Cetol Convert

[Gallivanters]

I'm certainly no expert, but...

Vinigar works very well as cleaning agent, especially below deck. It's cheap, kills odors, disinfects and non-toxic.

Removing varnish from teak carvings is very time consuming to do completely. Either buy some dental tools or perhaps look into "Ice Blasting", which is similar to bead blasting but without the heavy clean-up.

As for teak finishes...

I prefer "Cruising Silver" on all areas exposed to direct tropical sun. Prep the surface by stripping to bare wood and maintain it by throwing buckets of seawater on it. Easy.

I prefer using Decks Olje (oil) on non-exposed teak. Apply with a sponge brush and maintain it with an oil dampened rag. Easy.

The only time I'll consider putting serious effort into making my boat sparkle like a Showboat is when I'm looking to sell her.

We met a "Gold Plate" couple in a beautiful lagoon in Papua New Guinea who spent an awful lot of time fending off and yelling at locals who tried to approach them in outrigger canoes who were only hoping to trade or simply make friends. I ran into them later in Australia and they said that they HATED New Guinea. They probably went on to hate a lot of other places, too, because they were so anal about the finish on their shiny boat.

I suppose if you're trying to impress your friends at the Royal Yacht Club then a bristol finish may be of great importance, but if you're out there anchoring in the real world - Aye wouldn't worry about the occasional scuffs & dings.

I have better things to do with my free time.

Kirk ~~~_/) ~~~ s/v GALLIVANTER ~~~ Hylas 49

[hellosailor]

Lilly, teak is kind of a religious thing, there's no one answer. There are many bleaches and cleaners (peroxide, oxyclean, bleach, among them) and deck washes. The problem is anything that cleans any wood well probably will also bleach it and erode the wood a bit. So you need to decide how aggressively you want to clean, and then how or if to coat or seal. Beware of pressure washers and stiff scrub brushes--you can abrade more than you think. Use a softer scrub brush or low pressure with a pressure washer.

The "original" leak of teak, like furniture, won't endure outdoors in the UV from the sun. It bleaches out to a handsome silver-gray all by itself, and if you don't like that look you'll probably have to SAND it all down to a fresh surface, then seal and coat, coat, coat. What you think is mold is, I HOPE, just the bleached white of old teak that has been sitting in the sun.

Regular applications of "teak oil" or lemon oil will help keep up bare teak, and discourage mildew, very nicely. It soaks in overnight to replace the natural oils that are being baked out by the sun every day. For some of us, that's enough. All the layers of "stuff" and constant sanding...nice, if you can afford a full time crew for that.<G>

[gonesail]

whoever calls cetol "butt ugly" probably does not live in Florida or the caribbean. dealing with the tropical sun is tough enough .. but dealing with varnish under a tropical sun can be a real pain. From what I can see and hear .. you did the right thing .. cetol is a good solution

[Tropic Cat]

I would agree that Cetol could be used for exterior teak, however I prefer to sand interior teak to bare wood and use a polyurathane to finish it. U/V degradation is not an issue, and I prefer it to the look of Cetol. I also believe that maintenence is easier.

Rick in Florida

[SailWiz]

Originally Posted by gonesail

whoever calls cetol "butt ugly" probably does not live in Florida or the caribbean. dealing with the tropical sun is tough enough .. but dealing with varnish under a tropical sun can be a real pain. From what I can see and hear .. you did the right thing .. cetol is a good solution

Thank you kind Captain. I am very pleased with it The previous 8-10 coats of "Helmsman" varnish was a bear to remove but it looks great now. Happy Sanding!! Wiz

[rtbates]

I wish you the best of luck with your Cetol. I have been spending the last three weekends removing every last spec of the stuff. Why? Because after 5 years and a maintenance coat every year it turned very very dark. And it gets voids at the teak to deck edge that allows moisture to get behind and lift it. The basic issue is that like varnish Cetol attempts to provide a 100% sealed external coating. And that's just not going to happen in the real world. Drop the wench handle and there's a chip.

I'm going to Teaqua oil. http://www.teaqua.com Why? Because it's 100% IN not ON the wood. When water quits beading up simply apply another coat. There is no surface coating that needs to be kept 100% intact.

I'm hoping that with the application of oil and it's relative ease of maintenance I can own the teak not the other way around.

randy cape dory 25d

[gonesail]

cetol needs to be sanded and perhaps stripped before you put more on. they also have a clear formula you might check out. the good thing about cetol is that it allows the wood to breath. it does not absorb dirt and impurities like oil does IMHO

[JGI417]

I used cetol, its easy and lasts, but I didnt care for the color, went back to varnish more work, no correct answer here, i guess you take all the pro,s cons and use what best for you

[S/V Elusive]

They also make a Cetol lite - less color.

[Talbot]

much better off with coelan. Looks great as well.

[Richhh]

Originally Posted by lilly

.........I need some advice on what to do to bring the cabin sides back to a nice 'red' look.
Of course I'll leave the decks natural but how best to clean them. The interior isn't so bad but lots of the teak has a whitish mold or something on it. How best to deal with that? There's intricate carving everywhere. How do I clean that without gumming up the carving?
Thanks for any advice.

Freshly sanded raw teak can 'developed' to the color hue you want by covering with a clear plastic sheet to protect from rain/ moisture and exposing in the full sunlight. It will take a week or more for the 'hue' to develop. This 'hue' develops naturally when teak is exposed in sunlight and is overcoated with just about any clear coating .... it just takes some time. You can purchase 36 or 48" wide 'Saran' to cover large surfaces. You can 'hurry' the process by 'tinting' the teak with a very dilute 'wash' of stain; but, the natural hue will develop over time so whatever you 'tint' will be additive. You can also tint the (oil based) varnish by adding small amounts of aniline dye, etc., let fully cure/dry, then overcoat with a UV stabilized urethane varnish, etc.
"Hue" can also be developed by also developing the 'irridescent patina' of the surface wood cells by vigorously hand rubbing the varnish with rottenstone and water (for gloss surface). Develop a FLAT surface with 2000 grit wet and dry paper; then, use a wet bare hand with some 'sprinkled-on' rottenstone and rub on until its hot. The frictional heat generated by hand rubbing is the 'secret'. Speed is better than pressure. Wait until the varnish is fully cured (at least a month) before you 'hand-rub'. Handrubbing is a very laborious & time consuming process. For large surfaces I use a knobby 'foam' pad and an auto body shop variable high speed polisher; and, a very 'light touch' - flat-sand, then rotten stone and a little water, then finish with 3M "Perfect-it". This will produce an extremely dazzling finish similar to what you find on the interiors of very expensive private aircraft or megayachts. Varnish usually has to be flat sanded then 'finished'/rubbed/polished to look *really* good.

For the carvings, get some 'paste' paint remover, apply and let 'almost' dry then use a stiff brush to remove the lifted paste/varnish. Be sure to protect the adjacent gelcoat as such strippers will instantly 'bore a hole' into gelcoat. In the USA a product named "ZipStrip" is what I use, its deadly on butt-ugly coatings such as 'cetol'.

To remove mold/mildew from interior oiled or bare teak, use plain natural soap and water or an 'oil soap'. For varnished interior teak use a diluted caustic detergent; dont use caustics on oiled finishes as it will dissolve them. On varnish be 'quick' with the caustic so you dont degrade/lift the varnish. To prevent future mold from forming on gelcoat/painted/varnished surfaces apply a spray on a slightly caustic detergent then immediately wipe dry. The remaining caustic residue will prevent colonization. This will 'approximate' what our ancestors successfully did to prevent mold: 'whitewashing' - making a caustic surface.

[vonnwonder]

I know what the directions say in regard to using cetol but what do you ,as users, have to say?Do you paint on or rub in your cetol regular or cetol light?Do you sand between coats when applying tha gloss coats?Do ever use a 3M nylon pad between coats?
What, if any other secrets that are not on the label,will you share?

[S/V Elusive]

I don't use the gloss coats. Most of the time, I just lightly rough up the surface and clean it off with a wipe of alcohol, apply with brush. It is DAMN easy, your really only need one coat as a maintenance (most places - sometimes I add a little more in the high traffic areas). I use a paint brush.

I did (this being the seventh year) decide to sand it more vigorously this time and then applied two coats. No particular reason, just did. Does look pretty damn good. I apply cetol to my rub strake, deck caprail, eyebrows, and grab rails. Regular varnish to the cockpit caprail, cockpit trim and hatch, and hatch frames.

[starfish62]

I am a true teak newbee. I have never owned a boat that had more than a few grab rails of teak, which were cetol-ed. That boat went from Florida to Australia, by the way. But now I am the "proud" owner of a bigger boat with more teak. Only owned the boat for a few weeks, and there is a pun with that later, and tackled the research on how to restore the teak and refinish. I had no idea the decisions and hard held views on the subject. Wars have been started!

After much research, polling at the local marina, and visiting every forum Google could find, I am going with Honey Teak. For the time being....no one seems to know what is best and I will probably go with Cruiser Silver in the long run because...hell, I don't even wear makeup why should the gd boat!!!

Today I spent from 9:00 to 5:00 in the hot Florida sun under the rule of a Teak Professional for "free" stripping. Calm down guys. I was learning the moves from an expert. The problem was. He is Antiguain and use to working in the hot sun with no breaks for 8 hours. I know I had heat exhaustion and was on the verge of heat stroke by the end of the day but how do you turn down free expert advise and not work as much as they do?

I now know how to properly remove the stuff and sand it to perfection but I am still thinking...what the hell! I want to sail not look Bristol!!?

Oh, the pun. The expert Antiguan is named Only but we just call him Black. He is the best, works like a dog, and is for hire. He is $35 an hour and so worth it if you can afford it, which I can't. I got him for one day for lunch because I made dinner for Only and his wife after meeting them at the local marina. Only, if only I could afford you!!!!! Meanwhile, I will use the knowledge that he impared and,... go cruiser silver eventually. Because childrearing is as thankless a job a teak refinishing...refinishing...refinishing....refinis hing.

Maybe I am heat stroking.