Another one bites the dust.....

[brackish]

....Pettit Sea Gold.  I did an initial use review of the product about a year ago (in this forum section down about a page) and indicated I liked it but with the caveat that durability and ability to recoat and repair would be the real test.  Well it failed.  First pic is of the initial coating, second is the one year later pic.  Another product on the scrap heap in the eternal quest for the best teak coating.

[Bob23]

Thank you Brack for being a guinea pig! I'm having much success with Cetol but make sure it get top coated with the gloss!!

[Salty19]

I'm taking a different route with the teak moving forward.   Rather than maintaining the finish every few years, which is becoming a major drag, I'm starting to re-make the parts out of marine ply and painting them a light brown with some good 1 part marine paint.   It may be a few years before all the teak is replaced, but gotta start somewhere.

Now if I can get some painting weather to cooperate I can make progress! 

[brackish]

I think I'm going full circle and going back to clean, brighten and oil every 4-6 months.   However, rather than teak oil, think I'm going to use Howard Sun Shield.  I've been using it on some outdoor furniture and it seems to have some legs with regard to lasting six months or so and very easy to apply.

I've tried several marine varnishes, Bristol two part poly, Semco, and now Pettit Sea Gold, which is a water base.  All looked great initially, none had any lasting legs. 

[Vectordirector]

Two coats of Cetol lasts a year on my boat in SW Florida, outside in the weather 24/7/365.  My initial 3 coats lasted 3 years up in Southern Wisconsin, outside from May-November.    Not a fan of the gloss finish so I use Cetol Marine, Natural Teak.  I prefer the color of darker wood on the boat so I had my painter stain the teak a mahogany color with a coat of the no longer available "Cetol Door and Window, Mahogany", that I had great success with on my mahogany front door on my old house, seemed to be the same as the other Cetol, just a darker color, so I used the left over half quart on my boat, followed with 2 coats of Cetol Marine Natural Teak.  Low maintenance, looks great.

I don't think anything will last more than a year on teak outside here in FL.  There are two choices:  Protect it or not.  I prefer the look of finished, some people just let it turn grey and it lasts fine for 10 years or so.  There is really not much teak trim on the Eclipse and I like the fact that it looks like a little yacht with the wood.  Takes me about 2 hours once a year to put 2 coats of Cetol on and I don't bother to tape, just wipe up drops as I go with a wet towel.  Not a big deal.



YMMV.

Vectordirector

[ameysails]

so have we thought of all the polywoods out there?
they come in colors for lawn furniture
white never dulls
some products are the thickness of most teak hand rails

so have we thought of polywood?
advise
pro/con

thanks

[Bob23]

Nothing personal here but I would consider it heresy to install any poly wood in place of the teak on my 1985 23/2. Just a traditionalist, I suppose. I get very good life out of Cetol up here in NJ. The gloss overcoat actually adds quite a bit to the life of the finish. I use this on the exterior mahogany rails of the homes and renovations I work on which are outside, day in and day out in salt environment.
Bob23

[PJ]

I used Cetol on my Island  Packet  32 when I lived aboard.  I would apply touch ups once a month taking only a couple of minutes.  Blended in  well to existing finish.  Only issue is if you have to remove some which I went through once I moved back to land several hours away. Royal p.i.t.a  to sand off.  In general held up well to Tampa Bay sunshine, and would use again if I had another boat with that much teak.

[Damsel19]

I did 10 coats of Petit Flagship  and add 2 coats once a year. I have a "tarp/boom tent" that shades the bright work and a tiller cover. When I have been really meticulous keeping the boom tent on, the Flagship has gone up to four years in the shade in south Florida with out adding a coat.. 10 years on the tiller. If I let it get away from me... well more work...
I have found that proper marine varnish with modest upkeep is easiest in the long term. Primary causes of early failures are not enough initial coats and waiting too long between recoats, leading to the need to strip and start over.