Varnish vs Cetol

[wikakaru]

In a previous topic (http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic ... 02#p215315) I posted a long description of my experiences with both Cetol and varnish. Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to strip and re-varnish the Cetol-coated tiller for my CD22, and I thought a few photos of the project might prove helpful to those trying to decide between the two coatings.

Here is a photo of the tiller prior to commencing the project. When I first bought the boat two years ago I wrapped the tiller with a light nylon line to prevent the mainsheet block from rubbing off the finish when the tiller is raised vertically. This spring I re-finished the tiller with Cetol, but left the wrapping in place. This photo shows the wrapping partially removed, with this spring's Cetol on the right side of the photo, and the previous owner's finish in the middle of the photo where the wrapping has been removed. You can see on the part that I applied the Cetol to, the light colored wood in the laminate (ash?) has been colored orange and is almost the same color as the darker (teak) wood. You can also see how the Cetol's surface is not perfectly smooth because the instructions say not to sand between coats, so any drips, runs, sags, or dust cannot be sanded out.

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When I refinished the tiller, I started by stripping all the old coating with a chemical stripper. It took several applications, but it was an effective way to remove the finish without resorting to heavy sanding.

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Then I sanded with a progression of sandpaper from 100 to 220 grit before applying Epifanes Clear High-Gloss Varnish per the can's instructions. The first 3 coats were thinned 50%, 25%, and 15% with light sanding with 220 grit in between coats. That was followed by 6-7 coats (I lost count) of unthinned Epifanes separated by light sanding with 320 grit. Here is the final result:

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You can see a nice contrast between the light and dark grained woods in the laminate. The varnish is both hard and smooth, unlike the Cetol which was always a bit soft and sticky. Also the varnish has no drips, runs, or sags because they were all sanded out between coats.

I will probably continue to maintain the Cetol on the rest of the boat's teak because it takes a bit less time to recoat than varnish and because I am always anxious to launch as soon as I arrive in Maine in the spring, but I will keep the tiller varnished, because it is easy to remove from the boat and varnish in the off season. The varnished tiller just feels and looks so much better than Cetol, so it is worth the extra effort to me.

Good luck to everyone who appreciates nice looking brightwork regardless of the finish you choose.

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[Jim Walsh]

Very nice result. Epifanes is my favotite also.
Just to clarify you can sand Cetol between coats. This is a quote from their Application Procedures, “If you sand between coats apply a fourth coat of Cetol to compensate for the reduced layer thickness”.

[wikakaru]

Thanks! I will have to try that next spring...

[jfischgrund]

I'm a big fan of Cetol but after seeing the original post, I am bringing my tiller home for the winter, stripping it, and then varnishing it. I will leave all the other brightwork with Cetol since I stripped and sanded and refinished it all with 4 coats of Cetol the summer before last and it still looks quite good. Thanks for the post and the pictures -- very convincing.
JOE