansion of the gasses within the wood to cause bubbles.

We would all like to get up early and get started but the first coat of varnish is a very good day to sleep late. It will also allow the wood to more completely dry. The down side to waiting too long is that you don't want dew to settle on things until they are dry.

Well I would like to get up early and get started, it's just the waking up part that is difficult sometimes, Steve.

[Jay B.]

I arrived at the boat this morning around 10:30. I cleaned the teak and let it dry. I didn't use a two part cleaner for several reasons. One being that I didn't think the water was going to be on at the marina so I was going to have limited water, two being that our marina is a green clean marina and my boat is in the water, so I didn't want any toxic stuff going in the water...and thirdly I didn't want to chance hurting my gel coat/paint. So I used a biodegradable one step cleaner. It worked pretty good. I'm sure not as well as the two part stuff, but good enough. I then followed the HT directions...sanded after cleaning, used red pad for scuffing, wiped with denatured alcohol and tack rag. I then put three coats of HT on. I did have two places that bubbled a little bit. The flow fluid worked great on those. By the time I finished the HT it was 6pm so I decided to wait until tomorrow to do the clear. Hopefully the dew will not affect it. But, Tom said if it does it is easy to fix...so no worries! Now it's time for a beer or three!

[John Danicic]

Jay:

Thanks for the update. It will be another week and a half before I can even look at my teak let alone tackle that job.

The two part teak cleaner is scary stuff but doesn't seem to harm the gel coat. The first part turns your teak a slimy black which makes you think, "what have I done?" The second part neutralizes the gook and makes your teak look like wood instead of asphalt. It does discolor your bronze ports and rub bars. Washing it all down with lots of water is the only way to clean it up. I did my teak on the hard but you still wonder about the toxicity of the stuff.

Honey Teak is a great coating. Our marina has a Bristol Channel Cutter with acres of teak that was done 7 years ago with Honey, left mostly uncovered during the winters and with an application of one coat of the top coat every other year, still looks great. He had some damage and replaced a small section of teak and you can hardly tell the repair by the color.

Store your unused catalyst upside down, it tends to form a skin. Other then that.

Sail on

John Danicic
CD36 - Mariah - #124
Lake Superior - The Apostle Islands
CDSOA # 655

[Jay B.]

Yesterday morning I arrived at about 9:30. Everything was dry except for one spot that I must have gotten on a little thick was tacky. I went ahead and went over everything with a red scuff pad and tack cloth and proceeded with the clear. I added a touch of flow fluid for good measure (it is optional but I didn't put as much as you can). Tom recommended going against the grain on vertical pieces (like coaming boards). It all went on without a hitch. During drying I had to stay on top of the bubbles, even though it was chilly and very overcast. I took care of it with the flow fluid and it worked well. I left the marina around 2:00 after everything had lost it's tack. I wonder if I got anymore bubbles! The good thing about HT is that I can go back with a light sand and recoat with clear if there are any blemishes that I cannot live without. I think I'll just get 'er cleaned up and go sailing!
Jay

[JBA]

I plan to apply my first time first coat of Semco honey teak tomorrow. Several comments refer to "flow liquid"
What is flow liquid? How do I ger some

Thanks, JBA

[Zeida]

Jay... if you want spectacular results, apply up to 7 coats of the clear. since you already have some on, scuff the existing with the red pads and put on some more clear. You will never regret it.

Honey Teak from Signature Finish: a) catalyst b) HoneyTeak color c) Clear d) Flow. contact Tom Fabula.

FYI: use the Flow to remove excess drips, black marks on gelcoat, just plain dirt. Works GREAT.

[JBA]

Thanks, Zeida, but I still do not know what "flow" is or how to get it. I only know that it helps eliminates heat bubbles.

JBA

[Zeida]

JBA... to order your complete kit of the Honey Teak process -including the Flow that comes with it- you contact Tom Fabula, at Signature Finish, at 1-772-287-6077. e-mail: fabulainc@yahoo.com or www.fabulainc.com - it is a great product.