Taking it down to the wood, what to put on next? (Acryllic vs varnish)

[rebel heart]

Hey everyone. So I've been heat gunning off all my old varnish on my top sides. It hadn't been done in a long time, the wood is in great shape, but the varnish is crap.

I went to the marine exchange yesterday and bought another pint of Flagship, and started asking about other stuff. The guy told me about using some type of acryllic polymer coating thing, which apparently lasts 10x as long as varnish. It costs a lot more, which I'm not concerned with if it really lasts longer, because Flagship isn't exactly cheap.

I just wanted to hear some opinions about using this stuff (Bristol I think the brand name was). This isn't the exact one, but it's something like this: Untitled

Also, what a good rule of thumb for what I should put on what sections of my boat?

Like the tops of the bulwarks (teak), should be varnished / acrylic'd. The decks should be left bare, the steering wheel, etc. Just wondering if there's a good reason why I wouldn't leave all my teak bare, since I'm leaving the decks bare.

[CSY Man]

[rebel heart]

Yeah that's the stuff. He said the biggest problem is that it's like trying to sell people "magic beans". Can I heat gun it off like typical varnish come removal time? I don't want to suffocate the wood with a Cetol-ish product.

I guess another thing that I like about Flagship is that it's easy to apply. Open jar, use paintbrush, let dry, re-apply. Repeat every four months.

[CSY Man]

Been using that Bristol Finish for 7 years and frankly, I don't know if I can recommend it.

Yes, it don't burn off in the sun like varnish does.
Instead it last almost 2 years in the Florida sun.

It is however hard to apply: It needs shade and no breeze for best results.

After a while it will crack and ya get water underneath, then ya have to strip and repair those areas, then it looks like crap.
Teak coamings move around a bit and I think varnish is more flexible and won't crack as easy.

That being said, there is probably other products out there that is better than Bristol and traditional varnish.
(The Amazon stuff perhaps?)

Keep searching until you find something that several people can recommend highly..Try the SSCA board and others.

I am stuck with this Bristol stuff now, unless I want to strip everything off and go a different route...
I don't, too much work, too much stripping and hardware removal.
Will live with it.

[rebel heart]

I started the wood stripping thing without really understanding the depths of the project I was undertaking, but happily it seems that I'll be okay as long as I read all the directions, get good advice, and bust my ass for a few weeks. Crawling around on my hands and knees with a heat gun (and later paintbrush) for a couple of weeks isn't the end of the world, and frankly I could use the excercise.

I just want to make sure that when it's all said and done that I did the best I could with the time. Doing that much work only to pick a bad product, or do a shotty job, is what worries me.

I'll probably stick with the varnish then. I guess if I want pretty brightwork I can't dodge the bullet of revarnishing every four months.

[CSY Man]

I'll probably stick with the varnish then. I guess if I want pretty brightwork I can't dodge the bullet of revarnishing every four months.

Well, varnish is easy to apply and fairly forgiving, but it does not last long:

Previous boat was all wood with plenty of brightwork.
In the Carribbean it lasted on 3 months between coats and I got sick and tired of it.

Since you are building up from scratch, and if you are going to use varnish, put on 12 coats..That will buy you some time.

Some people have been raving about a product called Bull something, Bullwrinkle or Bullfrog, not sure, but search around a little before you settle down with varnish.
There was an article in this months Cruising World about a couple using some kind of oil instead of varnish, check it out.

Got a picture of your boat?

[CSY Man]

Check out this product...

[Wahoo Sails]

Dag,
UGH ... Semco? Looks like wood colored paint ... better to just paint yer teak with house paint! As for "Bristol Finish" used to sell the stuff, have tried it myself, not happy with the results at all. Best reults I have found, strip to bare wood, 2 coat's of West system epoxy using their #207 special hardener ... then 5-7 coats of Epifanes varnish to provide UV protection for the epoxy. Expect the varnish to last 9 months here in S. FL, probably twice that in SoCal ... when you see the first bit of "burn thru" scuff (Scotch brite pads) and apply 2 more coats.
Bob

[CSY Man]

Okay Bob, good advice.

The Semco thing is from the article in the latest Cruising World.

Some people loved it and found it easy to apply, etc.

[Wahoo Sails]

Really understand people using it. Very easy to apply, and provides nearly 100% UV protection ... because it's damn near 100% solids! It's "tired of varnishing" ... but it's ugly in the extreme!
Bob

[Raven]

I've been using Interlux Schooner varnish for years and have been happy with it.

I don't think there's a magic solution out there for brightwork. Seems that there are three basic choices. 1) Put in the time with the finishes, 2) take it down to bare wood and let it be that, or, 3) replace the wood with a lower maintenance material.

As soon as this Nor'easter clears out of New England, I'll be firing up the heat gun and eventually spreading the season's varnish. Areas that weren't kept up with (cabin-top grab rails) will require that I take it down to bare wood, followed by 8 coats of varnish and then 2 maintenance coats/year. So, let's see, that works out to about 3 to 5% of my life being devoted to brightwork. Hmmm, I'd better not look at it like that . . .

[rtbates]

All varnishes, cetol, and every other teak finish that resulys is a coating on the exterior of the wood will fail. It's not a matter of IF but when. Every corner where the teak meets gelcoat is a path for moisture and failure.

After years I removed all the Cetol and applied teaqua oil. TeaQua.com Teak Oil Teak Treatment and Teak Sealer

It's NOT your grandad's teak oil. Or your father's. This stuff is simply amassing.

[avazquez]

For teak decks SEMCO is the most recomended.........I will give it a try........

[Alan Wheeler]

Who's recomending that stuff.

[avazquez]

Not everyone. Some say its better to leave decks alone. But most sources I have researched including Maritime Wood Products, the guys that manufacture the caulking I used, say that if you are going to use something use SEMCO. Also some members here that have worked on teak decks do recomend it. I am not going to use it all over. I already applied it to the cockpit area first as a test. I think it looks fantastic...but we'll see how it behaves in the long term.