Removing 'Bristol Finish' from Teak

[DSDman]

Thanks guys, that should get me going. I'll post before and after pics.

[cburger]

I have revisited the heat gun scrapper to remove the failed Bristol finish on Moon Dance's cap rails and have finally got the technique down, bur let me tell you really time consuming. I want to take the opportunity to mention once again to stay far away from this product. I am going back to oil and am trying out the Tropical Teak oil that was recommended in this post on a small piece of teak that trims out the instrument panel. Will still have many hours to go with the Bristol strippingl next season, boy its sure fun wasting your time.

[zeehag]

i havebegun to use the mineral oil mixed wioth citronella one uses in tiki torches--it doesnt matter what kind of oil one uses as long as one cleans ¡the wood carefully with sea water first to clean the dirt off. then add oil without needing to wait fro wood to dry between. keep the wood wet and swollen. when it shrinks from fresh water or from drying out, then it will crack.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i havebegun to use the mineral oil mixed wioth citronella one uses in tiki torches--it doesnt matter what kind of oil one uses as long as one cleans ¡the wood carefully with sea water first to clean the dirt off. then add oil without needing to wait fro wood to dry between. keep the wood wet and swollen. when it shrinks from fresh water or from drying out, then it will crack.

Hey Zee nice to hear from you. Its nice to be living on the salt so you can keep your teak wet, unfortunately I am still living on the fresh and have to settle with what we have. Re the cracks I just spline in small pieces of teak and when done right almost invisible and water tight. Was just on my knees doing this when you posted.

As to the oil, I am looking for a little color to the wood something approaching the varnish, boat is full of traditional oils, and the wood turns black, that wil be al going away soon.

[zeehag]

rock salt. make brine and wash wood. black is dirt. plain old dirt. use a brine you make and a 3m pad and go for it--should be less pricey than the teak killing bleaches selling for too much dough. but do clean wood before oil or it will turn ugly black.

[CSY Man]

Used Bristol Finish for 5 years in Florida. Had problems with bubbling and cracking, yellowing and what not. Confronted the inventor on boat shows.
It was my fault of course, wrong temp, wrong prep, wrong method of application, etc.
Finally hired a pro to strip all the sh!t off, then applied 12 coats of Epifanes Varnish and in the Fort Lauderdale sun had to apply maintenance coats every 12 months like clock work. Usually 3 or 5 coats every year.
Been getting the varnish for $22 per quart when buying a 6-pack.
Good stuff, but will still get burned in strong sun.

The Bristol stuff seems to be the same as clear coat for cars and it sure needs an controlled environment when applying, 99% of us does it outside with no control over humidity and sun, etc.
Not suitable for boats, although some guys get good results..

[minaret]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Not suitable for boats, although some guys get good results..

Yeah, not me! This stuff fails in the sun in SEATTLE...


We only get two months of sun on a good year.

[Char99]

I have used Bristol finish on 3 boats here in the PNW where it freezes. The area where no water got under the finish are beautiful after 5 years. Any where water can get under it freezes and cracks the very hard finish. Then more water gets under and more cracks. On my Cal246 I did the toe rails and some parts are beautiful and some Awful . I was hoping to find the removal solution here but as I feared the answer is Grunt hard work.

[Capt Phil]

My wife became the ‘Brightwork’ guru in the marina we lived in for about 10 years in San Diego. All of the Mexicans who worked on brightwork of the other yachts would consult her for how to prep and apply the coatings the owners were using. She swore by Bristol unless varnish was specified but the second and subsequent coats needed to be applied before the previous coat had dried.
Phil