Armada vs Cetol Marine

[Joe]

I have applied Cetol Marine,this season for the first time.I put three coats of the satin on. I like it. I now hear that there is a product called Armada which gives equal durability, more gloss, color buildup, and it can be applied over Cetol. Would appreciate comments..



jfalletti@aol.com

[Robin Meigel]

The scuttlebutt I've heard on this is that the chemists who came up with the Cetol formula used to work for Sikkens, then moved, tinkered with the recipe to improve it, and set up shop hawking Armada. I don't share others' enthusiasm for Cetol because my observation is that it is too orange, and grows darker and orangier over time. In an effort to preserve the "honey" color, I applied 3 coats of Armada last year topped up with 2 coats of Sikken's Cetol transparent high gloss. It was exposed (uncovered through the winter) and has stood up generally well, but needs to be touched up here and there.

This year, for the teak which wasn't done last year, I plan to apply 4 coats of Armada Satin plus 2 coats of Armada translucent gloss. I am told that there is no UV protection in the Sikkens high clear gloss whereas you get some UV protection in the Armada translucent gloss.



RLMeigel@aol.com

[Zeida Cecilia]

I read here how lots of people talk about and use this Cetol Marine instead of the traditional varnish, which is beautiful, but a pain to apply and maintain. When I bought my present Bandolera II (CD-33) she had glowing brightwork. The owner told me that he had been using a product called "Honey Teak" an acrylic urethane enamel made by Signature Finish. It indeed is a great product. It is a 2-part application. You must start with clean wood. Then you apply two coats of the Honey Teak, which can be applied wet on wet, and in the next day, you apply the Clear Urethane enamel top coat. This clear, you apply two or three coats, and it lasts, in great condition, one year. From then on, you only keep applying the clear, to protect your base honey teak, and the wood is protected and looks great. If you are interested, the place that sells this product is called Fabula Incorporated, P.O.Box 1041, Port Salerno, FL 34992, (561) 287-6077- The guy that owns it, Tom Fabula, is very helpful and he can send you literature on the product. My Cape Dory is the talk of the marina, mostly because of the wood. Everybody says, "how many coats of varnish you have on..." well, it's three coats of honey teak followed by two coats of clear, two years ago. This year, we just added two more coats of clear, and the wood looks perfect. Try it, you'll be amazed. Sincerely, Zeida.



zcecil@ibm.net

[Zeida Cecilia]

I read here how lots of people talk about and use this Cetol Marine instead of the traditional varnish, which is beautiful, but a pain to apply and maintain. When I bought my present Bandolera II (CD-33) she had glowing brightwork. The owner told me that he had been using a product called "Honey Teak" an acrylic urethane enamel made by Signature Finish. It indeed is a great product. It is a 2-part application. You must start with clean wood. Then you apply two coats of the Honey Teak, which can be applied wet on wet, and in the next day, you apply the Clear Urethane enamel top coat. This clear, you apply two or three coats, and it lasts, in great condition, one year. From then on, you only keep applying the clear, to protect your base honey teak, and the wood is protected and looks great. If you are interested, the place that sells this product is called Fabula Incorporated, P.O.Box 1041, Port Salerno, FL 34992, (561) 287-6077- The guy that owns it, Tom Fabula, is very helpful and he can send you literature on the product. My Cape Dory is the talk of the marina, mostly because of the wood. Everybody says, "how many coats of varnish you have on..." well, it's three coats of honey teak followed by two coats of clear, two years ago. This year, we just added two more coats of clear, and the wood looks perfect. Try it, you'll be amazed. Sincerely, Zeida.



zcecil@ibm.net

[Derek Hillen]

Check out the May 15th issue of Practical Sailor. In it they have a write up on the great teak debate including results from their tests of various products going back several years.

Conclusions:

Honey Teak - "After a rough 30 months, Honey Teak has shrugged off everything Mother Nature threw at it. We're not overly fond of the orange/brown color, but we're growing fonder of it as the tests progress. A winner."

Cetol Marine - "The only semi-gloss product we tested that showed no appreciable change in two-and-a-half year's worth of exposure. Our choice if you don't want a gloss finish, but we wish it came in some other color."

My experience: Galileo is a 1981 CD 33 and the teak had never been touched. This spring I spent 6 weeks sanding all the exterior brightwork (mostly by hand!!) untill it was the natural and beautiful blond color of real teak. Then last week I applied 3 coats of Cetol. It looks stunning. It is a creepy orange/brown color in the can but after applying it onto the newly sanded teak the color became darker and darker with each coat and now looks great.

Cetol may not look as nice as varnish but it is a heck of a lot easier to apply and all you need is one can for $25.

Check out Practical Sailor for the full report. Great mag. Get a subsription.

Cheers.

Derek
"Galileo"

I read here how lots of people talk about and use this Cetol Marine instead of the traditional varnish, which is beautiful, but a pain to apply and maintain. When I bought my present Bandolera II (CD-33) she had glowing brightwork. The owner told me that he had been using a product called "Honey Teak" an acrylic urethane enamel made by Signature Finish. It indeed is a great product. It is a 2-part application. You must start with clean wood. Then you apply two coats of the Honey Teak, which can be applied wet on wet, and in the next day, you apply the Clear Urethane enamel top coat. This clear, you apply two or three coats, and it lasts, in great condition, one year. From then on, you only keep applying the clear, to protect your base honey teak, and the wood is protected and looks great. If you are interested, the place that sells this product is called Fabula Incorporated, P.O.Box 1041, Port Salerno, FL 34992, (561) 287-6077- The guy that owns it, Tom Fabula, is very helpful and he can send you literature on the product. My Cape Dory is the talk of the marina, mostly because of the wood. Everybody says, "how many coats of varnish you have on..." well, it's three coats of honey teak followed by two coats of clear, two years ago. This year, we just added two more coats of clear, and the wood looks perfect. Try it, you'll be amazed. Sincerely, Zeida.