Capt. Mooron wrote:
Since it's approaching... well okay it's at least a month and a half away
for some of us... time to consider what approach to use on the vessel's
wood trim this year, I thought I would start the annual ASA wood treatment
thread.


I'm confused. By "wood treatment" you mean talking about guns, right?


There are those who use Varnish, those who use Cetol, those who use Tung Oil
and some of you that use your own secret recipe.

What is your preferred method and how do you apply the finish?


My preferred method is to let my wife do it. But if i had to, I'd sand
the heck out of the wood, *clean it thoroughly* (a step that most people
skimp on, or skip entirely), and apply a few coats of thinned varnish
to seal it. The expenive stuff with UV inhibitors. After lightly sanding
that, then I'd think about either 1- applying more varnish or 2-
painting it a nice pale gray/green or buff. That cheap porch & deck
paint lasts nearly forever... a boat I did this to is now in north
Florida and is just starting to need some attention after about 8 years.


To start of... I have used varnish, and wasn't convinced that the work to
produce such luster was worth the effort of application for one season of
duration.

???

You must be doing it wrong. You get so little UV up ther that varnish
should last nearly forever. Is the wood clean & dry when you're applying it?

... I've even tried cetol and was not impressed with the results on
both occasions.

IMHO Cetol only lasts about 10% longer than varnish. It's less work but
only because you need fewer coats. Also IMHO the best Cetol finish
doesn't look anywhere near as good as a mediocre varnish finish, but
that's a matter of taste.

Frankly, unless the wood itself is very nice (good color & grain) it's
not worth showing off. Most boats should have paint... there are several
boats in out marina... expensive ones... where the owners waste far too
much time & effort on brightwork that will only look mediocre (and that
from a distant) because it simply isn't good looking wood to start with.


.... Last
season I applied teak oil and let it dry before applying a coat of clear
Behr deck waterproofing, UV inhibitor sealant. It seemed to work since I
had no reason to reapply further teak oil all season.

That sounds like an interesting treatment. I might try that on one of
our little boats (mahogany splashboard).

... Yet this year I
noticed some greying of the teak... so here I go again.

What, do you seriously expect to not have to do brightwork every year?

... What should I use
this year? Should I just give up and try another Varnish or let the teak go
grey?


Up to you. What else ya got goin' on?

It's a matter of priorities as well as personal taste & aesthetics. For
example, if *I* had to do all the varnish on our tugboat, it would have
been painted two years ago. I got other important stuff to do, wiring in
batteries, fixing the plumbing, replacing heat exchangers, installing
Webasto heater, etc etc.

But letting it go grey is not such a good idea IMHO... it will be far
more work to bring it back once you get tired of it looking like crap.

Fresh Brushes- Doug King