Removing 'Bristol Finish' from Teak

[Cricket]

Heatgun worked for me. I have gone from Bristol, to Epifanes, now I'm trying Cetol with gloss on toerail and eyebrow (areas that always bear the brunt of the sun). (Thanks, HyLyte, for the recommendation)

I think older wood has microscopic stuff in the pores of the wood that retains moisture and ick that degrades the finish. My Bristol (12 coats) was pushed up from underneath in tiny places. I still have Bristol on the companionway (under bimini in shade and stays dry) and it still looks like the dashboard of a Jaguar. So I know how to put it on and I know it was not my error.

Stay off the heatgun tip. Good luck.

[CarlF]

I have also decided that "the problem" is mildew and other organic material deep in the wood. This stuff grows under coatings and causes black marks and loss of adhesion. If you see any tiny black dots in your teak, you've got mildew.

My favorite solution is the cleaner from Teak Decking Systems. This does not seem to be a bleach or oxalic acid. Does not raise grain. The rinse water from a dirty deck runs black. After cleaning, the teak is a very light color. Sort of bleached bone look. I don't put anything on the deck but find that varnish trim lasts far longer if I treat the bare wood first with TDS cleaner.

The World's Leader in Pre-Manufactured Custom Teak Decks - Teakdecking Systems®

Carl

[rebel heart]

Heatgun + sharp scrapers used correctly.

[MarkSF]

Just do it right! 7 layers of varnish is the only way to go...

[minaret]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Heatgun + sharp scrapers used correctly.

Try Pro Prep scrapers. They are the best. They have a lot of different blade contours. I quit using anything else except a large carbide Bahco for wide rails. A diffuser tip on your heatgun also saves much work. Gives a wide angle heating profile instead of a single hot spot. Less burns, more efficient.
Gotta put in a plug for Awlbrite, varnish made by the makers of Awlgrip. It's great stuff with a special formulation for topcating with urethane, which then protects the varnish. It's a ton of work, but it actually does last 5-10 years. Bristol is an awful product, but Awlgrips "Ultimate Varnish System" actually does what Bristol claims to do. With much more work and expense of course.


The ProPrep scraper

[minaret]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

Just do it right! 7 layers of varnish is the only way to go...

IMHO 7 coats isn't even close to enough for teak. We board fair, and it still takes about ten coats just to fill the grain on teak. Even with a high solids varnish. We apply six more for the necessary depth and gloss. Yes that's sixteen coats for our standard. Even in a traditional varnish it lasts much longer this way as well.

[rebel heart]

Honestly, I don't care about brightwork anymore and unless there's a solid reason why I'm letting all my teak bake off its coat and go back to bare. We've got like a year left till we leave full time and the idea of working all this varnish is a non-starter for me. Cruising full time, raising a our daughter, traveling, diving, fishing, sailing, writing, reading: all things I have so much more love for than varnishing. And with our Hans Christian it's nearly an endless job if you want to keep the varnish in top form.

Wooden decks (teak over plywood), wooden spars, wooden cabin top, wooden cockpit, wooden interior, wooden everything.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Honestly, I don't care about brightwork anymore and unless there's a solid reason why I'm letting all my teak bake off its coat and go back to bare. We've got like a year left till we leave full time and the idea of working all this varnish is a non-starter for me. Cruising full time, raising a our daughter, traveling, diving, fishing, sailing, writing, reading: all things I have so much more love for than varnishing. And with our Hans Christian it's nearly an endless job if you want to keep the varnish in top form.

Wooden decks (teak over plywood), wooden spars, wooden cabin top, wooden cockpit, wooden interior, wooden everything.

I feel your pain, my varnishing days are over, when I finally remove the Bristol the caps and strakes will get oil like the rest of the boat. Right now the is sun is doing a pretty good job at lifting the coating.

I am hoping I can steer as many peple away from buying the Bristol Finish b.s. about what a durable, maintainance free finish it is and cost the company lots of money.

No heat guns, sanding or scrapers at this point as the caps have been sanded by the prior owners too often and the bungs are thin. Had to remove over 70 screws and refasten and replug on the caprails prior to finishing and don't want to start anymore of that at this point.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Honestly, I don't care about brightwork anymore and unless there's a solid reason why I'm letting all my teak bake off its coat and go back to bare. We've got like a year left till we leave full time and the idea of working all this varnish is a non-starter for me. Cruising full time, raising a our daughter, traveling, diving, fishing, sailing, writing, reading: all things I have so much more love for than varnishing. And with our Hans Christian it's nearly an endless job if you want to keep the varnish in top form.

Wooden decks (teak over plywood), wooden spars, wooden cabin top, wooden cockpit, wooden interior, wooden everything.

I hear ya. My wife was a pro brightworker for many years, and she did a lot of Hans. Probably a fair percentage of their workload. They sure do have serious teak acreage. I'd be tempted to epoxy seal and paint some of it. If it's left grey for long enough bungs will shrink and checking will begin, especially in Mexico, where I believe you may be headed. You can always sand it off and varnish again if you ever want to sell her. Beats replacing the teak cause it's dried out and hammered from the tropics. I did this with a lot of the brightwork on my last boat, It was a nice opportunity to play around with different trim color combinations. Looked great finished, probably better than the bright work ever did. Well maybe not quite, but I never had to touch it again. Super easy to keep clean too. I brushed it with Awlgrip. Notice I left the caprail grey, and it doesn't like anywhere near as nice as the painted parts. Way more work to keep clean too. All of the rails were bright, grabrails (hate to varnish these), rubrail, house trim and cove, companionway slider, bowsprit (I built a new and painted it), etc. Could look pretty cool on a Hans, but I'm sure you are too close to departure to get involved in such a project...

[defever]

the best way to take bristol finish off your teak is NOT TO USE IT!!!!!!! IT'S JUNK!!!!! cetol natural teak/clear kote rules (and lasts)...

[cburger]

Originally Posted by defever

the best way to take bristol finish off your teak is NOT TO USE IT!!!!!!! IT'S JUNK!!!!! cetol natural teak/clear kote rules (and lasts)...

IMHO Cetol is a horrible looking product, looks like chocolate milk when new, turns orange as it ages. Agree with u regarding the Bristo,l made a mistake, it was Honey Teak I had used on past boats, great stuff.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by cburger

IMHO Cetol is a horrible looking product, looks like chocolate milk when new, turns orange as it ages. Agree with u regarding the Bristo,l made a mistake, it was Honey Teak I had used on past boats, great stuff.

Anyone can get sucked in by false advertisement. I totally agree with you on cetol, not a yacht quality finish.

[rebel heart]

minaret / cburger:

Glad to know there's a couple people out there that know there's more to boat ownership than varnishing.

[s/v Jedi]

Check out the label. I don't even know if it's sold worlwide but Dutch boatbuilders use this stuff a lot and claim best performance in the tropics.

Don't let the wording with "olie" or "oil" get in the way... This gives a varnish-like coating which is very thick, with UV filters, designed for teak wood.



ciao!
Nick.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Check out the label. I don't even know if it's sold worlwide but Dutch boatbuilders use this stuff a lot and claim best performance in the tropics.

Don't let the wording with "olie" or "oil" get in the way... This gives a varnish-like coating which is very thick, with UV filters, designed for teak wood.



ciao!
Nick.

We are currently running a test on a friends Cape Dory, some teak finished in the very very, expensive Epiphanes, some finished with the very inexpensive Mclosky's Man O War spar varnish $18.00 per quart. two years in an no disernable difference exept in the wallet.