Teak Refinishing Question

[Bill Michne]

OK, here we go again. It's time to refinish Mintaka's external brightwork. I've agonized over the varnish vs. everything else, and am coming down on the Cetol side of the argument. But wait! Cetol contains pigment (ugh!), Cetol Lite contains less (?) pigment (less ugh!), and West Marine Wood Pro contains no pigment (no ugh). Unfortunately, Wood Pro is a semigloss finish. On the ohter hand it's made by the folks who make Cetol, so...has anyone used the Wood Pro product, say 4-5 coats, and topped it with, say, 3 coats of Cetol gloss?? Wood Pro should be compatible with Cetol gloss, and since there is no pigment involved, the result should be as close to varnish as you can get in a synthetic finish. Am I missing something?

[Paul D.]

Bill,

I haven't used Wood Pro but I have used Cetol light for five seasons. There is slight pigment in the Cetol Light but not much and I have been happy with the results. I have not added the gloss over it but wood if I was in a more tropical area. Anywhere is more tropical than Northern Lake Superior. The fist coat of Cetol Light was put on in conditions that deteriorated to poor but has held up well.

I think three coats of the Light with an annual coat of the gloss and touching up any scrapes would do nicely. I may not be as particular about the finish as you however. I did put ten coats of Clipper Clear (Goldspar now) on my washboards and like the finish but for the rest of the exterior brightwork I have "settled for Cetol" in a bow to function.

Paul

[Trawler Joe]

The prior owner of my Cape Dory used regular Cetol on the teak. I'd prefer less pigment, so I was thinking of switching to Cetol Light -- tentatively planning to do a light sanding this spring, followed by a couple coats of Cetol Light.

Does anyone know if this is ok, and what the result of this might be? I realize that I won't really be lightening the old pigment, but hoping not to color the wood more than it is now. Maybe I should consider your Wood Pro idea instead.

[Tom Keevil]

I thought that the reason Cetol lasted longer was that the pigment protected it well against UV light. If there is less pigment, aren't you getting less protection? Are you basically returning to varnish, or is there more to it than this?

[Trawler Joe]

That's my understanding -- the pigment helps with protection. So there's some tradeoff, but I'd like a little less color.

[Paul D.]

My Cetol Light, three coats is holding up well for two seasons up in the north country. I plan to do a touch up coat or two spring/summer '07. There are no coats of gloss on top of the Cetol Light. I cannot reckon whether it does not hold up as well as the regular.

Paul

[Joe Myerson]

Hope this helps a bit: (And, happy New Year!)

When I first bought my boat, four seasons ago, the teak had been badly neglected. Being lazy, I asked my boatyard to refinish the woodwork.

After the yard crew did its work (at $65/hour then, now it's approaching $90!), the teak looked beautiful. I asked the yard's main refinisher what he used, and he replied: One coat of regular Cetol, followed by two coats of Cetol Light.

For the past three seasons, I've applied one new coat of Cetol Light--and the teak continues to look great.

Last season, the yard crew showed me some teak they were refinishing for a magnificent (and costly) large sailing yacht. They started with regular Cetol, then applied two coats of Cetol Light, followed by at least one coat of Cetol Gloss.

Since I'm not a fan of highly glossy teak, I'm going to continue applying Cetol Light each year. It's worked for three seasons.

I know many on this board don't like Cetol--but for those who do, applying successive coats of light over a base of regular seems to work well.

--Joe

[Ed Haley]

The year is 2085. My CD330 is 100 years old. She's a lovely yacht and my great-great-grandchildren sail her well and allow me to remain at the helm for brief periods when I don't nod off. But the crew exacts a price - they make me keep the brightwork like new.

Back in the 1st decade (2000 - 2010), I used Cetol Marine (2 coats) and Cetol Gloss (2 coats) to keep the wood looking like it should. I applied 1 coat of gloss every year. After 10 years I had to strip it all off to start again cause it turned darker than the wood should have been.

In the 2nd decade (2010 -2020), I applied Captains Varnish (7 coats). Simply beautiful. Touchups took 7 coats as well and a general 2 coats overall each year. After 10 years, it all began to peel off so I had to strip it all off again.

In the 3rd decade (2020-2030) I left the wood bare and just let the salty look take over. After 10 years I had to sand the wood to get rid of cracks and checking.

In the 4th decade (2030-2040) the teak had become so wasted that I redid all the wood with a new polymer made from a combination of Martian tri-rooted gnarl and Venetian basalt dust. The polymer never needed maintenance unless stored in darkness. Then it softened from lack of turgor pressure from methylene annilyne injected during in the extrusion process. After 10 years, I took it all off.

In the 5th decade (2040-2050)I had it replaced with solid smoke, a foam-like grey silicon substance that was hard as a rock. It was holding up great after 10 years but I got tired of how it looked so I took it off.

To make the story short, no matter what you apply to the wood on your sailboat, after 10 years you will replace it because stripping the brightwork on a sailboat is in sailor's genes. It's a labor of love and keeps us wondering what we'll do next.

[Oswego John]

[In the 4th decade (2030-2040) the teak had become so wasted that I redid all the wood with a new polymer made from a combination of Martian tri-rooted gnarl and Venetian basalt dust. The polymer never needed maintenance unless stored in darkness. Then it softened from lack of turgor pressure from methylene annilyne injected during in the extrusion process. After 10 years, I took it all off.] Ed Haley - Quote

Hey Ed,

Where can I get me some of this super duper Tri-rooted Turgor with annilyne. Does it come in semi-gloss or just hi-gloss. I'm going to call BoatUS or BW tomorrow.

Thanks for the laugh,
O J