Varnishing exterior wood in Florida and Caribbean

[boeing1]

I use Epifanes high gloss, light sand and re coat every year. never saw anyone get five years from a varnish. don't think even cetol would get five years

[lazydove]

Before varnishing I sealed the joints with epoxy, then 8 layers of Bristol Finish several wet on wet. I do not have shares in Bristol Finish...

[atmartin]

Just to pile on, anyone telling you you'll get 5 years out of regular varnish is misinformed. Maybe if you're up north and keep the boat inside most of the year, but definitely not outside in Florida.

In Southern California, we got close to a year. I haven't been in Florida long, but already did the scuff and maintenance coats. A lot has to do with how much varnish you get on. Our toerail takes a bit more than half a can of Epifanes when I'm working in the shade, but outside in Ft Lauderdale in December, I had to thin it more than I like and only used a 1/3 can per coat. How much you get on has an effect on how long the finish lasts.

It's better to have curtains on your build up coats, not holidays/dry spots. Aim for depth until that final coat, where you block it flat and go for shine.

I generally use Epifanes, but find if I have to work in sun/wind or otherwise just need an easy and shiny coat, Captain's is easier to work with. I'll build depth with Epifanes and finish with a coat or two of Captain's (which is shinier and customers LOVE their boats to shine).

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by aaronroesner

I’ve spent the last few months removing and replacing and bedding new toe rail and rub rail with mohagany on my first ever sail boat located in Florida. All of the fitting and finishing is done and I’m getting ready to start applying varnish. I get on the phone with Pettit and they recommend their flagship varnish, which they say will last 5 years in the Florida sun. I swing by West Marine to get some local advice and get mixed reviews, saying nothing lasts that long here, but they have some product on hand to sell. Lastly, I visit a local independent marine supply store to ask about varnish and they pretty much said nothing will last more than 6 months in the Florida sun without constant reapplication, and to prove it they only had a few quarts of miscellaneous products on the shelf. So my question to those with exterior bright work in this region: is it true that no varnish will last without semiannual recoats? Is it better to just let the wood go bare and weather? Would an oil be better? I’m not too conscerened about appearance, just want to keep the new wood stable and prevent rot. All advice would be appreciated.

Paint!

[Scout 30]

Between me & my buddy we've got a whole lot of teak. We've tried just about everything including Bristol (hard to apply, cracks & then lifts at the seams), Cetol (needs to be recoated once a year & then stripped to bare wood after about 4 years), La Tonkinois (lasted as long as varnish & lifts & peals just like varnish), and a couple of different varnishes (10 coats to start & then another coat 3 time a year & 5 years later you're still stripping down to bare wood & starting over). The worst was varnish over epoxy, less coats to start but a nightmare to get back to bare wood when it gives up. We've finally settled on the oil based Australian Timber Oil in the mahogany flame color. Tried the lighter teak color but not enough iron oxide to hold up. Here's what's great about this stuff: one application (we ignore the instructions & brush it on as thick as we can going over spots where it soaks in), it never peals or lifts & you never have to take it down to bare wood again which is the hardest part of this process. It's not like varnish or Bristol so you don't have to worry about brush strokes or getting anything on it before it dries. Lasts about 2 years on vertical surfaces & 1 year on horizontal and then it's just another single coat. We free hand the application & keep a rag with paint thinner to easily clean up any drips. In fact this stuff looks so good that I've gone over my oiled teak interior with it but I use the teak color there. I love this stuff!

Mahogany is not teak & it should be protected by some kind of coating.

[ebsail]

I gave up on varnish about 7 boats ago. Now I just put one new coat of Cetol on every year and call it enough. And it looks fairly good. Also don't buy a boat with a lot of exterior wood. 7 major pieces is my maximum

[malyea]

Did the same research you’re doing and decided on Cetol. Just had two coats Natural and six to eight coats gloss put down. Good looks and easier maintenance than any ‘varnish’ - will report back at 1 year intervals...

[CaptRory]

Awlgrip, Awlspar M3131. You don't have to sand between coats, you can lay down 2 maybe 3 coats in a day. Maintenance is lightly sand and lay down 1 or two coats. Maintenance coats once a year in St. Pete Fla.

[Chris777]

I have no personal experiencve with this. But I am being told Awlgrip has a relatively new product that is supose to last a "long" time in Florida. A friend in Maryland just put on 12 coats.... so will soon know how good it is.

[Lepke]

I done a lot of boat varnishing commercially. The best way to build up is with a couple coats of clear epoxy and then 3-4 coats of a varnish like product and you get that deep varnish look like 12 coats of varnish. The higher the UV blocker rating, the longer it lasts. I used varathane, an oil based polyurethane. The water based isn't worth a damn.
On my boat I painted all the varnish. After I'm dead someone can sand it off, but I have no interest in spending my golden years maintaining varnish.

[CSY Man]

. On my boat I painted all the varnish. After I'm dead someone can sand it off, but I have no interest in spending my golden years maintaining varnish.

Yeah Mate, I’ll tip a cup of rum to that.
My first boat was 100% wood and 44 feet of teak and mahogany, varnish all over.
Looked great when everything was fresh. I was young then, late 20s and did not listen to experienced boaters who said to use house paint and paint the varnish white.
Instead I (and my ex-wife) kept sanding and varnishing, at least monthly, sometimes weekly. Then we worked over time so we could hire pros to keep up with the varnish.
Can’t say we won the battle, but we broke even. 3 years of liveaboard in the Virgin Islands on a wooden boat taught me a lesson: No more wooden boat, no more varnish. (Screwed up 10 years later, bought a used CSY 33 with plenty of external teak, but now I could afford to hire a pro, let him do it all.
Picture shows the CSY with 20 coats of Epifanes.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/attach...8/dsc03159.jpg

[CSY Man]

I honestly can’t say whether Epifanes are better than other varnishes, but the pro’s recommended it and I bought it by the 6-pack with prices down to $22 per can.

[Cadence]

For the purests that want bright work, use crocus cloth and if they still make it Calahan's chilled varnish. I was told bs a guy that made his living doing it most any varnish will work almost as good. You put the can in a bucket of ice as you're brushing it on. Paint!

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Lepke

On my boat I painted all the varnish. After I'm dead someone can sand it off, but I have no interest in spending my golden years maintaining varnish.

How long does it last? Does the paint go first, or does the varnish let go first?
Can it be removed with a heat gun?

[Glenn.Brooks]

Some people like to let their teak weather out, become grey. If you are considering this, look around at boats that have been weathered out for a few years. The grain will be deeply errorded throughout, eventually wasting the once pristine trim work. In my mind grey teak is no sign of seamanship. Rather just an indicator the boat owner doesn’t care enuf to put his or her time into maintaining their vessel properly.

I’ve used deks oil quite successfully on teak trim. Also epifanes semi gloss comes out really nice also. The beauty of oil finish is it builds up into a hard, glossy surface after 6 coats or so, and is very easy to maintain. Light sanding, clean off, and wipe on a new coat. It’s actually one of the simplest boat jobs to do.

You might experiment with one of these oils and see how you like it. Easy enuf to varnish or paint over latter if you change your mind. BTW, same thing with Tung Oil below decks. Lasts for years with an occasional redo of one or two coats every few years...

Glenn