What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...

JimH wrote:


Sikkens Cetol (marine) is the way to go after stripping, cleaning and
sanding.

Orange paint will give you the same appearance, and with less hassle
than Cetol. :-)



Some people think "Cetol Orange" *is* the natural color of teak. :-)


Eisboch

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...

Charlie Morgan wrote:
Orange paint will give you the same appearance, and with less hassle
than Cetol. :-)


You obviously don't know much about various finishes and how they work,
Chuck.
That was a very ignorant post.

CWM

Do make sure you offer the same persoanl observation to Eisboch, who
made an identical observation about Cetol and its orange coloration
further along in the thread.

I've spent more time sanding, varnishing, and refinishing over the
years than a lot of people have spent on the water. If you like orange
decks, you'll love Cetol.

Unless of course you thought that I seriously recommended orange paint
(!)......in which case I'm not sure which of us would be the more
ignorant.


I'll chip in my two cents worth.

Some people go to a great deal of effort doing the Cetol thing that sticks
to naturally oily woods like teak and mahogany better than varnish.
Unfortunately, Cetol gives teak an unnatural orange color than many,
including me, simply don't like. Even Cetol on teak won't last long, even
in fresh water before starting to look ragged and requires periodic
stripping and maintenance. The exterior of our house was built with some
fairly large wood panel (mahogany) surfaces and finished in Cetol. Somewhat
darker than teak with Cetol, it still has an orange hue to it and needs to
be refinished every 2-3 years.

My preference for teak swim platforms is to sand or power wash (if
required), clean and rinse, then apply quite a bit of teak oil. Maintenance
after that is simple .... wash, rinse and wipe down with oil once every
month or two. Best of all, it keeps teak looking like .... teak.

We recently had the exterior teak decking on the Grand Banks sanded, oiled
and then top treated with a product that does not cover up the natural color
or look of teak. It looks spectacular. I don't know what the top treatment
is (I'll find out) but I've noticed that even a couple of months later the
deck has a slight "tacky" feel to it, but does not retain marks of any kind
when walking on it.,

We have some 6 year old outdoor furniture (chairs, tables) made of teak and
they become dirty and grey over time. Once a year I blast them with a power
washer and they look brand new. I don't even bother to add extra oil to
them.

Refinishing or completely removing Cetol is a major project when compared to
the minor maintenance of natural, oiled teak. And the natural teak looks a
hell of a lot better.

Eisboch

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

"Charlie Morgan" wrote in message
...
On 19 Sep 2006 18:41:36 -0700, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:


Cetol is not just orange. It has other distinctive properties. You seem
VERY
ignorant on this subject.

You're right Charlie. It's not orange. Sikkons prefers to refer to it as
having an "attractive golden tint".

CWM

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

On Tue, 19 Sep 2006 22:10:19 -0400, Charlie Morgan wrote:

Cetol is not just orange. It has other distinctive properties.

That's true, it does have other distictive properties:

1. It is *very* slippery when wet.

2. If not meticulously kept up, it looks like faded barn paint.

3. If it *is* meticulously kept up, it looks orange.

How's that for keen observation ?

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

Bert Robbins wrote:
wrote:
I am refininshing a teak wood swim platform on an older boat. It is
the first time I have done this. I read that I should strip the old
varnish, sand down the gray wood, and refinish, basically. But should
I oil the teak or put more varnish on it? It is out of the water except
for a few hours a week when I am actually on the water. Thanks for the
benefit of anyone's experience.


Often.

Well I sure don't want to have to retreat it frequently. I have been
sanding, on and off, for 8 days, and I am tired of it. I looked into
the many options everyone mentioned and also found some others: Cetol
light, Teaqua oil, and TeakCare. The manufacturer says Cetol light has
the durability without the color of cetol. They say two coats of cetol
light and a coat of cetol finish stuff is supposed to be good and
without orange color....

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

wrote in message
oups.com...


Well I sure don't want to have to retreat it frequently. I have been
sanding, on and off, for 8 days, and I am tired of it. I looked into
the many options everyone mentioned and also found some others: Cetol
light, Teaqua oil, and TeakCare. The manufacturer says Cetol light has
the durability without the color of cetol. They say two coats of cetol
light and a coat of cetol finish stuff is supposed to be good and
without orange color....


Remove the swim platform and forget about it.

Seriously .... if you don't care if it is not natural looking and don't care
if it is slippery ... Cetol it.

But ... one other issue that has not been discussed. Naturally oily woods
like teak wear well in wet environments and are not prone to rot when left
in their natural state and exposed to air where it can breathe. Look around
where you go boating at some of the older boats with teak swim platforms.
Betcha you will find that the ones that are rotting had been sealed with
varnish or Cetol at some point.

Eisboch

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

"Charlie Morgan" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:28:58 -0400, Wayne.B

wrote:


At least you attempted to think about it.

Cetol lasts a lot longer than varnish because it does not trap moisture.
It
breathes. Varnish peels because it does not breathe. Moisture gets behind
it and
breaks the bond. As far as "meticulous maintenance of Cetol? About once a
year
you wipe it down with a kitchen scrub pad and water. Then recoat. No
sanding
required.

Cetol is a stain. The pigment makes it look orange. Varnish is obviously
not a stain and has less UV protection.
The Cetol gloss coat typically used is claimed to be "water resistant". How
does that allow the wood to breathe?

Teak is used in marine applications because of it's natural, oily
composition and resistance to rot. Yes, the surface will oxidize and turn
grey if not oiled every month or two, but the structure of the wood is fine.

Why would you want to screw around with Mother Nature's design with a fugly
looking coating?

Eisboch

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

Charlie Morgan wrote:
Cetol lasts a lot longer than varnish because it does not trap moisture.

Cetol doesn't last a lot longer than varnish. It might last
about 10% longer, tops.


b.... As far as "meticulous maintenance of Cetol? About once a year
you wipe it down with a kitchen scrub pad and water. Then recoat. No sanding
required.

If you keep your boat further south, the UV will rip both
Cetol & varnish off in a matter of weeks. In fact Cetol may
suffer more because of the darker & less reflective surface.




Oh yeah... If your varnish does not contain pigment, it does nothing to protect
itself OR THE WOOD from UV degradation.

Does wood "degrade" from UV? Maybe that's why trees don't
grow in tropical latitudes?

Anyway, there are lots of varanishes with high UV protection
that are relatively clear. None look like barn paint AFAIK.

.... That's why varnish needs to be stripped
so often.

If it's properly taken care of, varnish doesn't need to be
stripped.

DSK

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

Cetol is not just orange. It has other distinctive properties.


"Cetol... it's not just for breakfast any more!"

Frankly I have lost faith in various marine brands of
miracle glop intended to make boating less time consuming
and more skill-free
..

Wayne.B wrote:
That's true, it does have other distictive properties:

1. It is *very* slippery when wet.

2. If not meticulously kept up, it looks like faded barn paint.

3. If it *is* meticulously kept up, it looks orange.

How's that for keen observation ?


If the wood on your boat has pretty grain and is well fit,
in other words, an aesthetic plus; why would you slather
some kind of miracle glop that hides the grain all over it?
Just to save some time (which it doesn't in the long run)
and to avoid learning the skill of varnishing?

OTOH if the wood on your boat is not an aesthetic plus, then
why bother with the time & effort of varnishing? For that
matter, why bother with miracle glop that is 90% of the time
& effort of varnishing? Just ****in' paint it and be done.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

What is the right way to refinish Teak?
 

Eisboch wrote:

I'll chip in my two cents worth.

Some people go to a great deal of effort doing the Cetol thing that sticks
to naturally oily woods like teak and mahogany better than varnish.
Unfortunately, Cetol gives teak an unnatural orange color than many,
including me, simply don't like. Even Cetol on teak won't last long, even
in fresh water before starting to look ragged and requires periodic
stripping and maintenance. The exterior of our house was built with some
fairly large wood panel (mahogany) surfaces and finished in Cetol. Somewhat
darker than teak with Cetol, it still has an orange hue to it and needs to
be refinished every 2-3 years.

My preference for teak swim platforms is to sand or power wash (if
required), clean and rinse, then apply quite a bit of teak oil. Maintenance
after that is simple .... wash, rinse and wipe down with oil once every
month or two. Best of all, it keeps teak looking like .... teak.

We recently had the exterior teak decking on the Grand Banks sanded, oiled
and then top treated with a product that does not cover up the natural color
or look of teak. It looks spectacular. I don't know what the top treatment
is (I'll find out) but I've noticed that even a couple of months later the
deck has a slight "tacky" feel to it, but does not retain marks of any kind
when walking on it.,

We have some 6 year old outdoor furniture (chairs, tables) made of teak and
they become dirty and grey over time. Once a year I blast them with a power
washer and they look brand new. I don't even bother to add extra oil to
them.

Refinishing or completely removing Cetol is a major project when compared to
the minor maintenance of natural, oiled teak. And the natural teak looks a
hell of a lot better.

Eisboch

On my last daysailer, I had a teak thwart.have to admit, I liked oiling
it. It always looked great for a month or two. With our short seasons
up here... it would be no big deal to wipe down a bit of teak three or
four times the entire season.
Now if I can just remove the $%^% black paint the PO used to cover up my
current sailboat's teak rubrails, hand holds and casing around
companionway I'd gladly rub a little oil on.