CD Typhoon teak and painting question

[Bensimon132]

Hello all,
I have a dilemma. I'm not sure whether I should remove the teak rails on the typhoon, paint the topside and deck, varnish the rails and them put them back on. Doing all of this may make it easier to paint and varnish later, but do you suggest I keep everything on and just tape it of? The teak is pretty old with some damaged areas, so I'm concerned It will break if I attempt to take it of. Also, does anyone have any experience using Interlux perfection for topsides and deck painting? I'm 19 and my forte is in racing 420s, so I'm very new at all of this boat repair stuff. Any advice is much appreciated.

[Joe M]

Hello Ben

I'm planning to refinish all of the rails and toe boards on my 84 Ty later this spring. I don't plan on removing the rails using the following criteria for my decision:
1 - all of the rails are still secure with no signs of sagging or gaps
2 - no evidence of leaks at the deck - hull joint
3 - no "major" rail damage, a few minor scars that I'll sand a bit after stripping...it gives the boat character
4 - time...wanting to keep the project to a few spring weekends and get the boat back in the water ASAP

Unlike you, I'm not painting the deck or topsides. If I was I may think differently after following the same criteria above. Removing all of the bungs and screws and then popping the teak from the bedding compound can be difficult. On a previous restoration, I cracked a 24 ft section of teak rail when removing it and then had to scarf it back together. You may also have to fill your old screw holes with epoxy to get a good bite when reinstalling. If you do take them off, use a good quality bedding compound when replacing the rails (see some of the posts on this board). All things to consider. That said, you need to decide how much work you're in for and what your standards are for the perfect result.

Have fun. Joe

[bamabratsche]

I just finished removing all of my toe- and rub-rails in preparation for painting after recoring a lot of the deck, and I would say the main consideration should be whether they're leaking or otherwise not functioning properly. Mine were a huge, gigantic pain to get off, and it took multiple weekends of removing bungs, drilling out screws with stripped heads from the bung removal, and then it turned out they were bedded with 5200 or something like it. I spent many, many, many hours with a putty knife, some wood shims, a hammer, and several cans of Anti-Bond trying to get the things off, and they are definitely in worse condition now than when I started. Ended up with a split in one area that I will now have to epoxy back together before reinstalling, as well as a nice thick strip of 5200 still firmly stuck to the underside of each one that will have to come off. At this point I am almost debating whether it would make more sense to have new ones made rather than deal with trying to remove any more 5200.

Mine were leaking pretty badly, though, (i.e. over a gallon of water in the bilge after a couple of hard rains) so I think it still made sense to take them off and rebed everything since I was going to be painting the deck and topsides anyway. With my newly-acquired bung-removal skills and a different bedding compound it would not be a huge deal to do again, but if you're just looking for a way to make your life easier, I think you may save some time by just leaving them alone and taping them off.