Bright work

[rschattman]

I am about to do some refinishing of the brightwork on my CD 36. It is currently treated with Cetol. While its easy and durable, it doesnt have the look I love about brightwork. Other products to recommend? Has anyone used Bristol? In addition, any advise on technique for removing Cetol if I go that route? Thanks for the words of wisdom. - Richard

[Frank Vernet]

you'll find somewhere around 10^8 posts with advice, recommendations, warnings, opinions, etc....

BLUF: One of the most discussed topics in this forum...and for good reason. We're torn between expediency and sailing (Cetol or nothing) and glorious brightwork (varnish et al).

In the end, regardless of your final choice, you'll have the prettiest boat in the marina

Good luck.

[Ed Haley]

Yup, you hit on a topic that's on most of our minds a lot this time of the year, you southern bretheren notwithstanding. A high quality varnish job really makes our boats stand proud.

Many routes you can go to get there. Varnish looks the best but is high maintenance. Cetol is low maintenance but too many Cetol Marine coats will turn the color muddy when the sunlight strikes it a certain way. Both require stripping off the previous varnish or lacquer by scraping, sanding or use of the heat gun.

I'd like to try something different this year on a test area. Supposedly good results are obtained using 3 layers of West system epoxy and then 3 or 4 layers of varnish. Maybe I'll do the eyebrows using this method by removing them so I can apply the coatings between the piece and the fiberglass.

The epoxy can be applied two or three coats in a day, sealing the entire eyebrow. Then the Captain's Varnish will bring out the grain and show it off even more.

[Steve Laume]

I did the clear epoxy route on a few things over the years. Canoe and kayak padles and some other boat stuff that does not stay out in the sun all of the time. It builds up a beautiful finish pretty quickly and is very tough. The problem is if your top coat of varnish fails for any reason and the epoxy is exposed to UV rays it will turn a nasty milky yellow. Unlike varnish or Cetol it is unlikely to peel right off should this occur. It just seems like there is the potential for major disaster. As long as you keep a protective coating over it you would be fine. There just is no easy way out, Steve.

[Will Angus]

Over the last few weekends I have been removing Cetol from my CD30. I searched the board and found a lot of good advice. One more tip would be to visit your local woodworking shop and buy several good scrapers. They tend to be much better than those at the local hardware store and worth every dollar.
________
IVAN CAPELLI

[rtbates]

While I haven't used it YET. This the product I chose is Aqua Strip. Water clean up, biodegradable. http://star-distributing.com/shopsite_s ... page4.html

And for a finish I'm going with Teaqua Oilhttp://www.teaqua.com/ Again water clean up.


Good Luck

[Carter Brey]

This spring I'll be trying Honey Teak for the first time. This stuff looks beautiful and is designed to stand up to the Florida sun. It's expensive, but so far I've only read and seen excellent things about it and its longevity. I'll post reports and photos as the work progresses.

http://www.signaturefinish.com/index.ph ... Honey+Teak

[Ben Thomas]

I applied honey teak on my CD30 four years ago. Very pleased with the results. This spring I will have to touch up a few areas on aft toe rails just below and forward of aft cleats, chafing.
I can't stress the prep work on the teak enough.. it will make all the difference in the world. Follow the directions to a tee.
I would apply eight coats of clear finish over the four coats of honey teak. Since it goes on so quickly and drys just as quickly its easy to get the job done in one long day.
Make sure when you tape that the gel coat is clean under the tape and press firmly at edge making sure the tape is adhering (sealed ) The finish will creep in under the tape and leave a very unpleasant surprise and difficult clean up. Of course I have never done anything remotely like that!
Tom Fabula from Signature Finish is a character, very fast service and delivery. Top Notch
Oregon does not have the sun of Florida and touch up may come more frequently but four years is not bad.
Best of luck Ben

[marilou]

I notice they sell it by the oz./sq. ft. How much product did you require for your 30 CD?

[Ben Thomas]

You are taxing my short term memory!!
I started with 32 oz. of Honey teak and 32oz. of clear, 16oz of catalyst. Flow fluid 32oz.
I used the left overs for other projects. I have restocked most of the items of the years, a trick I learned with the catalyst is to store it in the fridge for extended periods of time, bring it out and let it warm up to room temp. to use.
Another trick on the flow fluid, catalyst and clear is not to pop the seal out under the screw top lid. Leave it in place and drill or punch small round hole 1/8" to 3/16th" in dia. To measure out fluids I used a freebie infant meds. syringe (oral) dispenser. Regular looking syringe 1/2" in dia. and about 4" long. No needle but small extended orifice that you can dip into hole in cap and extract fluids, measuring amounts as you go. No muss very little fuss. This makes mixing in appropriate %s very easy. You can flip the can upside down without losing or spilling any fluid to fill the syringe with plunger.
Oh, freebie meaning you can get these for free at the pharmacy. The ones with a plunger are best. You may have seen them at West M. for a finger or two not the arm or leg. Hmnm... I think that is it foregoing anymore run on sentences.
Best of luck Ben

[Dick Barthel]

Don’t forget about Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss. It is a varnish alternative that was especially designed for oily wood like teak. It’s a clear amber and looks exactly like Epifanes Clear Varnish. Word search our message board for Epifanes to see other endorsements. A major advantage is no sanding between coats. I used it on a new teak engine control panel box I had made and it came out very varnish like - beautiful. You can also overcoat with varnish at some stage if you wish. I’m also going use Wood Finish Gloss on my coaming boards this spring. We'll see how it holds up.

http://www.epifanes.com/home.htm [They also will send you an informative CD just for the asking]

The Honey Teak product certainly looks intriguing. The ability to do multiple recoats on the same day is huge for anyone who has to travel any distance to work on their boat. I can't wait to see Carter's pics.

A comment on clear epoxy. I remember reading in the Hinckley Guide to Yacht care that they use two base coats of clear epoxy on the cabin sole where UV damage is not a problem. I think it has good water sealing properties which is why its useful on the sole. I decided to use regular polyurethane for floors on my sole and after two seasons it looks the same as when I put it on.

Good luck,

Dick

[Carter Brey]

Dick,

I was one of those enthusiastic users of Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss. I agree that it looks very much like varnish. It's a great product.

I was leaning toward using it again, but seeing how little time I have in my schedule for boat work this spring, I thought I'd give Honey Teak a try. The one-day application, as you say, is a very big attraction, as well as its reputation for incredible toughness.

Lots of good choices out there.

Best regards,
Carter

[Bill Sonntag]

I used Honey Teak on the exterior teak of my Cape Dory 31 eight seasons ago. I am in the process of stripping the teak to bare wood this spring and will replace with phenolic resin varnish this year. Here is a mixed bag of observations.

• The Honey Teak held up well even though I ignored the maintenance recoating recommendation and just recoated with the clear coat one or twice during the entire period – certainly not recommended;
• The finish was very tough and resisted UV damage well, the fast, almost wet-on-wet coating schedule is a real plus;
• The finish was no match for water intrusion from under the coating – I had to do extensive scratch and patch on the toe and rub rails where water migrated under the finish at the deck and at the 90 joint between the toe and rub rails;
• The finish is much clearer on the teak than other commonly used finishes, those often prescribed by users of this board, but it still did not have the clear, grain clarifying properties of phenolic varnish even though I had 7 coats on the teak;
• It had, although the formulation has changed a bit I understand, an orange tint that one had to get used to;
• It was difficult to work with on vertical surfaces, I found it very hard to avoid sags and runs (I have been varnishing boats for a long time) practice to get the right technique down;
• The finish contains toxic materials. The catalyst is a hexamethylene3 Di-Isocyanate Polymer, Free Isocyanate Monomer (Supplier suggests exposure limit of 0.02 PPM the TLV for Toluene Di-Isocyanate) the clear coat and resin contain Butyl Acetate or 2 Butoxyethyl Acetate (TLV 150 and 50 PPM)and 1 Methoxy 2 Propanol Acetate formulas - request the MSDS and follow all directions – this is the single biggest reason I will not use it again, I do not want to invest in nor use full breathing apparatus that I think is necessary with this finish. I used a charcoal filter mask that cut down the respirator/pulmonary irritation I experienced, try to find and wear “….a vapor/particulate respirator which respirator manufacturer recommends as effective for isocyanate vapor or mist……”
• The bench chemistry is very critical for this material – you will start out being very consistent with your mixing but if you waver, the results suffer;
• Ultimately it is tough to strip off the wood – I’m using a heat gun and scrapers, its much tougher to remove than phenolic varnish;
• Finally, a well executed phenolic resin varnish finish should last eight years in the Chesapeake Bay region if one makes the holy pact with the sea gods on refresher coats.

Safe boating includes good material handling, personal and environmental exposure precautions, prep, clean up and disposal practices.

Bill Sonntag
Surprise

[Boyd]

Hi Bill:

I am not familiar with phenolic varnish. Could you give a brand name example.

Thanks
Boyd
Tern
CD30 MkII
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

[Bill Sonntag]

Check out this url for all the detail on phenolic alkyd resin varnishes.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/phenolic_resin.jsp

Bill Sonntag