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JimH

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

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.

Boaters will disagree on many aspects of refinishing brightwork. Some
swear by oil
and others by varnish. One thing that more people generally agree on,
however, is that
oil is a better choice on a swimstep than varnish.

Get the wood completely stripped and super clean. Use oaxalic acid to
brighten it up.
A common mistake is to assume that less prep work is required for oil
than for varnish.

Flood the swimstep with oil, wipe up any sloppy excess, let it dry,
sand it lightly, and then repeat. You will need to start with several
coats, and then put on a refresher coat fairly frequently to keep it
looking good.

After a season or two, you will appreciate why some boats with
spectacular brightwork can be seen cruising around with a grey, "au
natural" swimstep.

I never found an oil that holds up more than a couple of months.

Sikkens Cetol (marine) is the way to go after stripping, cleaning and
sanding. My friend has been using it on all his exposed teak for as long as
I can remember, including the swim platform, with excellent results.
Conversely, I had poor results with oil on the exposed teak when I had my
270 Dancer, including on the swim platform inserts. ;-)

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