• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

Varnish removal

John Yandow

Member I
I am looking for advice on what to use to remove varnish from the grab rails on the outside of my coach roof and on my sterncap. The varnish that is on there has pealed in placed and the bare teak is showing. I tried a little sanding, but it doesn't seem to be getting the stuff in the grain. I was wondering if it would hurt the gelcoat to use a varnish stripper, or is there an other route?

Thanks
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Maybe not quite the same, but I have had to remove old Cetol before, and it leaves a very hard "plastic like" surface. (At least the parts that had not weathered away...)

I went with 80 grit on a Makita palm sander. To protect the adjacent cabin surface I would slide a piece of thin sheet metal along the base of the teak rail to keep from scratching the non skid. It was still time consuming work. If doing it again, I will park my ol' shop vac on deck and put the intake end of the hose beside the sander. I learned to do this when sanding and grinding some glass inside the cabin. It cut down 95% of the mess.
:D

I touched up the teak rails with some 120 grit, and then laid on several coats of new Cetol. Then (the most important step!) we put snap-on sunbrella covers over both handrails whenever we are off the boat. It has been 4+ years and the rails still look great.

I know little about varnish removal, per se, because I do not use it on exterior teak. We do use lots of varnish on the inside. On the few places I have had to remove the interior varnish, I also started with 80 grit.

As yet another "plan B", have you considered a heat gun to soften the varnish? I see the pros using these on boat exterior projects quite often.

Best,
Loren
Olson 34 #8, Portland, OR

:cool:
 

John Yandow

Member I
Funny, I am using "plan B" on an old window that my wife got on eBay, it works great.

On my boat I'm not sure what is on the teak, now that I read your replay it might be Cetol. When I remove all of what ever is on I will be using Teak oil. I found that 3 or 4 coats of Tropical Teak Sealer will last all season. I like the color better then Cetol.

I like the cover idea.....I will have to see if the wife can make us some. :D
 

Ray Rhode

Member III
John,

I used West Marine's "Stripper Paint Remover" partly becasue I work there and get it cheap. That aside it worked very well and does not harm the gelcoat or your hands.

Ray Rhode
 

Martin King

Sustaining Member
Blogs Author
Stripping varnish

You can use a heat gun and a very sharp hook scraper to
remove the bulk of it. For getting the stuff around fittings and
deep in the grain use a chemical stripper-Interlux makes a
good one that won't hurt adjacent gelcoated surfaces. Even so
mask off adjacent surfaces and wear nitrile gloves and eye
protection. As for oiling exterior teak-I'd think twice. Nothing
attracts dirt quicker on a boat than an oiled surface and
if not maintained regularly soon turns black. If you don't
want to varnish, you can always leave the teak to "silver
out" on it's own.

Martin
 
Top