Teak Care: Oil or Varnish?

[Landlocked Capn]

Well, it's almost sailing season #2 since I bought my 1973 Ericson 25, and I need to go ahead and bite the bullet on all my exterior teak. Here is my problem, and would welcome any advice.

1. This is a freshwater boat only.

2. All the wood has been previously varnished, but the varnish is peeling and cracking away.

Question: Should I use sandpaper (with care) to remove the old varnish? And then hit it with teak cleaner? Or will the teak cleaner by itself do the trick?

Last question: Once I'm down to the bare wood, do any of you guys have a preference for either varnish or teak oil, and why?


Eric Voigt
s/v Blow Me
'73 E25, #70
Austin, TX

 

[cruis-n]

Slave to varnish

I'd recommend stripping the varnish off if it's nearly all off anyway and leave it go grey. On past boats I've done the oxycilic (sp?) acid to clean the teak, then teak oiled. Problem was the acid and scrubbing wore down the soft material and eventually it went black due to the oil attracting dirt. The raised trak needed to be sanded, and after a while you are rewarded with a 'replace the handrails' project.

On my current boat, we are slaves to the varnish due to the previous owner (PO). Looks great but it takes a weekend or so per year to do at least three coats. Could stand it twice per year but we keep the handrails, caprail, and hatchboards covered with custom covers.

Personally I like the grey look. Most if not all cruising boats let theirs go grey. No messy chemicals, strippers, oils, etc. From a safety standpoint, grey decks are not so slippery that it becomes a hazzard. My next boat will have external stainless or grey teak.

Good luck.

BTW, my boat is an E35-III in north TX.

 

[Landlocked Capn]

Thanks for the info. Quick question: do you strip the varnish before you re-coat it? Sand it? Or just lay new coats down as needed?

 

[cruis-n]

If it's broken through, you need to sand down to clean wood and rebuild it back up using multiple thin coats. Otherwise, clean the varnish with mild soap and water. Let dry thouroughly. Lightly sand with #400. Wipe down with mineral spirits (although I have used acetone). Be careful with your rag afterword, they can self ignite. Then tack cloth. Then apply a thin coat of varnish (I thin mine slightly with mineral spirits). Don't forget to mask off the areas you don't want varnish on!!! Thin varnish runs everywhere (but where you want it) and is hell to remove! If the humidity is not too high, you can do one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Watch out, if you apply it too heavy, it'll
orange peel'. If that happens, get out the sander, it'll be a long day. Another thing to watch out for when applying late in the afternoon is 'falling damps'. It'll goof up your finish it it 'dews' before it's dry.

See, this is the reason I'd recommend letting it 'go grey'.

Having tried my best to talk you out of varnish or finishing of any kind... I'm planning to varnish this weekend (I wouldn't do it but the PO started it). Hopefully I'll get it done and can sail the rest of the year.

One other idea I've heard about is to strip down top bare wood and then coat it with West Systems Epoxy. It's hard as nails, but does not stand up to UV radiation (it'll start to fail within 6 months). Then you coat it with UV stabilized (most spar varnishes are) varnish, several coats. Supposedly this protectes the wood and gives a great finish. I've not seen it done, only heard about it. Anyone else tried it? How has it worked out?

cruis-n

 

[ccorcoran]

Eric,

I suggest you do a search on this site for refinishing teak; I think you'll find a wealth of information and several perspectives. IMHO, I like oiled teak, however, exterior oiled teak is usually not up to the rigors of sun and water without repeated re-oiling. Since yours is flaking, it makes sense to sand it down. Use removable tape to protect the gelcoat you can also use a thin metal edge if you're using a power/palm sander. Once sanded, treat with oxalic acid (be careful of gelcoat and rinse thoroughly) to lighten/even. One more pass with finer sand paper and you're ready to varnish. I'd use a high quality polyurethane (come to think of it, I just did!) and do 5 to 6 coats. I don't like the Cetol product since it has a very orange color. The key to keeping it up is have canvas covers made and keep a small nail polish bottle of varnish with a small piece of sandpaper wrapped around it; fix the chips before they become gouges. That's just my .02! Good luck.

 

[Landlocked Capn]

Thanks Chris and Wendy (and everyone else) for the advice. I went w/Teak Oil inside, and have committed myself to being a slave to varnish on the exterior wood. I posted a thread with a few pics of my renewal project, and you can get a glimpse of the newly varnished boards.

 

[Jim Baldwin]

The Unvarnished Truth

What about that Golden Glow Miracle Teak Oil?
Oil is easy to do, but very quickly looks like you've done nothing.
The wood is actually OK for a while, it just doesn't look it.

Some cheap polyurethane spray or a tub of Mighty Man-O-War?
Both guaranteed to flake and fall off every year or everytime you look at it, (whichever comes first.)

What about that two-part epoxy stuff, Bristol type finish?
Well, I don't care what the factory says... My own evaluation: Lifespan comparrison to marine varnish. Rating= 1.5/1 Cost=10X/1 and much harder to sand down or remove. (Something that you're never supposed to have to do.)

Here's my solution, (at least for the grab rails.)

 

[noproblemo2]

I FOUND QUITE BY ACCIDENT A QUICK WAY TO STRIP OIL FROM TEAK, OVEN CLEANER FOR TEN MINUTES WIPE OFF WITH LOTS OF WATER BLOW DRY OR DRY NATURALLY LIGHT 220 SANDING THEN VARNISH. THE TEAK LOOKS LIKE BRAND NEW GOLDEN TEAK...