Cetol vs varnish

[callistov42]

One more vote for Cetol. Callisto lives in the Caribbean and the natural with gloss top coats looks great on a Vagabond 42 with LOT'S of wood.

[ronbo1]

There are 3 'tinted' Cetol base coats.
The original Marine, Light, and the newest Natural Teak.
The topcoat is Gloss which is usually applied annually.
I've had Marine on for 11 years and yearly apply a coat of Gloss.
In my humble opinion it's easier to maintain than varnish.

Ronbo

[sneuman]

I would have to vote for Cetol. If you use the Natural Teak (NOT 'light' unless you're a fan of 'Cetol orange'), the key is to start with bare wood, add four coats - allow 24 hours between each coat, then two coats of gloss finish. The last part, the gloss finish is critical - with that, you'll be good for at least two seasons, probably a lot longer, but that's all I have direct experience with. Without the gloss, you'll be looking at a very rapid (as in < one season) decline.

Another thing: don't listen to the brightwork gurus - it'll drive you crazy. Save yourself time and money -- use throwaway (chip) brushes for the whole lot. Just be on guard for stray brush hairs and try to pull them out before you move on. The results will be very nearly as good as if you use all those expensive camel-hair brushes but it'll cost you a lot less and be a lot less hassle when it comes to clean up.

[Free as a Bird]

Very interested in this thread. I unfortunately have some areas of my bright work where lack of maintenance (my fault) has resulted in rain and sun affecting bare timber timber.
Despite good prep and a dose of oxalic acid, those areas turned very dark compared to the adjacent unaffected areas on the application of the varnish.
I suspect that numerous treatments of oxalis acid is needed.
Any suggestions most welcome.
South Australia and Australia generally is pretty tough on varnishes due to heat and high UV.

[Liam Wald]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Having used both , I didn't see a lot of difference on durability or longetivity between good yacht varnish and cetol, cetol seemed a little easier to apply , but was also very difficult to remove as to seems to penetrate more. I used both the tinted and clear Cetol , the tinted looked quite fake

Dave

I agree with your assessment that it looks fake.
In my opinion it is a really horrible color. Looks like crappy furniture from K-mart.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by sailcruiser

I'm actively in this project now. Using Citristip to remove old dark brown finish which may or may not be Cetol I don't know cleaning and reapplying Cetol natural teak. The natural teak is loads better looking than the orange stuff years back.

Celestial I suggest this article on teak cleaners:
BoatUS - BoatTech - Teak Care by Don Casey

I had some unvarnished dirty teak that the laundry detergent, bleach, TSP mixture worked well on. I let it set for about 7-10 minutes and scrubbed lightly with a stiff brush with the grain. It did wonders.
SC

Thanx man...I appreciate the help...Now if you could just show up and do it for me...

[Max Sail]

So last time I saw a teak finish thread, it seemed the consensus was Epiphanes was the way to go over cetol.

Now this thread says Cetol....

So Cetol or Epiphanes?

[sailcruiser]

Celestial, if I ever get caught up here (HA!) then I can come visit.


Max Sail the two are apples and oranges. One is a varnish, the other a sort of fake varnish. I find the fake stuff tries my patience less than the other. Cetol once on is pretty easy to take care of. I don't have the time or the energy to do a proper varnish with everything else I'm trying to do.

So if you hate painting as many do go with Cetol. If you enjoy refinishing furniture go with a proper varnish. I like easy and Cetol is good enough here. Right now I'm stepping some dark brown finish that is very ugly. The refinished parts look very nice so I'm sticking to that path.
SC

[bobconnie]

I still like Varnish. But below decks ! Above I like two part paint ! white mostly !! Ya wipe it down once in a while and all is good !!! But Im old and can find better things to wear me out LOL

[model 10]

Originally Posted by sailr69

I don't recommend doing this but. it is a task to remove my varnished companionway hatch so I tried to find a way not to have to remove it for new coats of varnish. I then refinished the hatch in several coats of sprayed on clear IMRON. that was over 15 years ago and looks like it will go another 15 easy. incredible!

I'm not sure why you don't recommend this way of doing things After all this is pretty much what Perfection 2x part is. Now if you brush on a coat of epoxy first then the clear poly, now you got something.

[onestepcsy37]

starbrite tropical teak oil.

clean your teak
put on two coats
give it a couple of years
it will gradually wear thin
put on two coats
give it a couple of years....

[Celestialsailor]

...the plot thickens...

[Finistere]

As I was working on my teak on year another boat owner said to me: "Remember a boat is not a piano".

Cetol Natural Teak is great, I do not use a clear coat, don't like the shine and Croat about every two years.

[sww914]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I use to use the older Cetol for my Tartan Blackwatch 37. Although it was opague, I didn't mind because of the longivity. I'm glad this thread came up because I've see the new cetol products and wondered about them. My teak is in "black" condition and I want to do them whilst in Mx. The Natural Teak sounds like a good solution for me.

Bring whatever you want to use with you. For instance, Trinidad bottom paint is almost $500.00 a gallon here. You can get Comex cheap but it only lasts a year.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by sww914

Bring whatever you want to use with you. For instance, Trinidad bottom paint is almost $500.00 a gallon here. You can get Comex cheap but it only lasts a year.

Hell...I should bring down 50 gallons and sell it for $300 @ gal.