Heat gun to remove Cetol

[Russell]

We call a leo a law enforcement org. Maybe there's another acronym for it.

O J

Learn something new everyday! Thanks OJ.

[Sea Hunt]

It is my understanding "LEO" generally is an acronym for "law enforcement officer". For example, federal agents refer to city, municipal and county police officers as "local LEOs". City, municipal and county police officers refer to federal agents as "BBs" - bumbling bureaucrats. I read all this in a book somewhere.

P.S. Going to try to finish stripping Cetol from the starboard toe rail and rub rail today. I am also working on bending the replacement teak using the method suggested by OJ. So far, it does not seem to be bending much, if at all. Of course, our weather has not been conducive - cool temps (78-80 degrees F) and very dry air (no rain). There I go, rubbing it in again. If I had a conscience I would now be ashamed of myself.

[sharkbait]

Law Enforcement Officer = LEO

[Troy Scott]

SurryMark,

I definitely agree with the folks who despise the appearance of the original Cetol. It is an ugly, muddy finish. However, I will have to add that the latest version, called Cetol Natural Teak, looks nice. I've seen some very attractive work done using this product. For best results it should be overcoated with Cetol Clear. For my own exterior teak, if I use a modern finish it will probably be this most recent Cetol system. But I am really attracted to the idea of Le Tonkinois. Another obvious choice is a good, name brand marine grade gloss varnish. Nothing looks nicer if it's done right and with enough coats.

[Oswego John]

P.S. Going to try to finish stripping Cetol from the starboard toe rail and rub rail today. I am also working on bending the replacement teak using the method suggested by OJ. So far, it does not seem to be bending much, if at all. Of course, our weather has not been conducive - cool temps (78-80 degrees F) and very dry air (no rain). There I go, rubbing it in again.

Hi Robert,

The following is just a word of encouragement as well as pointing out a few things in re: to bending wood.

The key ingredient for bending wood is warm, moist air. The hotter and more moist the air (steam), the faster and easier it will be to bend the wood

Bending wood isn't a quick process. Don't look for instant gratification. With a proper enclosure (steam box or tubing) and a source of constant steam, it will take a minimum of 30 to 45 minutes of low pressure steam to permeate the wood cells of your short piece of teak. When using the method that I described to you, it takes me the better part of a day to bend the arc. However, once the softening process starts, it goes fast.

When you bend the wood, you are, in reality, doing two things. You are stretching apart the wood cells on the outer surface of the arc as well as compressing the cells on the inner surface. When the wood becomes pliant, it can be bent to the desired shape.

When soft, work quickly after the heat is removed. It will cool off and become rigid in a short time. If you want to bend the wood in a shorter time frame, you can rig up a poor-boy system for just a few bucks.

You can use a piece of stove pipe for a steam box and rent a wallpaper remover for a source of steam. Once, we used an outdoor barbeque propane bomb to make steam.

I am now thinking that maybe Rube Goldberg isn't your patron saint. Maybe it really might be better to have a woodshop saw the piece you need.

Robert, you are too precious to the CDSOA to lose in a backyard explosion that wipes out a good portion of Miami.

Damn the torpedoes, take the teak to the local cabinet maker and have him put it on his band saw.

Good luck,
O J

[Sea Hunt]

Well, 90% of the teak rub rails and toe rails have been scraped and sanded down to bare teak. I hope to do the remaining 10% tomorrow or Thursday, depending on weather. The heat gun with scraper, plus the Dremel Multi-Tool (sander) and then hand sanding worked well. It was/is an enjoyable process although a little difficult at a dock. I contorted my old body in ways I have not done in years.

I am still trying to bend the teak replacement section but it is being stubborn. I am reluctant to cut out the damaged section until I have a good replacement section. Wednesday will be another lukewarm day (79-80 degrees). However, Thursday and Friday are forecast to be very cold (65-70 degrees). Gosh, there I go again. I am so ashamed of myself.

OJ, my friend, I am wondering if I could wrap the teak in a wet towel and apply the heat gun to warm and keep warm the water, create steam, etc. Right now I just have it sitting outside on top of a container wrapped in a wet towel and I have been pouring hot water onto the towel and letting the sun "warm" the moist towel.

I am now at the stage of trying to decide on what to apply. Up until 20 minutes ago I was going to apply Cetol Marine Light (3 coats) and then Cetol Clear Gloss (2-3 coats). In reading the recent posts, I saw the name Cetol Marine Natural Teak. Being the dummy that I am at first I thought this was just another name for Cetol Marine Light. Don't ask why I would think that, just know that I am dumb.

Then, in a rare flash of common sense, I went on the Sikkens/Interlux website and learned that Cetol Marine Natural Teak is a new product with allegedly improved UV protection.

So, you know they are coming. Tadpole's many, many questions.

1. Has anyone applied Cetol Marine Natural Teak

2. If so, where is your CD homeported

3. How long ago did you apply it

4. Was the application process the same as with other Cetol products The website says it is basically the same, but I prefer the experience of this board's real world application.

5. What is your evaluation of the look, color, similarity to varnish look, etc. I really want to try to get close to a varnish look without the varnish effort, if possible

6. If applied longer than a few months ago, how has it held up under conditions in your area

Sorry for so many questions.

[Sea Hunt]

I am now thinking that maybe Rube Goldberg isn't your patron saint.

OJ, hey, I "resemble" that remark

[Troy Scott]

Tadpole,

Several guys in the Central Gulf Coast Fleet, mostly in Fairhope, Alabama have applied the Cetol Natural Teak system to their Cape Dorys. I'm impressed with their results. Those guys don't often post anything here. I hope they're just too busy sailing and having fun! And by the way, the climate around there is seriously tough on exterior finishes.

[Doug Gibson]

I applied Cetol Natural Teak (3 coats) + Cetol Clear (3 coats) to all exterior wood except the rail last spring. This is the first time I have used Cetol, having always used traditional varnish on previous boat. Given the amount of exterior wood, I definitely was looking for something easier and more durable. My boat is in San Francisco bay, so not a very tough environment on finishes, but after almost 1 year, it pretty much looks as good as when I applied the final clear coat.

I have a few dings to repair this winter/spring and plan to put two new coats of clear Cetol on for maintenance. Hopefully, I will get around to the rails this spring... it will really finish off the appearance of the brightwork.

I applied per Cetol directions, cleaning teak with 2-part cleaner before final sanding. I used a scotch pad to very lightly scuff the surface between coats.

I'll see if I can find a couple of photos to share.

[Sea Hunt]

OJ-

Over morning coffee I re-read your earlier post on a different thread that answered my question. Yes, it is OK to use a heat gun to speed up the process a little.

Thank you my friend. You are amazing

By the way, nice pix of you in the recent Masthead, CD hat and all. Now I can sort of put a face with a post.

Congratulations on being inducted into the "Carl Alberg Fellows" as a charter member It is much deserved. I am confident it was a unanimous vote.

[jerryaxler]

I think the cetol looks too orange to me. I use 3 coats of Armada and it seems to last the entire season. I originally varnished, but I don't seem to have the time or availability to strip and put on 6-8 coats in a reasonable time frame. Varnish definitely looks better, but the glossy Armada is not bad.

[Sea Hunt]

Jerry:

If you recall, which Cetol product were you looking at that looks "orange". There are, I think, 4-5 different Cetols.

From what I recall from looking at a few CDs 2-3 years ago, the original Cetol did have an orange tint to it. I did not like it.

I am told that Cetol Marine Light and Cetol Marine Natural Teak do not have this orange tint.

Is there any real advantage to using a bristle brush instead of a foam brush Home Depot has a variety of foam brushes on sale for 49 cents to 69 cents depending on size. They are throw away type. Bristle brushes, at least reasonable quality ones, are expensive by comparison and require careful post use care or they are ruined.

I used a foam brush a few weeks ago helping a friend apply Cetol Marine Light to her exterior hand rails, toe rail, etc. To me, a rookie, it seemed to work well.

Also, as for tape, I plan to buy the 3M blue painter's tape. However, in this country of plenty, there are 5-6 different types and colors of so-called "painter's tape". Any thoughts on which one I should use Weather permitting, my plan is to apply 3 coats of Cetol Marine (Light or Natural Teak) and 2-3 coats of Cetol Clear Gloss beginning Monday. The website says wait 24 hrs between each application and do not sand in between applications. 5-6 coats is 5-6 days.

P.S. OJ, you would be proud of me. I have worked up a lever and pulley system, incorporating weights, clamps, hoses, PVC piping, buckets, water, steam generator, etc. that I think may be able to bend the teak properly. I think Rube Goldberg would also be proud of my efforts

[hughesw]

I would not recommend using the blue masking tape. It leaves a fairly persistent residue behind that I'm still finding traces of 9 months later, when I refinished the exterior teak on my boat with Cetol Natural. I'll probably try the Green 3M 256 tape next time around

As far as the Cetol Natural goes, I agree with what Doug Gibson said earlier; It still looks about as good as it did when I first applied it (3 coats of Natural, 3 coats of Clear). I also have a few dings to repair, mainly around the mainsheet traveler nd the cocpit coamings. But the finish seems to pretty durable otherwise. I like it.

Cheers,

Warren H.

[jerryaxler]

Warren H. beat me to the punch. Don't use the "blue"tape the "green" is definitely better, but don't believe the ads that say you can leave it on for a week. I've been using foam brushes, because no matter how well I comb bristle brushes I always manage to leave a few bristles behind.

[Troy Scott]

Warren and Jerry,

How long did you guys leave the blue and green tapes on, and what were the conditions? Was it hot and sunny or cool and cloudy? I'm guessing that "baking" the tape onto the paint for several days would increase the likelihood of a residue problem. Also, some finishes utilize solvents that can cause the "stickum" on the tape to catalyze and become nearly permanent. I've not used Cetol yet so I have no idea if that might be an issue. I used to occasionally use aluminum foil tape to cover a mold so I wouldn't have to worry about putting wax on a surface that would later be painted. (The "mold" was also a part of the finished product.) Boy did that make a mess. I soon learned to cover the surface first with blue tape, then with the foil tape (which I waxed). The residue from the foil tape is unbelievable!