Try Deks Olje; part 1 will seal and part 2 will give you the
varnish-like appearance you want. Once you get through the initial
work, upkeep is relatively easy (a once a year quick update for me).
It also darkens the teak a bit but gives you a consistent finish.

Steve Hayes
Augusta, ME

On 4 Dec 2006 08:09:33 -0800, "steve_hayes_maine"
wrote:

Try Deks Olje; part 1 will seal and part 2 will give you the
varnish-like appearance you want. Once you get through the initial
work, upkeep is relatively easy (a once a year quick update for me).
It also darkens the teak a bit but gives you a consistent finish.

I know that some people swear by it but for some reason it has never
been rated very highly in any of Practical Sailors teak coating tests.

My varnish would probably last almost forever in Maine but down here
in south Florida the sun is brutal. Perhaps PS did their testing in
the tropics also.

Does anyone else have Deks Olje experience - pro or con?

On Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:03:56 -0500, Wayne.B wrote:

On 4 Dec 2006 08:09:33 -0800, "steve_hayes_maine"
wrote:

Try Deks Olje; part 1 will seal and part 2 will give you the
varnish-like appearance you want. Once you get through the initial
work, upkeep is relatively easy (a once a year quick update for me). It
also darkens the teak a bit but gives you a consistent finish.

I know that some people swear by it but for some reason it has never
been rated very highly in any of Practical Sailors teak coating tests.

My varnish would probably last almost forever in Maine but down here in
south Florida the sun is brutal. Perhaps PS did their testing in the
tropics also.

Do they live with it and maintain it for a couple of years, or just report
on how it goes on and looks immediately afterward?

Does anyone else have Deks Olje experience - pro or con?

I've been using it for the last 6 years. Until recently I swore it was
the best thing going. Maintenance is far easier than with traditional
varnish, and takes a lot less time.

The downside is that it isn't as hard or glossy, and doesn't last as long.
In South Florida I'm sure it won't last as long as in the Pacific
Northwest.

After a couple of years testing Cetol on some areas and Deks on the rest,
we've switched everything to Cetol. It's harder to sand and apply, but
lasts so much longer. Every spring the Deks would need moderate
patching, as well as a thorough sanding and a couple of finish coats. The
Cetol needed nothing but a top coat for good measure, and patching only
where it had been physically damaged.

So I think I'm a Cetol convert. If I were on the boat year-round to
do regular touch-ups, I might go back to Deks -- especially just the #1
satin, which alone is a really nice finish. But I haven't left it on
without the #2 long enough to know how well it lasts by itself.

Many people don't like Cetol's orange color. The new Light version
is less orange.

Deks Olje has a traditional varnish color, darker than average.

Finally, a safety issue -- Cetol is so hard that it's very slippery, while
Deks is soft enough that it's almost non-skid.

Matt O.

On Mon, 04 Dec 2006 19:56:43 -0500, Matt O'Toole
wrote:

My varnish would probably last almost forever in Maine but down here in
south Florida the sun is brutal. Perhaps PS did their testing in the
tropics also.

Do they live with it and maintain it for a couple of years, or just report
on how it goes on and looks immediately afterward?

They apply the coatings to test panels and put them outdoors for a
year, similar to what a boat would experience.

Wayne asked. "Does anyone else have Deks Olje experience - pro or con?.

I recently purchased a boat with teak trim that had gone grey with age and
exposure.

Initially I felt nothing would bring it back but Deks Olje completely
transformed it. Now it looks new in fact a few people at the marina asked me
if I replaced it, and were surprised to lean it was the original wood.

Follow the instructions carefully. Clean off any varnish or old paint with
stripper and use a good wood cleaner, the Flood one is good and scrub the
teak with a soft brisstle brush and hose down or wash thoroughly. After
cleaning the teak will come up a pale honey blonde colour. Sand any poor
areas with 100 grit paper and a sanding block and dust off.

The Deks is a 2 part process. Apply Deks #1 to the completely dry prepared
wood and saturate with continuous wet coats till the wood will absorb no
more then wipe off the excess with a rag moistened with more Deks #1. Dont
use a dry rag or you will wipe off the surface. Allow 24 - 48 hrs to dry
then apply 5 coats of Deks #2 with 24 hrs between. It is a lot easier to
apply than varnish. Wet sand coats 3 and 4 for a flat varnish like surface.

When I bought this boat I would have thought my teak was ruined but this
stuff works great and I think it is exactly what you need.

By the way, the previous owner had painted the teak marlin board with white
enamel. We stripped that back and Deks Olje'd that too. The hardest part was
stripping all the old enamel off.

I have some pics if interested.

Craig

On Sun, 03 Dec 2006 13:53:15 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

I'm getting ready to do a major varnish project on my Grand Banks 49
and was thinking that it might be nice to have the teak more or less
the same color (some is lighter, some darker, etc.). The wood will be
stripped and sanded before I start with the varnish.

Is the color difference from sun exposure or from different batches of
wood being used during construction? If it's from sun it will all be
much closer to the same when you sand down far enough. I used Daly's
A/B bleach to even out some blotches and rust spots, then lightly
sanded out the bleach stains.

Does anyone have any thoughts, experience, whatever with staining
teak? If so, what type and color of stain would you recommend?


After some tests I used tung oil instead of stain. I pressure washed,
scrubbed, stripped (Citri-strip with plastic scrapper; it has to be
hot out) sanded and used tung oil, then varnished. Don't pressure wash
unless you have to- I had mold, moss, slime, rot to blow off first. My
wood was badly neglected and some of it had to be bleached or
replaced. Some parts blew off when pressure washed. Splices on trim
and mouldings were done at opposed 45 degrees instead of butt spliced.
It looks pretty good now and light years better than it did.

Is there any downside other than some loss of wood grain visibility?

I tried staining on some scrap and it just looked gross. It killed all
the iridescence and depth that makes a varnished piece of teak look
hypnotic, sensual and classy. The stained effect was kind of
artificial and cheap looking but that's in the eye of the beholder I
guess. Cetal makes me physically ill to look at.
I have stained, then varnished marine plywood and been blown away by
how good it looks. If you radius the edges of 3 or 5 ply stuff it
makes a dark, light, dark, light etc effect which makes it look like
you know what you're doing. It was a cheap trick in 60's interior
construction and draws the eye away from amateur joinery work to an
extent.

I'm planning to use epifanes gloss varnish which builds up to a dark
amber color with enough coats.

I used Man-o-War at $32 per gallon. Any varnish will darken as the
coats build up. I found it lasted longer in the can than the boutique
stuff, was easier to apply and gave more consistent results. Unless
you're some kind of artist I would stick to basics.

On Wed, 06 Dec 2006 01:34:14 -0800, ray lunder
wrote:

I have stained, then varnished marine plywood and been blown away by
how good it looks. If you radius the edges of 3 or 5 ply stuff it
makes a dark, light, dark, light etc effect which makes it look like
you know what you're doing.

I did that with a bow pulpit project on my old boat. Used cherry
stain over okume ply and it looked real good when varnished.

On Sun, 03 Dec 2006 13:53:15 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

I'm getting ready to do a major varnish project on my Grand Banks 49
and was thinking that it might be nice to have the teak more or less
the same color (some is lighter, some darker, etc.). The wood will be
stripped and sanded before I start with the varnish.

Does anyone have any thoughts, experience, whatever with staining
teak? If so, what type and color of stain would you recommend?

Is there any downside other than some loss of wood grain visibility?

I'm planning to use epifanes gloss varnish which builds up to a dark
amber color with enough coats.


On my last boat I used Watco danish oil finish stain on my interior
teak, but did not apply a varnish over it, just more oil. I used
Cherry. It came out great.

It will only alter tone as it is a suspended pigment stain in an oil
base. The effect is to blend the various wood tones, rather than
impart a serious color change.

All stains are not the same, Dyes are not the same as pigment stains.
Dyes can be water based, alcohol based, or oil based and generally
provide the most color change, but also the most chance of blotching.
Dyes penetrate, oil stains tend to stay on the surface.

My suggestion, read up on the subject, (flexnor, Jewitt, others..),
but sample first to see what you like.

I'm also a woodworker and currently finishing a china cabinet. I must
have about 30 samples of various dyes, stains, topcoats combinations
sitting around the shop and still haven't gotten it perfect. In this
case, I'm trying to match an existing piece so it is that much harder.
With that, you also have to estimate the patina change over time.

Frank