Help finding a 2 part varnish

[rtbates]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I've often wondered if the average cruiser (not requiring shiny britework) should try oil based stain? 5 years ago I put one heavy coat of Olympic "5year" oil stain on my garage exterior walls (which is cedar shingles) On wall is directly exposed to the sun all summer, and of course up here, the rain drives on it the rest of the year. The stuff looks like new. The big advantage of an oil based stain is you just put it on again when you want without prep and it melds into the old surface. It's the prep thats the hard part in varnishing and stain would eliminate most of that. The "cedar" transparent stain color is very close to teak, but I believe you can buy it untinted also. Downside is that it takes about a week before it stops being sticky. Obviously it's not going to be for those who want shiny yacht brightwork, but for those who want nice teak color from 10ft away..maybe? You would still have to start with bare wood the first time though. Might even be a good base for varnish.

After stripping off years of Cetol I swore to never never apply a 'coating' product to my teak. And I have a cape dory and they have lots of teak. First I tried Teaqua. Looked good if you like a brown color, didn't last. Last two weekends I have been applying Teakguard. Water based, goes into, not on, the wood. Very easy to apply. Nice honey blond color. Time will tell, of course.

[bobfnbw]

I have a few cans of interlux perfection 2 part varnish that I am going to use for cabin sole and deck teak as well.
Practical sailor rates it very high.

I like the look of varnish. We have cetol on now topsides, and I really hate the look. A Morgan 38 in the next berth has all varnish topsides and looks beautiful compared to the cetol on my boat.

[Roy M]

I had an opportunity to try West System's 207 hardener with their standard 105 resin on a very special project, a wooden body for a 1922 Rolls-Royce, designed by Olin Stephens. The (relatively) new hardener has higher amounts of UV resistance than previous epoxy coatings. This is NOT meant to be the finish coating, rather the base protectant, followed by two-part clear LPU, in my case, Sterling. I wooded down the handrails on my boat, replaced some tired plugs, then put on three coats of epoxy, sanded cosmetically between coats. At the moment, they are flawless, with a smooth and consistent color and lots of protective plastic surrounding them. After completion of the painting of my cabin top, I plan to apply several coats of the clear LPU. When I take off cruising in the tropics, I will give them a light sanding, then put a coat of white enamel paint on top to protect the base. On my returns from sunnier climes I can sand off the thin coat of white and place a coat or two of LPU on top. It sure beats having to keep up with the six-month life span of good varnish, and allows me to occasionally show off the woodwork.

[Joli]

Second the Awlgrip 2 part. Very nice stuff that seems to weather quite well. One boat in our marina had it applied to all the exterior teak and it looks as good today as it did when fresh. I do not know how hard it was to apply but I may try some on our wood this year and will let you know.

[Tnflakbait]

You have to keep the hardener in the refrigerator when not being used.

Originally Posted by westsail42

Havent tried that german stuff.

I tested Bristol Finish and did not care for it. For one thing, the shelf life of the components is pretty short. Especially after you open them.

On two part clear coatings in general, I determined that, if you intend to keep the boat for a long time, and wants something that looks good, stay away from them. Reason being that they must be sanded off in order to strip. A heat gun wont work.

We went back to traditional varnish. Epiphanes specifically. But then again we are particular about looks.

[David M]

I have tried everything under the sun, teak oil, one parts, two parts and all the different brands. What do I have now? I painted my exterior wood with Pettit Easypoxy Britework Brown. It does not look bad and it sure beats wasting my time varnishing. I realize that painting your exterior teak a wood color is not something most people would do. I just thought I would throw the labor saving idea out there.

[bobfnbw]

Almost finsihed using the interlux perfection varnish on my sole. I have 6 coats down and it looks very good. I sanded with 240 grit between coats. I plan on putting down one final coat once the sole is back together again.

I will put this on my cockpit coaming and toe rail as well, soon as I can get to it.
easy enough to apply. roll on and tip off with brush.
have to use the 233N solvent with it. Smell is bad, need excellent ventilation when using it in encolsed space.
I also ran a hepa air filter during the entire time to keep dust down, and used a feestol hepa vac hooked up to my feestol ro 150 sander. Without that system, it would have been very dificult to do a good job on.

[jdoe71]

Bristol is very good.

X2 (or maybe 3) for Bristol.

If you want non-brightwork non-sealant no buildup try Semco, has to be the easiest stuff ever to work with.

[Roy M]

Bobfnbw, Your floors must look like furniture! Well done. But, don't you find them a wee bit challenging when damp and the boat is heeling? Do you cover them with a rug or something to keep them from acting like an ice rink? Personally, I've never understood the reason for anything other than nonskid floorboards, though they are far from attractive.