interior teak -- varnish or oil?

[sneuman]

Maintenance I think is a minimal part of this discussion. My old boat had a glossy, varnish interior that never needed attention in 12 years of ownership.

So, from a purely aesthetic point of view, for sailboat interiors -- varnish vs. oil?

Opinions?

[Wolfe10]

On our last two boats, we satin varnished bulkheads and gloss varnished the solid teak/cherry trim.


Very nice combination, and unlike exterior varnish is good forever.


And, unlike oiled wood, varnished wood does not absorb moisture.

[JPA Cate]

Oil can look lovely. It depends on what you like. HOWEVER, I personally would prefer varnish. The reason is that the first time we were in the tropics, every single bit of oiled teak grew mold on it. When we got back to the States, I laboriously sanded every one of those little blankety-blanks down to bare wood and varnished them. No problems the next time in the tropics. If you're never going tropical, I wouldn't worry about it, but if your plans include warm moist, moldy places, I surely would.

One thing you can do that looks nice is to use semi gloss varnish on the large flat areas, and to trim the high wear areas with gloss (which is harder: the flattening agents soften the varnish). Our current boat was finished in all gloss, and it's okay. But, on our previous boat, there were trim strips around the corners of partial bulkheads and the like, and having them glossy really spruced it up, visually.

Ann

[MikeHoncho]

Boiled Linseed Oil thinned with paint thinner 50%. Other the the floor, if you are needing to seal the wood from moisture within your boat to the point you need to varnish it then you might want to consider leak mitigation. BLO can be applied right over existing coats without any prior prep, no stripping, no sanding. It will darken the wood slightly over time.

[Nord Sal]

100% Tung oil.

Thin it with pure citrus oil, either lemon or orange. The citrus oil will help penetration and add a wonderful aroma. Natural turpentine would be my third choice. I kinda like its "pine forest" scent, though not as much as citrus.

[Tetepare]

Oil gets gummy. And gets on more than wood if not controlled AMHIK. I believe ours is polyurethane but the boat is new to us so I’ve not got that far. The previous boat was oiled teak, every six months. Not a bad job, but enough of a PITA that I’d avoid it if I could.

[MikeHoncho]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Oil gets gummy. And gets on more than wood if not controlled AMHIK. I believe ours is polyurethane but the boat is new to us so I’ve not got that far. The previous boat was oiled teak, every six months. Not a bad job, but enough of a PITA that I’d avoid it if I could.

Not if it’s thinned.

[s/v Jedi]

There is another option: old fashioned oil and wax. The perfect product for that: https://www.odiesoil.com/

I’m not sure about mold… but moisture is certainly not an issue. It’s more work, you rub it into the wood with a scotch fine sanding pad, then after a couple of minutes buff it out with a terry cloth. Good YouTube videos.

I don’t use it at the boat yet. Aboard I use Epifanes varnish. Gloss as base and mat for finish coats. The gloss is so pretty, I use it as topcoat for trim as well

[Nord Sal]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Oil gets gummy. And gets on more than wood if not controlled AMHIK. I believe ours is polyurethane but the boat is new to us so I’ve not got that far. The previous boat was oiled teak, every six months. Not a bad job, but enough of a PITA that I’d avoid it if I could.

Originally Posted by MikeHoncho

Not if it’s thinned.

I agree with Mike. Thin the oil, and rub any excess away. The finish doesn't get gummy, feels dry to the touch and looks great. (Smells great too if thinned with orange oil)

[siamese]

Make mine poly. Some variation of that is what's on my Catalina's interior right now, and any touchups will be poly.

[Bowdrie]

I vote for varnish, but use a premium product.
Forget the big-box stuff and "Man of War", thin, no body, low solids content, poor build-up.
Epiphanes/Pettit/Interlux, take your pick, (I'm sure their are others).
Many hassles and poor finish quality are the result of cheap brushes.
Don't use cheap thinner, use the manufacturers product or Turpentine.
If you want a "rubbed" effect do the build-up with gloss, and then use either Rottenstone or Pumice with a rag and water to give a "sheen".
That way you can always go back to gloss.
If you start out with semi-gloss or flat you're married to it, and they never give an appearance of "depth".

[sail sfbay]

Howard Restor & Finish is what I use.

[sailcrazy]

Anyone have any idea what the Taiwanese boatyards (Tayana, Taswell, Baba, etc) used on their interiors? I do not look forward to stripping our entire interior before putting a new finish on, but after some 33 years a "refreshening" is not far off. For those who have redo their interiors.....did you strip it down before refinishing, or just apply new over old? What did you have initially, and what did you cover it with?

[sail sfbay]

I have a 38 year old Taiwanese powerboat and use Howard Restor & Finish .

[Oeanda]

We’ve refinished most of the interior of our 42 year old Taiwanese boat. Some areas with tung oil, others with polyurethane finishes. Not sure which I prefer, probably the oil but do you have to put on a few coats to get the nice glossy finish. I find teak is easy and forgiving to work with- pretty hard to go too wrong in the interior as long as you’re not slathering on some truly cheap product, and you’ve cleaned up the wood first.

We did have to take a scraper to a couple areas but mostly it just needed cleaning. The old varnish seemed generally fine. I would try just washing it with soap and water first, or otherwise wiping down with alcohol.