All I can figure out is that Teak Oil and Varnish don't mix- even when
they aren't mixed!

I'm building up additional coats of Epifanes Woodfinish Gloss and
Epifanes Varnish prior to getting underway for our long summer cruise
next week. The strangest thing happened.

I put a coat of Woodfinish Gloss on the cap rail, and a coat of Varnish
on the quarterboards,
stack shoe, and rails on the main cabin top. I was up to about 5 coats
of Woodfinish Gloss and 4 coats of varnish, and each had dried with a
nice, shiny gloss.

I am also building up the teak oil on the new swimstep.

After I finished the Woodfinish Gloss and the Varnish, I laid a heavy
coat of teak oil (primarily mineral spirits) on the swim step. All
seemed well, and I went home for the day.

Upon returning the next day, I noticed that all the varnish and the
woodfinish gloss had dried very flat and lifeless. No gloss at all to
either.

I was really puzzled, as this has never happened before. The only
variable was putting the teak oil on the swim step at the end of the
day.....

I finally surmised that the vapors from the teak oil must have formed a
"cloud" around the boat and prevented the varnish from drying with a
gloss, but that's pretty weird.

Something like this every happen to anybody else?

On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:19:58 -0700, Chuck Gould wrote:



Upon returning the next day, I noticed that all the varnish and the
woodfinish gloss had dried very flat and lifeless. No gloss at all to
either.

Was the day more humid than most? A dull finish is normally associated
with improper curing or moisture. I would doubt the teak oil fumes.

Sounds like you had dew form on the not-dried teak finish. The teak oil
"fumes" wouldn't do that. You'll just have to sand lightly with maybe
180 - 220, then put another coat on. It's problematic to do varnish
work in Summer.... you're fighting high temps and humidity as well as
bugs who just love to land on your pretty wet varnish. I try to do mine
either in late Fall or early Spring if possible.
thunder wrote:

Keith wrote:
Sounds like you had dew form on the not-dried teak finish. The teak oil
"fumes" wouldn't do that. You'll just have to sand lightly with maybe
180 - 220, then put another coat on. It's problematic to do varnish
work in Summer.... you're fighting high temps and humidity as well as
bugs who just love to land on your pretty wet varnish. I try to do mine
either in late Fall or early Spring if possible.
thunder wrote:

Moisture was my second thought, although I have never experienced this
sort of reaction before. Here in the Pacific North Wets, it's tough to
do brightwork in Fall or Spring. We only get so many days of dry
weather each year, and they are rare in spring and fall. :-)

If a guy wanted the most beautifully smooth satin finish, repeating my
"mistake" would accomplish it.

The fact that the varnish near the bow was just as flat as the varnish
on the transom rail (where the teak oil fumes would have been the
strongest) would lend support to the moisture theory.