"KLC Lewis" wrote in message
et...

"Charlie Morgan" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:34:45 GMT, "NE Sailboat"
wrote:

So many products on the market. If you have an opinion? Between Bristol
Finish and Cetol?



Cetol requires a lot less time and effort to maintain. It comes in three
basic
varities:

Cetol Marine, which is the darkest, and most "orangy" in color. Some
folks have
a real thing about the way it looks. They have a lot of time to obsess
about it
as they sand and re-varnish every season.

Cetol Light: A much lighter color than the original. Since you don';t
have to
sand down old Cetol to apply a refresher coat, many folks use the
original for
the first coat (for stronger UV protection), and then use Cetol light
over it as
their yearly refresh coat. That keeps the overall look from getting very
dark
over the years.

Cetol Natural Teak: New product. Lighter than Cetol Light, and more like
the
color of varnished teak. I don't know for a fact, but I would guess it
can't
protect against UV as well as the more tinted versions. Then again, real
varnish
doesn't do much to protect the wood at all, which is why you have to
scrape and
sand it off every time you want to refresh things. That's pretty hard on
the
teak, which weathers under the varnish and then gets sanded!


CWM

Charlie, either your experience with varnish is with a horrible
formulation, or you just don't have any. Quality varnish, such as
"Flagship," has very high UV protection. Properly applied to properly
prepared wood, it will protect extremely well. Nor does it have to be
"scraped and sanded off every time you want to refresh things." Scuff the
surface, clean, apply varnish topcoat, Bob's your uncle. If scuffing and
cleaning the old varnish is too much for you, combine some Penetrol with
the varnish and you don't even have to do that.

Yes, varnish requires maintenance. But so does Cetol, for that matter.
There is no substance known to man which can be applied to wood which will
then forever protect and keep it shiny and pretty. Everything wears out
over time.

As an aside, UV protection does not require opacity, nor does opacity
guarantee UV protection.

I agree with KLC. "Varnish" today is not the same as the traditional
varnish from 50 years ago. I've been using Interlux Goldspar which is a
single part polyurethane "varnish". Eight coats and you have a beautiful
clear and shiny finish. Eight coats of Cetol and you have mud.