Painting over my Teak

[casampson]

I have a nice 1975 Cape Dory 25 that is in very good condition. One thing I am not really pleased with is the condition of the coamings and some of the other teak trim. They have some deep gray areas that will require heavy sanding to remove, which, in turn, will possibly make the boards too thin and weak.

I am considering painting them and the rest of the trim over, possibly in the famous Cape Dory brown color. Has anyone out there done this? If so, do you have any pictures to share?

Other opinions on the subject would be most welcome.

[mgphl52]

Another 'option' is to just appreciate the weathered teak look?
That's what I do...
Having a boat in "Bristol" condition usually means you spend far more time on maintenance than on sailing..

[Dasein]

Have you tried TE-KA Teak Cleaner? It should pull all the dirt and gray right out with little effort (just a brush and water). Then you can just leave the deep grooves and treat the wood with varnish, or whatever your preference. It really does an amazing job whenever I've used it.

[John Stone]

CASampson
Not a thing wrong with painting teak. But it’s seldom necessary. And once painted it is very difficult to remove the paint. Teak is a tough wood with natural oils and will normally do quite well left bare. But it does need to be cleaned periodically. Usually just a little soap and water with a wash-cloth. If really fouled you can clean it with a two part cleaner such as TE-KA. It will look new. Don’t make a habit of it though as the two part cleaners are aggressive. Also, the cleaners are hard on fiberglass so read the directions carefully. When it’s ckeaned then sand the high ridges smooth. When you wash your boat use a washcloth on the teak. Never use a brush to clean it.

Don’t sand teak to clean it. You’ll remove too much valuable teak and wear yourself out. That’s what the cleaners are for.

The best source I know of for how to take care of teak and other wood on your boat is called “Brightwork” by Rebecca Wittman.

I don’t have varnished exterior teak on the Far Reach. The bowsprit is varnished Doug Fir and the coamings are varnished A. Mahogany. The teak cap on the bulwarks is painted white. All the remaining teak is bare. Since the photo taken below ive since built new dorades and left them bare.

[casampson]

Thanks for the replies! I failed to mention that the previous owner did clean and sand the teak this year, but did not go deep enough to remove the gray, weathered areas in the grooves. (I'll try to include a photo when I can.) He then varnished with a coat or two of Epiphanes over it all. It just doesn't look good. I did not add any more varnish after I bought the boat, but decided to let it deteriorate in the sun this season. It will probably require some light sanding to get the remainder of the varnish off. He treated the toe-rails with Semco, btw.

Next spring, I will try the TE-KA as advised. Depending on how it comes out, I will decide whether to varnish the teak, let it turn naturally gray, or paint it.

Thanks again for the information.

[John Stone]

The best way to remove old varnish is with a heat gun and a pull scraper. It’s quick and does no damage to the teak. Wittman describes the process in detail in her book.

[Dasein]

As John stated, the best way to remove the varnish is with a heat gun and a pull scraper (with a regular scraper you can badly gouge the wood). It sounds to me like the previous owner may have simply sanded the wood and applied varnish, rather than cleaned the wood properly. The heat gun/TE-KA route is well worth it. This is the route I took and get compliments every time she is out on the water.

[Joe Myerson]

Dasein is right about the heat gun technique, IMHO. But once down to the bare wood, you'll have to apply some kind of finish. I prefer Cetol natural (two or three coats), topped with Cetol Gloss.

That's a lot of work.

I have one friend who painted over the teak on his 42-foot ketch--he said it gives the boat a "work-boat" look. His boat is lovely, and there are, of course, many beautiful work boats out there. Your choice.

--Joe

[Dasein]

There was a member hereon who prepped their Cape Dory 25 Minimus for offshore sailing and painted some of the teak white and it looks pretty nice. Here is a link to the project page for that boat - http://www.omick.net/adventure/sailing/ ... _hull.html

[Forrest]

IMHO - you can clean the teak in about 1-2 hours with bleach. It will look great. While bleach is not the most friendly liquid, with a little care it will work fine. Test it on a small section of teak; rinse often; wear gloves and goggles.

[Steve Laume]

I have considered painting the eye brow and the rub/toe rail the same color as my boot stripe.

I could not bear to apply paint directly to the bare teak as it would make it rather difficult to go back. It would be better to coat the raw wood with some kind of clear finish before the paint. If the teak is very rough then epoxy would be the logical choice. I am not sure how Cetol would work as a base coat but it seems to hold up well and would be easier to remove if going back to a bright finish.

There was a young couple who had a blog a few years back where they went crazy with all sorts of different colors, kind of like the old Victorian homes used to use.

I would be very interested to know if anyone has laid down a base coat and then painted over it, Steve.

[John Stone]

Steve
I have laid down a base coat and then painted. I used varnish—a couple coats—then painted. I did that because if I wanted to go back to the original wood I could remove the paint easily and the varnish would keep the paint out of the wood grain.

[Paul D.]

Years ago on a home built Atkins Ingrid, the skipper had me paint the topsides and bulwarks/caprail with latex house paint. It was still there thousands of miles and three years later. I agree with putting a sealer on prior if you choose to paint.

[Dick Kobayashi]

Clean it up once and let it grey - the teak doesn't need varnish etc. , owners do.

I have found that a pressure washer used judiciously does a nice fast job of cleaning teak.

[John Stone]

the teak doesn't need varnish etc. , owners do.

Well, that’s mostly true but not totally true. Larger pieces of teak will endgrain check and the larger the piece the larger the checking can be. It can in fact be severe...which will shorten its life. You can mitigate it by glueing in a small piece of wood across the grain but it only works with small pieces that won’t see much or any wood swelling. So there are times to varnish teak...or paint it. Good varnish, or paint, properly maintained can make teak last...indefinitely? While I have lots of bare teak on the Far Reach I did varnish the teak winch bases. Otherwise the checking might get larger than I’d care to see.

And what’s wrong with beauty? Isn’t that why we paint our boats and wash them and fuss over them? As Keats said, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” The question is, what’s that beauty worth to you? For some it’s worth a lot. Others, not so much.

I have found that a pressure washer used judiciously does a nice fast job of cleaning teak.

So while teak is a great wood to let go bare—or varnish if you choose—it will eventually degrade. But, good teak left bare, treated properly, can last decades. And while I am a big believer in the adage, “your boat, your money, your way,” I would not use a pressure washer on teak. Teak, between the rings, is quite soft. Best case it will raise the grain, which requires more sanding otherwise the grooves will keep getting deeper. Worst case it will shorten it’s life dramatically. Teak is best cared for with a light scrubbing...with a wash cloth.