Using Bristol finish on teak

[dougw]

Does anyone have experience with Bristol finish varnish on deck teak and rails? Also, is all the exterior wood on the CD27 teak?

[Richard G. Abbinanti]

I did all my teak with Bristol last year and it came out great. You can put on as many coats as you want, it sum places I did 3 to 4 coats in a day.

[Didereaux]

I like Bristol Finish...all except its price. Check the archives fro the lenghty discussion on Cetol-Varnish-etc.

It worked best on my boat when I (after completely drying the teak) put on a coat of epoxy on ALL surfaces, thus sealing it against moisture. The four coats of Bristol and a couple more of Spar varnish. After over a year all the teak done in this manner looked like it had been done the day before. You must follow directions exactly and above all do not use Bristol in high humidity or late in the day when a dew may form. Outside of those caveats the product is superb, even here in the semi-tropics and chemical fumes of Galveston/Houston.

g'Luk

[John R.]

I tried Bristol Finish a couple years ago on multiple exterior and interior teak components for my 30. At that time the product seemed okay until a very close inspection was made of a few of the parts with a loupe as something looked odd. It was discovered the finish was filled with a striation like pattern. I had a couple lengthly discussions with the owners of Bristol Finish and they denied any product problems. I was suspicious of a catalyst issue after multiple tests. They denied any such problem. I ordered a new container of catalyst anyway. I coated some new pieces with the fresh catalyst and they turned out fine. To make a long story short the bottom line is that they had a catalyst shelf life problem and they denied it. Because they were so insistent that their product had no problems or issues I was perturbed by their attitude and switched to Honey Teak. It's a better product in my opinion although I preferred the clearer/lighter color of the Bristol. I found the Honey teak a little easier to work with on vertical areas as the Bristol is thinner. Both are acrylic urethanes and Bristol was a spin off from Honey Teak which was the original product produced by Tom Fabula at Signature Finishes. I have heard in the rumor mill that Bristol reformulated their catalyst because of problems (hmmmm!).
I would highly recommend you take a very close look at Honey Teak if you want a proven product. Bristol may be better with improved catalyst and just fine today but I would be careful. FWIW.

[Oswego John]

John R,

I'm glad and relieved to see your post. Call me old fashioned, but when someone doesn't post for awhile I start to wonder.

Best regards,
O J

[John R.]

Oswego!

Back at ya, good to see you are still active on this board. Thanks for the words. Busy, but check in now and then to see what is new. Hope you are still affording your marine wisdom to the participants on the board.

Regards to you......

[Carter Brey]

John R,

It's good to see you back posting. You are the master.

I've also had good experience with Honey Teak. I prefer the look of varnish, but these days I simply do not have the time.

Here's a view of some woodwork on my Sabre after application of Honey Teak:

[img]http://pws.prserv.net/cbrey/honey_teak.jpg[/img]

[NevisTyphoon]

I'm doing Combolo in Honey Teak as well - it arrived on island last week. In Nevis everyone uses it for their doors and windows (as did I) as it is the only thing that lasts at all. A friend of mine did his doors over 10 years ago, and they still look like they were done yesterday.

YMMV

Best Regards,