Cetol Natural Teak on the Deck

[Big Moe]

Hello Fellow Sailors:

I have recently purchased a 2009 49 Beneteau with a teak deck in the cockpit. I have used Cetol with great success on all my rails and my cockpit seats. I put three coats on everything and it easily lasted the complete Chesapeake Bay season. I keep reading that it will become slippery when wet! Is there anyting that will not be slippery but will give my teak a golden color as I dislike the gray look.

Thanks,

Big Moe

[captain465]

I use a product called "TEAK GUARD".follow the instructions and you will love the results.......way better than Cetol!!!!!!!

[Windgeist]

I too have been using Cetol Natural + Cetrol Gloss on my teak rails, dorades, rail, etc. I had been leaving the seats natural and let it gray but found it molded after a season so I tried Semco Teak Sealer for my seats. I've been pleased with both products. I do have to recoat with Semco about every three months but only takes about 10 minutes becasue you can apply each coat immediatly after each other

Heres a few photos showing the difference;

[Nimble1]

Its my understanding that Cetol does not have the abrasion resistance for surfaces that get frequent wear.

[RBEmerson]

Cetol on the decks? NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo! Clear enough?

We use Cetol on our brightwork and like it. But things like the caprail get slippery when wet. The notion of decks in that state is... scary, unsafe, and truly a potential liability.

Please understand that those spiffy golden decks you see at boat shows are an aberration. Sure, you can do that, too, but expect to replace the decks due to excessive wear. Silver decks are teak's normal state when in use.

Honest, cry a river over the loss of golden decks, build a bridge, and get over it.

[rtbates]

I second Teakguard. It allows the teak to remain non-skid and the color is a beautiful golden honey. I stripped Cetol off all my teak awhile back. I like the Teakguard appearance much better.

If you dislike the look of a teak deck, why did you buy a boat with a teak deck????? If you like Cetol you can come pretty close to that look with orange paint and nonskid granules.

In addition to reducing the nonskid performance, if you have to do any kind of sanding as part of your finish installation or maintenance you are dramatically reduing the lifespan of the teak deck.

[Kanani]

You can keep that nice "Honey" teak color by scrubbing the decks once a week. Be sure to scrub against the grain.

Myself, I dislike teak decks on a cruising boat for a multitude of reasons.

For bright-work, I used Cetol for many years. If you keep after it and coat it once every other month, it looks great (if it doesn't get chafed). Once the Sun gets to through coating, it must be sanded back to achieve a nice finish.

For someone that is going cruising, has a lot of teak on the topsides and wants to avoid all the hassle, here is a great remedy.

Do a first class varnish job with about 6 coats (take lots of pictures). Let it set for 60 days, do a light sand with 180 grit paper and put a coat of paint on it. It will last for years. When you are done cruising, sand off the paint and you will have your beautiful varnish back. 2 coats and your back on schedule for re-coating every 3 months.

If you would rather spend time varnishing (instead of exploring) while cruising, varnish away.

Cetol (and Cetol like coatings) does not hold up to chafe. Even a boom cover rubbing on a spot, in a breeze will chafe it easily. Dinghy painters are killers. If the surface gets chafed (even a little) the Sun will get to the wood and it will need to be sanded back before re-coating. Varnish stands up to chafe and salt water far better. It's just a lot more work.