Dare I even post this????

[Connemara]

For my VERY limited teak topsides, I went with varnish. Even with a rather sketchy removal of the Cetol (did the best I could, but ....)
, the varnish looks much better.

Connemara

Originally Posted by Mareva

The author's big point is to avoid sanding at all costs.

Interesting. Please elaborate. Avoid sanding what "at all costs"? You cant avoid sanding varnish between coats, you wont get adhesion. Yes, minimizing the sanding of bare teak is desireable as you are simply removing wood and you want to keep as much of that around. Bleaching the wood is preferred over sanding to get the grey spots out, but, strong bleaching agents like Teak-Ka can lift the grain, and it must be sanded anyway. Moreover, if you really want a nice looking finish, wet-sand the first coat or two with 50/50 of varnish and teak oil.

You cant avoid sanding unless you want a bad looking varnish job.

(I let my PS subscribtion run out so I cant refer to the article)

[Pblais]

Hard finishes usually require sanding between coats. Cetol and many others do not if applied consecutively without prolonged exposure to the weather.

Originally Posted by Pblais

Hard finishes usually require sanding between coats. Cetol and many others do not if applied consecutively without prolonged exposure to the weather.

Yes, and two part PU's dont require sanding between coats if you recoat within 48 hours. But you still might want to sand between coats. If anything because...

1. Following the wet edge over an unsanded coat can be a pain. Especially if it is very glossy. Increases chances of holidays.

2. Unless you have PERFECT brushing technique, you are going to have to sand out the brush strokes and/or the occasional run between coats.

Again, if you want a great finish, you should sand.

I tried Epifanes High-Build varnish, which could be recoated without sanding within 24-48 hours. But, because it was saturated with more solids than the traditional varnish, getting and even application was difficult and you wanted to sand after two to three coats anyway.

Then the trick becomes in the sanding technique as you must be careful not to remove too much or for sure you will get an uneven overall coating.

There is no silver bullet.

[starfish62]

Three coats of Honey Teak and it looks great! The gloss is next. If it lasts as long as I have heard it was worth the price.