exterior teak - cetol?

[capt lar]

while i am serious about maintaining my boats, varnish does not excite me. too short a season, no where near enough money to pay others. i am reading up on my options for exterior teak and am considering 3 coats of sikkens cetol marine light with top coat of cetol marine gloss. i am told that one that is done right, i will need to add a coat once a year with minor prep and easy application and it will look and stay sharp. anyone use it, know about it or prefer other products ? capt lar

Cetol seems to be somewhat subjective. I dislike the stuff. My best friend wooded his boat a few years ago, and used cetol, as have a number of locals here. we get moderate sun, and a lot of fog. All of the Cetol boats seem to to have to reapply every year. I, on the other hand, have tried teak oil, lasts about a month, linseed oil and turpentine, lasts about 2 months, ManOWar spar varnish from the local Home Depot, 3 coats lasts about 6 months uncovered before it starts to fade, and 12 months max without having to wood the boat.
I think the varnish looks a lot better, and the first time you miss a season, and have to wood the Cetol, (I have had my hand in this project) you will swear off the stuff.
That being said, the people that use it seem to keep using it, and comparitively, the up keep is easier than varnish. Do not believe the hype, you WILL have to redo the Cetol every year, but probably will require less prep work than with varnish.

[sv_makai]

I used a marine poly finish clear (West marine) on our last boat. Overall I would get several yers out of it in the Bay. One of the nice things with with a poly finish is the abiltiy to spot sand and recoat. if there is a brekthrough on vanish is all has to come off to get a proper repair.+

Out new boat has not wood so that fixed that problem..but that is a different story.

[capt lar]

i realize i posted in the wrong forum. should / can i move it to "maintainance ? capt. lar

Must not be too lost, you got plenty of answers. I love bright work, and will keep it bristol on a wood boat, but since I bought a plywood trimaran, everything is getting painted.
Realisticly, if you like the looks of a Cetol finish, go for it. I still do not believe it is much if any less work, but it is certainly no more. It is a quality product. My "opinion" is that I do not like the look of Cetol enough to justify the minor advantages.

[capt lar]

it is the claim that on added coats it is once a year, never have to strip, just clean surface, nylon scrubbie and add a top coat that has my attention. over 30 years of building has destroyed my forearms (carpal tunnel) and shoulders (ripped up membrane). put me on sanding for even 2 days and the pain is intense for weeks. i would accept a clean and even application of an oil type finish that i could do myself. i can maintain coverage. the label make vague reference to "problem areas" but that occurs with varnish as well. i do not want to pay to have the woodwork stripped and prepped only to find i have to strip it all ever year or so. the boat is a bristol, so there is a lot of teak. the toe rail is 4" and a heavy horizontal rub rail is attached. that joint will never hold varnish for long. the other option is to get some done each year, but boats that go this route always look half right to me. i am trying to make the reasonable money decision since i know i cannot self perform. capt. lar

[Talbot]

Shame nobody has posted about the benefits/disadvantages of danish oil.

For myself with the little bit of teak that I have on the exterior, I just throw teak oil on it twice a year - but the sun isnt so bright here!

[nockerwhite]

I'm with you on that Talbot - that's the way I go

I mentioned in my earlier post about teak oil. It lasts little time, but what I did not mention is the prep is little more than washing the boat. Unfi\ortunately, you will have to wood everything first. Talbot, I agree completely. Oil finish is traditional, inexpensive, and easy. You just have to reapply much more often.

[capt lar]

will have to take it down to wood no matter what product i work with, including varnish. thanks for the lead. i will study up on teak oil. capt. lar

[froggman180]

Cetol has a funny color to it, I was warned about this from other boaters in socal. but I went ahead and used it anyways and they were right it did not look as good as regular varnish ( I like Epifanes ). Take a look around the marina and fine the people that used cetol the wood has a yellowish look to it, if you dont mind then its not a bad varnish, whatever you do dont get a varnish from Home Depot (the house hold types) bad idea.

[capt lar]

i decided to try and maintain the varnish. while the other products are fine for many boats and, by the way, so is natural imo, i have seen many boats lately with more wood than ours, so i decided not to give in quite so fast. i agree varnish looks best, but cosmetics should be, imo, down the list in priorities, and i know i cannot have her looking half assed so it pushes the maintenance cost up - big surprise. we will see. capt. lar

Frogman180, the Home Depot varnish I was talking about is MAN O WAR Spar Varnish. This particular "cheap" product, is not quite as bad as you might think. The product is produced by Valspar. Valspar is in the ranks of Dupont and PPG in the auto paint industry. They have been making products for marine use for a lot of years. The difference in varnish quality is the UV resistance, and this stuff has plenty. If you are in the Carribean, and do not cover your bright work, it will fail. Does not matter what you use, but for the higher lats, this stuf will last fine.
That said, teak oil is simple.

[Bruce, C&C 27 MKIII]

Hello,

We don't have a lot of exterior teak on our C&C, comprised mostly of the grabrails and some trim teak around the companionway and the boards. Our boat sits out in the sun with no bimini, but only for the summer months. I refinished the wood about 3 years ago with Cetol Light Satin and put on about 5 coats. The key thing with Cetol appears to be the number of coats. Even the Cetol Light, when you get this many coats on starts to turn a little orange in color. If you go with regular Cetol, it will get REALLY orange REALLY quick!

I will say though, that the Cetol has seemed to have a much longer life than traditional varnish.

If, however, the majority of my teak was protected by a bimini and did not see bright sunlight, I would go with a high quality marine varnish. On our inside teak, since it doesn't get sun, we simply sanded it lightly and apply Lemon Oil about once in the spring and once halfway through the season. The Lemon Oil (if it is TRUE 100% lemon oil) tends to kill mildew for quite some time while it keeps the wood looking good.

By the way, I know the Cetol can says "do not thin!" but I find Cetol is just too darned thick to get a nice flow without about 10% mineral spirits and using a top of the line brush.

A good brush makes SO much difference, I couldn't believe it!

Fair Winds,

Bruce