Any proud of their teak finish with pix to email?

[Evan]

Hi -- I'm in the throes of stripping the teak on my 1975 CD25 CHLOE. Because of all the rave reviews, I am considering Cetol Marine for the finish. I was wondering if any of you who are proud of your teak finish might have pictures you could email me.

Evan
s/v CHLOE



eeames@aol.com

[Jim Swiatocha]

Hi -- I'm in the throes of stripping the teak on my 1975 CD25 CHLOE. Because of all the rave reviews, I am considering Cetol Marine for the finish. I was wondering if any of you who are proud of your teak finish might have pictures you could email me.

Evan
s/v CHLOE

Evan-

We too are completely redoing the teak on a CD25 we just purchased. We are in the middle of the project and won't have any pix for a week or two but I thought I'd give you some comments.

Because of some comments we saw here regarding the orange coloration of Cetol, we opted to go with Bristol Finish. After applying one coat on part of the boat, it appears that the Bristol Finish will give the teak a dark brown stain and a very high gloss. It appears to be very transparent, letting the grain clearly show through.

After first scrubbing the teak with cleanser and then sanding, we decided that scrubbing is a waste of time. We also found that the 3M professional grade marine sandpaper seems to cut much faster and stay open longer than the commodity sandpaper we started with. We are beginning with 60 grit and finishing with 150.

After working all weekend in the blistering heat on the East Coast, and only finishing sanding half the teak, I've developed a new appreciation for the beauty of aluminum toerails (just kidding).

The Bristol Finish literature says that with a couple of maintenance coats a year, the wood will never again need to be stripped. I really hope that's true. Best of luck with your project.

Jim Swiatocha
CD25 NEEDFUL THING



cpgjim@erols.com

[Rich]

I'm just finishing the toe rail on my CD26 using Cetol satin. I'm not going for furniture grade here, I'd rather be sailing, but I do want to preserve what's left of the teak. I used a 2 part teak cleaner, followed by a 120 grit orbital sander to smooth what grain lifting there was from the scrubbing. I tried to reach a compromise that would preserve the shape of the rail as much as possible. I then followed with 3 coats of Cetol per instructions. I was pleasently surprised how how un-orange the finished work turned out. I've seen other boats including a CD30 in the same marina with the classic jaundiced looking finish. What I got was closer to what I would describe as a honey tending to reddish shade. I wonder if Cetol has been playing with the pigment a bit in response to market pressure from competing brands? Anyway, I'm very pleased with the results given my minimal efforts.



rpassmore42@hotmail.com

[Jerry Hammernik]

Hi -- I'm in the throes of stripping the teak on my 1975 CD25 CHLOE. Because of all the rave reviews, I am considering Cetol Marine for the finish. I was wondering if any of you who are proud of your teak finish might have pictures you could email me.

Evan
s/v CHLOE

I'm trying something I haven't seen on this board yet. I stopped in at BOAT US to pick up some Cetol Light and someone had put samples of various finishes on a piece of teak. I really liked the look of the BOAT US Teakcoat. So I bought it and have just started. It looks like a varnish job but is easier to apply (no sanding between coats) Should last a year and then need a maintenance coat according to the label. Only time will tell, but so far, so good.
Jerry Hammernik
CD28 Lion's Paw #341



dauntles@execpc.com

[Jon]

Hi,

I've been using Cetol for five years now. I find the more Cetol applied the more orange it looks. Unlike varnish, Cetol does not look better with every coat. I put four coats of Cetol regular on my tiller a years ago, and it is still orange. The two coats I put on all the other teak looks fine. I find two coats to be about the limit for regular satin Cetol. I do like it, and upkeep is easy.

Jon

[John R.]

Hi -- I'm in the throes of stripping the teak on my 1975 CD25 CHLOE. Because of all the rave reviews, I am considering Cetol Marine for the finish. I was wondering if any of you who are proud of your teak finish might have pictures you could email me.

Evan
s/v CHLOE

Evan-

We too are completely redoing the teak on a CD25 we just purchased. We are in the middle of the project and won't have any pix for a week or two but I thought I'd give you some comments.

Because of some comments we saw here regarding the orange coloration of Cetol, we opted to go with Bristol Finish. After applying one coat on part of the boat, it appears that the Bristol Finish will give the teak a dark brown stain and a very high gloss. It appears to be very transparent, letting the grain clearly show through.

After first scrubbing the teak with cleanser and then sanding, we decided that scrubbing is a waste of time. We also found that the 3M professional grade marine sandpaper seems to cut much faster and stay open longer than the commodity sandpaper we started with. We are beginning with 60 grit and finishing with 150.

After working all weekend in the blistering heat on the East Coast, and only finishing sanding half the teak, I've developed a new appreciation for the beauty of aluminum toerails (just kidding).

The Bristol Finish literature says that with a couple of maintenance coats a year, the wood will never again need to be stripped. I really hope that's true. Best of luck with your project.

Jim Swiatocha
CD25 NEEDFUL THING

I'm definately an advocate of Bristol Finish. I've used it for awhile now. There are some points about it that I've experienced that need to be pointed out.

In it's liquid mixed state it is the color of butterscotch. After it is applied it is clear with a very slight warm tint like a typical spar varnish just as the manufacturer advertises it. It does not turn anything brown. That observation could be due to the grain of the wood but is definately not caused by Bristol Finish.

It dries very fast. There is a definate learning curve in using it. You should forget everything you know about applying varnish before you use Bristol Finish because you do not apply it with the same technique. It's a two part mix finish that allows for the addition of reducer which will modify brushability and dry time to suit the working conditions. This has to be experimented with. It does not take long to get the mix right.

It is a thin viscosity product and I first had some trouble using typical badger and china bristle brushes. I switched to Redtree high density foam brushes and found them superior for application.

The gloss is incredible! Crystal clear and deep. This is truly a beautiful finish for the connoisseur of brightwork.

It is an acrylic urethane finish. The same thing as Honey Teak which is darker and warmer.

With teak that is sanded starting with 80 grit and graduating to 220 grit it will take the minimum 6 coats of Bristol to get the gloss as mentioned by the manufacturer. You can't get away with less to acheive the expected results. It goes on very fast. I had some coats dry for recoating in about 30 minutes. It all depends on ambient weather conditions and the amount of reducer used. There is no sanding between coats within a 24 hour period of the last coat applied.

Cleaning brushes is a breeze. I dip the foam brush in a little denatured alcohol and blot it on a pad of paper towels and it's clean. If you use regular brushes you can just suspend them in the alcohol until you are ready to use them again. Just blot them and use them when ready. How much simpler can a product be?

Two + years before recoating with one coat after exposure to Florida weather. Now that's a good finish!

You need to wear a "organic vapor" respirator (ie: 3M) when working with it by brush because it contains isocyanates. Even outdoors in still air it will give you one hell of a buzz if you don't, take it from one who knows. You cannot spray it unless you have a professional oxygen supplied respirator system, just as if you were using linear polyurethane paint systems like Awlgrip or Imron.

I'll e-mail you a picture of a couple of small teak pieces I just did with six coats if you want.

[Jim Swiatocha]

In it's liquid mixed state it is the color of butterscotch. After it is applied it is clear with a very slight warm tint like a typical spar varnish just as the manufacturer advertises it. It does not turn anything brown. That observation could be due to the grain of the wood but is definately not caused by Bristol Finish.

John-

I agree with everything in your post, except that in our case it definitely stained the wood a dark brown color. It is not due to the grain. We coated a toerail and a coaming and all the wood is a uniform dark brown - the color of walnut cabinetry.

When we finished sanding the teak was white. We mixed the Bristol Finish with one part reducer and it was a butterscotch color as you describe. We applied the Bristol Finish outdoors in full sun with the temperature about 95 degrees.

I can't explain our differing results except by a difference in the wood or maybe the ambient conditions. Our boat is a 1980 and the teak was severely weathered - it looked like it had never been treated.

I would have preferred the lighter color you describe but I guess we'll have to live with what we have. I sure don't want to resand the finished pieces. After we're done I'll call the manufacturer and see if they have an explanation.

Jim Swiatocha
CD25 Needful Thing



cpgjim@erols.com

[Don S.]

This comment has nothing to do with Bristol Finish per se, but it may have something to do with the nature of teak. I refinished my drop doors this winter. I used Liquid Gold on the interior sides, and TeakGuard on the exterior sides. The interior is fairly dark brown, matching the rest of the panelling, the exterior is quite yellow -- like unfinished teak. There is also some variation in the color of the individual slats.
Don Sargeant
CD25D #189

In it's liquid mixed state it is the color of butterscotch. After it is applied it is clear with a very slight warm tint like a typical spar varnish just as the manufacturer advertises it. It does not turn anything brown. That observation could be due to the grain of the wood but is definately not caused by Bristol Finish.

John-

I agree with everything in your post, except that in our case it definitely stained the wood a dark brown color. It is not due to the grain. We coated a toerail and a coaming and all the wood is a uniform dark brown - the color of walnut cabinetry.

When we finished sanding the teak was white. We mixed the Bristol Finish with one part reducer and it was a butterscotch color as you describe. We applied the Bristol Finish outdoors in full sun with the temperature about 95 degrees.

I can't explain our differing results except by a difference in the wood or maybe the ambient conditions. Our boat is a 1980 and the teak was severely weathered - it looked like it had never been treated.

I would have preferred the lighter color you describe but I guess we'll have to live with what we have. I sure don't want to resand the finished pieces. After we're done I'll call the manufacturer and see if they have an explanation.

Jim Swiatocha
CD25 Needful Thing

don@cliggott.com

[Debbie]

Last year we had all our external teak sanded down and redone with Armada satin. We had not used it before but could not be happier with the results. The color is a light, warm golden retriever color without any orange. The grain of the wood comes through wonderfully. Last fall and this spring we lightly sanded and reapplied a coat. Application is easy and the color warmth keeps intensifying. We definately made the right choice! Good luck.



debc@ziplink.net

[Rick Parish]

Nothing, absolutely nothing beats varnish for looks. It really comes down to how much of a compromise you want to make between great looks and time invested to get and keep the great look. My Typhoon lives in Tampa Florida and needs 2 coats every 2 month to keep a mirror finish. There are 10 base coats under the 2 sacrificial coats. To me it's worth the effort because my 1965 Typhoon is the boat that gets all the attention at our marina, which is full of forty footers. You get what you work for. If you live north of Virginia you can get buy with 5 or 6 base coats and then 2 coats every spring and one every fall. When I lived in Md, I used Deks Ole (excuse the spelling). It was an acceptable finish given that my sailing time was limited to April - November. If your sailing season is limited to a few months a year, you may not want to invest the time in varnish. If you have a 12 month sailing season, a weekend every two months is not much of a sacrifice. I hope you have good results with what ever decision you make.

Hi -- I'm in the throes of stripping the teak on my 1975 CD25 CHLOE. Because of all the rave reviews, I am considering Cetol Marine for the finish. I was wondering if any of you who are proud of your teak finish might have pictures you could email me.

Evan
s/v CHLOE

rick.parish@Honeywell.com

[John R.]

In it's liquid mixed state it is the color of butterscotch. After it is applied it is clear with a very slight warm tint like a typical spar varnish just as the manufacturer advertises it. It does not turn anything brown. That observation could be due to the grain of the wood but is definately not caused by Bristol Finish.

John-

I agree with everything in your post, except that in our case it definitely stained the wood a dark brown color. It is not due to the grain. We coated a toerail and a coaming and all the wood is a uniform dark brown - the color of walnut cabinetry.

When we finished sanding the teak was white. We mixed the Bristol Finish with one part reducer and it was a butterscotch color as you describe. We applied the Bristol Finish outdoors in full sun with the temperature about 95 degrees.

I can't explain our differing results except by a difference in the wood or maybe the ambient conditions. Our boat is a 1980 and the teak was severely weathered - it looked like it had never been treated.

I would have preferred the lighter color you describe but I guess we'll have to live with what we have. I sure don't want to resand the finished pieces. After we're done I'll call the manufacturer and see if they have an explanation.

Jim Swiatocha
CD25 Needful Thing

Jim,

As Don notes in his post and I'm sure you understand, teak has a varying nature in its color from one piece to the next. That is one of the difficulties in working with it to get a uniform finished result on a project. Naturally a great variance in teak color can be noted between the end grain and the surface grain when any finish is applied to a given piece of teak. I think the same sort of excessive porosity in that situation is the culprit in your dark brown results.

In other words, I speculate what may have happened in your situation is that your teak was very open grained due to its long term neglected state and the resin content in the wood was greatly reduced resulting in what you termed "white" in color. If you used a harsh cleaner and a bleach in addition to the already aged condition it may have left the teak in an extremely oil/resin starved state (white). Then when the Bristol Finish was applied it soaked in deeply resulting in a darkish brown appearance because of high saturation.

Another possibility is that perhaps there was a chemical contamination that occured.

Sadly, it sounds to me no matter what finish you would have applied, the same results would have resulted. I think if you take a newer piece of teak, clean it, bleach it, sand it 220, solvent wipe it and apply the Bristol you will get stunning results (6 coats) and a natural teak color just as if you applied a typical spar varnish.

I have coated many different new and older pieces of teak with the Bristol and I have never had a result anything close to what you mention you've experienced. I don't take issue with your results, just that I think any varnish would have rendered the same dark coloring you describe. I truly think your problem was the result of the wood rather than the finish. I will sure be interested in hearing what the guys at C-Tech have to say about your experience.

By the way I'm amazed you were able to use the Bristol in 90 + degree heat and only used one part reducer. I had to use on average 3 parts and sometimes 4 parts ( as high as you can use without experiencing wrinkling) at high 80's temps to allow good flow out. I was in 37% to 72% humidity and 5 - 10 mph winds in the shade / partial sun.

Good luck, I hope you are able to determine the exact cause of the darkening.

[Tom Vanco]

Hi -- I'm in the throes of stripping the teak on my 1975 CD25 CHLOE. Because of all the rave reviews, I am considering Cetol Marine for the finish. I was wondering if any of you who are proud of your teak finish might have pictures you could email me.

Evan
s/v CHLOE



Evan,

I have friends who use cetol and like it but I have not used it myself. But there is one brand I have used and will NOT EVER use again. Honey Teak!!!
I have a CD 28 that I redid all the teak on and wanted it to look great so I took GREAT pains to use this product EXACTLY as the directions state( this is a two part system and I have experience with 2 part paint. I painted ANNIE with AWLGRIP (a great product)). Which call for 3 coats of HONEY(a base coat) and then 2 coats of clear. The manufactor states that Honey teak is good for 2 years in the FL sun. I used FOUR coats of base and THREE coats of clear and it lasted TWO MONTHS before it started to bleed through. This is in the weak sun of the great lakes!! This is the second season(the boat was under cover ALL winter) and the teak is covered with light(white) bleed through spots. Some of the teak I refinished was done at home in the basement and they got FIVE coats of base and even they are starting to show signs of bleed through!!! My plan is to now go this season and let this stuff bleed and wear off as much as possible on its own and then I am going to have to REDO ALL the teak. This means resanding all the teak on a CD 28 after 2 seasons. Needless to say I am just sick about this.

I redid the teak on my old boat (not a CD) with just regular spar varinish (8 coats) and it lasted SIX years in the northren sun before I had to redo the top two coats.

I'm not sure yet what I am going to redo the teak with but I will never use any product put out by Signature Finishes again. Oh, I forgot to mention that this stuff costs a small fortune.

Tom Vanco

s/v ANNIE



ktvanco@juno.com