Varnishing exterior wood in Florida and Caribbean

[SV Sailfish]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

IMO, the reason for varnish under the paint is so that if you later decide to go bright again, no paint will have penetrated the grain of the wood. This makes restoring the varnish finish much easier.

We've known several long term cruisers who have done this, both with grey and with "teak colored" paint. Looks good to me,easier to apply (fewer coats) and much longer lasting.

Jim

This is the process I used on our varnished teak cap rails. They are now painted with Pettit one part teak brown. This is in the Mexico sun and has lasted over 2 years now. Still shiny. No cracking or flaking. (Just got tired of varnishing after 20+ years)

Another idea from our dock... A Spanish sailor here with teak rails swears by old fashioned Vaseline. Yep... Vaseline. His process: Strip to bare wood. Apply vaseline liberally to the bare, dry teak. Wipe off excess after 2 hours in the sun. He just re-coats once a year. To re-coat: First, he cleans the rails with soap, water and a scrubber sponge. Lets them dry and then just re-coats with vaseline. I have seen him do this the past 3 seasons and it really does look beautiful.

Almost makes me want to try it.

[CSY Man]

. I have seen him do this the past 3 seasons and it really does look beautiful.

Need pictures..

[CatboatWilly]

In this discussion it would be prudent to bring up several thoughts about teak and varnish in general. First, you are probably aware that teak contains a natural oil encapsulated in the grain of the wood and this is why teak is such as standard in the marine industry. But when this natural oil is exposed to the atmosphere (such as in a sanding operation) it will pick up bacterial present in the air. Many furniture finishers will then apply a wash of very strong bleach - not to lighten the wood- but to kill that bacteria before the first coat of varnish is applied. It is that bacteria, feeding off the natural teak oils when exposed to sunlight, that causes the black spotting underneath the coat of varnish.
The second thought is the intensity of the sunlight which will literally bake (burn) your finish. That said; There are some varnishes that are better than others but almost all are good to a point but will not last for ever in direct sunlight.
Your best and proven solution will be to build a set of covers that shelters the teak finish from the intensity of the sun when the boat is not in use.
If you want the details on how to build Sunbrella sun covers for your rails, please send me a P.M.

[Scout 30]

A lot of good information in this thread but most are forgetting that the OP has mahogany, not teak. This is beautiful wood & it would be a shame to paint it but I get why many do. If you do paint be sure to use a good primer first.

Petit has a new product called SeaGold that might be worth trying. I've read several reviews of it & it does have some positives. It's water based so clean up is easy & you can put on several coats in one day. It sounds like it has a very flat finish so if you're looking for any gloss your last coat has to be a varnish. It's designed to be long lasting in full sun but it's a new product so the jury is still out on that. If you do decide to use this product please let us know how it goes.

Pettit | SeaGold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mKclgP_q4k

[flyingfin]

Use two coats Sikken Cetol. Then after one month, apply old fashioned Turtle car wax. Will need to use the wax every year. If lucky and you rinse, and dont wash with detergent or scrub, you might get it to last four years. Or buy canvas wraps for all your brightwork.

[Ida_Lewis]

I’m using this stuff for exterior brightwork. I figure if it’s good enough for Cunard... they claim it lasts 10 years.

Nanovere Technologies, LLC. Industrial Coatings | Industrial Paints And Coatings | Nanovere Technologies

Applied last season. Looks great. High-gloss finish. Time will tell. I’m on the coast of CT. PM me and I can send you pix in spring.

[atmartin]

For all you Cetol users, a question:

A few old salts have told me that Cetol is water-permeable, more so than varnish or paint. I've seen some empirical evidence of this on customer's boats, especially overheads. Where the finish is unmolested, but there's clearly mildew inside the grain of the wood. This is in areas where the finish is still intact and adhered. If you're putting the Cetol on Teak, it probably won't matter, but this would concern me on Mahogany. Anyone privy to the chemistry of Cetol? Maybe they've re-formulated?

Also, I'm personally against the epoxy/bristol-type finish types on most exterior fittings, because frequently the joints or bedding fail and the finish cracks or let water in and you need to strip it off, re-caulk/bed and re apply. Classic varnish or paint is superior in this regard because it strips off easily and can be repaired and blended back into the whole easily.

I think it also depends on the kind of boat you have. A true woody or classic construction is going to have a lot of structural wood and joints. If you have a modern boat with a few pieces of wood jewelry (best when it's removable), I see less issue with an unyielding, modern finish.

[Typhoon]

Originally Posted by Ida_Lewis

I’m using this stuff for exterior brightwork. I figure if it’s good enough for Cunard... they claim it lasts 10 years.



Nanovere Technologies, LLC. Industrial Coatings | Industrial Paints And Coatings | Nanovere Technologies



Applied last season. Looks great. High-gloss finish. Time will tell. I’m on the coast of CT. PM me and I can send you pix in spring.

Hi there . How are you preparing the surface ? Are you putting it right on top of the bare teak ?

Regards

[ArmyDaveNY]

There are a number of different ways you can go. Some like to varnish areas that don't get a lot of wear and use oil in high use areas. The theory is that the oil is easy and quick to apply and the varnish will quickly wear in high use areas.

Others will apply varnish everywhere and just keep doing a quick sand and apply a coat or two every few months. If you let the wood go natural you will need to clean it every so often. You'll be amazed at the amount of dirt it accumulates! I like Te-Ka teak cleaner but there are others that work well too.

I know a few who reapply varnish every six to eight months after an initial application of anywhere from six to a dozen or more coats. The theory is that if you stay on top of the varnish it never wears through more than two or three coats.

Here in the north east a can of Epifanes varnish should last up to two years, and up to one year in Florida. The key words here are "up to". Bristol is good varnish and will last roughly twice as long, although it is more expensive.

The Epifanes woodfinish gloss or matt does not require sanding between coats if done less than 72 hours after the initial application. I wouldn't wait until the 71st hour though!

Good luck with your project.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

Hi there . How are you preparing the surface ? Are you putting it right on top of the bare teak ?

Regards

I was always of the opinion you do not varnish teak?

[CSY Man]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I was always of the opinion you do not varnish teak?

Quite a few people varnish teak, I have done hundreds of hours of it.
Others have done thousands and thousands....

You are of course entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

[LooseGoose]

The idea is that the varnish is there to seal the wood and to isolate it from the paint. At some future date, say after a move North to Maine or Great Lakes where the sun is not so damaging, it's easy to strip and no paint will have dug into the wood pores. This makes it easy to start fresh with wood that has not been contaminated by paint, and the resulting varnish job will look pristine

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Quite a few people varnish teak, I have done hundreds of hours of it.
Others have done thousands and thousands....

You are of course entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

It could be thousands of ill conceived hours? It was an opinion no facts implied.
Why pay the big bucks for teak, if your going to varnish it, use pine.

[atmartin]

Originally Posted by Cadence

It could be thousands of ill conceived hours? It was an opinion no facts implied.
Why pay the big bucks for teak, if your going to varnish it, use pine.

If your varnish ever fails, through water intrusion, dropped winch handles, flogging sails, anchor rode or what-have-you, you're much better off with teak than any other wood.

I have hundreds (maybe thousands) of hours rehabbing non-teak woods that owners let go. Otherwise a bright finish would just look like rat-****. Usually it's mahogany, but not always. If the rest of the mahogany is stained, even more tricky. Bleach the wood, stain, match, stain again. Make custom tints with Penetrol-base, etc. It can be a nightmare.

This isn't on crap boats either, plenty of millionaires let their brightwork go, not realizing how much more labor it is to take bare, damaged wood back up to factory bright. Even those of us who know better have a hard time staying on top of things if we actually sail our boats. I've gouged my spruce spars a time or two and they will turn grey/black (depending on weather) within a few days sometimes unless I get a sealer coat on quickly.

Meanwhile, teak can easily be brought back from the gutter with some cleaning, bleaching and maybe a little sanding. Part of the reason I've always varnished the teak on my own boat is that, without protection, the wood will get worn away through UV and cleaning (if you bother). If you keep your bare teak in an urban area or near a major road, it will become impregnated with soot. When you scrub that out, you lose wood. If you want your teak to last, you'll varnish it. If it's just a cheap piece of trim, easily removed and replaced, I'd say forget the varnish.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by 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.

It looks great!