Reasonable Hourly Rate for Teak Refinishing & Maintenance

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by zboss

yes, semco on my cr38 is awesome. Every time people approach our boat they ask if the teak is new.

Thanks for response. Once I did work of stripping I went ahead and used cetol light x 2 coats and gloss x 2 coats on my toerail. Looks great!

I am lucky that prior owner made an entire set of toerail and handrail canvas so the finish should hold up... Scrub and add 1 coat gloss each year...


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[Thumbs Up]

I painted all of the exterior teak on my boat with awlgrip!

[btrayfors]

Originally Posted by Scott Berg

........
For what it's worth, on our own boat this time we're going to try a Tonkin oil 'varnish' we saw on a classic wooden boat. I'll publish the results. Le Tonkinois frequently asked questions

Here's the boat which prompted Scott to try the Tonkin oil varnish. It was one of the most beautiful varnish jobs I've ever seen. And, this picture was taken after the boat had spent several months in the Bahamas.



Bill

[btrayfors]

Another option:

Several years ago I tried a German product called Coelan on my teak cockpit trim. It is a long-lasting epoxy, imported by a company in North Carolina. It's a bit pricey and is finiky to apply, but it lasts and lasts and lasts. Mine has lasted over 5 years without re-application.

Worth a try, particularly if you have long unbroken expanses of teak. It's a bit difficult to apply around deck fittings, and drying time is more than they claim, making it virtually impossible to apply multiple coats in a day as they advise.

But....long lasting it is, and it's almost too shiny!

Bill

[OnTour]

Originally Posted by Scott Berg

In response to the original question, most mobile brightwork firms seem to charge an hourly rate of 40-60/hr. When we did varnish work it was always a bid on the boat, as in:

Strip, Repair, Sand, Seal (2-3 coats), Base (5-7 coats), Finish (4-6 coats).
And we did go for that 'Bristol' finish. For a 40' boat with a full teak cap rail it could easily run $6000.00 which is why most people do it themselves.

For what it's worth, on our own boat this time we're going to try a Tonkin oil 'varnish' we saw on a classic wooden boat. I'll publish the results. Le Tonkinois frequently asked questions

I have tried all the popular brands and Le Tonk is the best. Very user friendly , no sanding between coats , doesn't crack or peel , and it looks sooo good.


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[wooden head]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I can't understand why we call it bright work. In this age, throwing money at wood just doesn't seem that bright at all. Does appearance matter to grownups, or are we past that?

No we are not. I wax my car to protect the paint I varnish my Brightwood to protect the wood. I don't own ugly cars or boats. They are art it's not always the expense but the beauty of the lines.

[westsailwill]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I can't understand why we call it bright work. In this age, throwing money at wood just doesn't seem that bright at all. Does appearance matter to grownups, or are we past that?

Some people actually shower, brush their teeth, and occasionally put on clean clothes.
Love to see this guys house.

[phantomracer]

I have a professional independent marine contractor/painter work on my varnish. cost is about half what my boatyard would charge (assuming the same number of hours - about 60-70 ). All depends on if the owner wants just to protect the wood, or have a show finish. I choose the latter, and I pay!

No fancy new fangled finsh - traditional Epifanse varnish. Classic look.

But I think it is worth it!

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by phantomracer

I have a professional independent marine contractor/painter work on my varnish. cost is about half what my boatyard would charge (assuming the same number of hours - about 60-70 ). All depends on if the owner wants just to protect the wood, or have a show finish. I choose the latter, and I pay!

No fancy new fangled finsh - traditional Epifanse varnish. Classic look.

But I think it is worth it!

Gorgeous! And if you get pleasure out of your boat being in Bristol condition, as I do also, then it's worth it!


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[socaldmax]

A long time ago, I had a couple of beautiful black cars and I took great pains to make sure they looked perfect. Zaino car care products, actual feather duster, toothbrush on the trim, Q-tips in the vents, 303 Protectant on the vinyl, etc.

After a while, I realized that I was spending a lot of time keeping them clean, instead of doing fun stuff like BBQing at the beach, or hiking, etc. I began to wonder why I was doing it. After all, I wasn't entering car shows and winning prizes, I was wasting my time obsessing over a fraction of an inch of paint that someone could easily destroy with their keys or a shopping cart in a parking lot.

I came to the realization that time is the one resource that we cannot replace, so I decided to live my life as if I might end up on my death bed next week. Would I look back proudly at all of my accomplishments, great trips to wonderful places, wonderful people I'd met, fun times with friends and relatives, or would I look back in bitterness because I wasted countless hours of my life with a rag obsessing over a water spot or a less glossy area of the paint? Who really wants to be a slave to their material possessions? Sure, Jay Leno has a beautiful car collection. But he's rich, and he pays someone else to do all of the work.

I used to have a next door neighbor, stubborn old codger. He spent every weekend washing and waxing his 2 cars and cutting his grass, trimming shrubs, etc.

One time I asked him if he ever planned to go anywhere, do anything, live a little. He grumbled that he took great pride in how his yard looked and people judged him by his yard and his car. I couldn't keep myself from laughing in front of him. "Do you really think that everyone is honestly that shallow? I judge people on their kindness toward one another, their major accomplishments benefitting mankind, what they've accomplished. A week after you die, your grass will look like you didn't mow it, not like it was freshly mowed for 30 yrs, your cars and your yard don't have a memory, they only look as good as you treated them in the last week. All of those years - you could have been doing something fruitful or fun on your weekends."

He just harrumphed.

A few months later, he had a mild heart attack and they installed a couple of stents. He was in the hospital for about 5 days, and was bedridden for a couple more weeks. He saw his grass grow, he saw some dust on his cars and realized the world hadn't come to an end, but he almost did.

He talked to his wife, who was so heavy she couldn't get up the stairs to the main floor of the house, so she slept in the guest bedroom downstairs. They put the house up for sale and found a house in Lake Havasu City that was one story, no grass, air conditioned garage for the cars. He's a lot nicer person now, meets new people, spends a lot more time with his wife and they go out and do a lot of things including travelling they never tried before.

Sure, everyone loves the beautiful curves of a sports car, a super model, or the freshly varnished wood on a boat. But as soon as I'm done admiring all of them, I tell myself, "I'm glad that's someone else's high maintenance nightmare." I'd be much happier with a girl-next-door type, an all fiberglass catamaran, and a champagne Toyota Camry. As reliable as the sun, good gas mileage, great ride, pretty quiet, decent interior room and doesn't show any dirt. Drive it, put gas in it, get the oil changed and run it through a car wash every couple of weeks.

It doesn't run any better when it's shiny. Neither do boats, except for the bottom. LOL

[wooden head]

Life is not about the destination it's about the journey. If you enjoy working on the bright work or you enjoy cruising/sailing with the boat just so then it's time or money well spent if you would rather spend more time on the water or exploring the next harbor town then get a plastic or metal boat that suits your needs, and save the agrivation.