Need help identifying wood finish

[Benz]

Originally Posted by dkenny64

almost everyone wants to bash cetol. the real problem is the person who applied

the first coats did not do it right. 2nd it was not maintained.
varnish instead..WHAT VARINSH? hum interesting no recommendations??


so varnish lovers which brand? how easy to renew in a year?


-dkenny64


ps I have teak that I put cetol in on in 2019 and it looks great..

I refuse to put any sort of finish on any exterior wood. If it's teak, just let it go gray and go sailing. I have african mahogany bulwarks with black locust stanchinons, and some doug fir pads here and there, and they're all just gray, and they work fine.
But if I was going to bother, I'd do Compass Clear and keep it up. Trouble is, I went down that road once, and in the tropics it's endless.

[randomgoat]

OP here. Wow. I was expecting "yep Cetol," end of story. What a great discussion, thanks to all for the advice!


So my next question is what should I do in the short term?



I don't have the time to strip and refinish this coming spring. That does seem like the best way forward and I can make brightwork a priority next year.

In the meantime, is it worth touching up the damage at all to protect the teak? Should I just let mother nature keep removing the Cetol for me to make for less work later?

[rslifkin]

As a temporary band-aid, you could certainly scrape off anything loose and throw some fresh Cetol on those areas. It'll keep things more protected and won't add any effort to a later strip and refinish.

[JPA Cate]

Well, with spring just 3 months or so away in the northern hemisphere New Year, I think I'd let it go. Wherever it is gray now, a light sanding will bring back the color in 3 months time. The finish is basically shot now. The flaked off spots are perhaps 5% of all. I just don't think it is worth the work, plus winter is not a good time for chemicals to cure in; they mostly like it around 72 deg. F. or warmer. If you have access to a heated, well ventilated boatshed, maybe go for it, but just budget the time and effort for it and do it right, once.

Ymmv.

Ann

[Benz]

Originally Posted by randomgoat

OP here. Wow. I was expecting "yep Cetol," end of story. What a great discussion, thanks to all for the advice!


So my next question is what should I do in the short term?



I don't have the time to strip and refinish this coming spring. That does seem like the best way forward and I can make brightwork a priority next year.

In the meantime, is it worth touching up the damage at all to protect the teak? Should I just let mother nature keep removing the Cetol for me to make for less work later?

The reason to use teak is because then it doesn't need protection. Just let all that nasty Cetol flake off, strip the rest, and let it all go gray.

[tomtriad]

I'd get after those bungs right away before the rails rot out from the inside. Put cosmetics aside, concentrate on structure

[randomgoat]

Originally Posted by Benz

The reason to use teak is because then it doesn't need protection. Just let all that nasty Cetol flake off, strip the rest, and let it all go gray.

I appreciate that teak holds up well to the weather, and I do like the gray look on some boats. On this one I prefer the finished look and there is minimal brightwork to redo/maintain. I'm more concerned that the lack of protection may make it harder to bring the color back.

Originally Posted by tomtriad

I'd get after those bungs right away before the rails rot out from the inside. Put cosmetics aside, concentrate on structure

Excellent suggestion, I had not considered that aspect. A couple have popped out already.

[BobMc]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

It really looks like Cetol.
I admire you Benz but I have to disagree on that one.
I have been using Cetol for many many years. The pictured issues are just lack of maintenance, as a bit of water ingress causes these if not corrected - same for all coatings.
You have to chase the nicks and scrapes. After my 7 or 8 initial coats I do one coat a year to maintain it, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a day out of the bars[emoji6]

Absolutely nothing wrong with Cetol that can't be said about any other "varnish" product. Like every other product, it has to be properly maintained. Don't hesitate to use it and no reason to remove back to bare wood at this point if you only have a few nicks. We used Cetol for 20 some years on our two trawlers and had no issues with it; maintained it properly, which does take some work every year, particularly here in Florida.

[MicHughV]

Listen....listen carefully.....

I have been varnishing wood for a very, very long time.
In that time, I've tried every available varnish concoction ever made.

My advice to you is simple, sandpaper, scrape it all off and paint it.

Yes, you heard me right...paint it !!

[StoneCrab]

I am agreeing with the consensus that this is Cetol.

I think they changed the formula over the years. This summer I was working with a brand new can of Cetol and was frustrated with how tacky it remained.
I ran out and happened to find an old can in a locker. I was skeptical about whether I should use such an old can but when I opened it up, it looked fine. I applied it to some smaller pieces as a test and found that it cured up quickly and was tack free in a short time. This is the way I remembered the product working.

I haven't been able to verify any formula changes but I prefer the old product over the new product of the same name.

Yes you do need to chase the cracks before the water soaks the wood and lifts the finish.

[sailorladd]

I believe that toerail and other areas are teak, and it is always very challenging to finish with anything due to teak's oily nature.
I have had quite good luck sanding down to the lovely grainy brown finish, and then applying a thinned down coat of epoxy... thinned down with denatured alcohol, so that the epoxy really soak deep into the teak... when this hardens, give the wood a light sanding with 220 sandpaper and then proceed with a quality marine spar varnish (oil based) allow each coat to dry, and again very lightly, sand the blobs and nibs down with 320 sandpaper... give your wood at least 3 coats of this varnish, and be prepared to give it an annual paintenance coat perhaps once a year, where you would give the work a light 320 sanding and apply one coat of similar varnish....

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by randomgoat

I appreciate that teak holds up well to the weather, and I do like the gray look on some boats.

depends on where your teak is. in Florida it tends to turn gray and then black. not a pretty sight

[Nicholson58]

The condition is dire enough that you will totally remove and sand clean.

Use whatever you like. We have Epiphanes applied by the varnish experts in Trinidad. They would not use anything else. Note Cetol is not available anywhere in the eastern Caribbean.

The pros sand clean and rinse with water to remove dust. When dry they use heavily thinned Epiphanies for several coats. If you apply new coats before it’s dry you can do continuous coats. If it hardens you must sand to dull before the next coat. They usually apply 10 to 16 coats. Once a good bottom layer(s) are developed, use undiluted.

No varnish lasts a whole season in the Caribbean.

The longest lasting I have ever used is Bristol Finish. A bit tricky and a true two-part very high UV resistant finish. With decent shading in the cockpit ours has lasted 10 years. Better than varnish by far but eventually must be totally removed when it’s dead.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Use whatever you like. We have Epiphanes applied by the varnish experts in Trinidad. They would not use anything else.

i tried epifanes. it's pretty good stuff but a bit dark. until i found flagship varnish by pettit. i can tell you it is better by far. even in Florida it is multi season. amazing. and i don't work for pettit either

[Leighpilot]

A good two part polyurethane white paint will look good and help you avoid annual maintenance for many years.