Wood Refinishing

[dontpanic]

The woodwork on my newly acquired CP16 has been pretty well neglected.  I am going to remove it all and refinish it.  The Tiller is Mahogany and Ash and the dropboard is Mahogany plywood.  No question that I will varnish these (after a lot of sanding)

The slides, however, I think may be teak.  Of course they are very weathered.  I have no experience with teak so I am not sure what to do with it.  As I mentioned they are very weathered.  I assume, I should sand them as well.  But should I just treat them with some type of specific teak finish or just go ahead and varnish them.

I sure would appreciate some guidance here.

Don't Panic

[skip1930]

I made a mistake by varnishing the wood. Should have left it factory grey.
Then again years later. I'm in the process of going au`natural. After all "A little lace and a little paint will make her what she ain't."

The tiller? That's a different story. Sand down to wood and build up the spar varnish with a minimum of 17 coats of varnish ... off the boat hung in the garage and a day's dry time with a #4 steel wool rub between that least the first 10 coats.

Bare uncoated teak can be washed with a teak brightener and hosed off. Treatment for teak? Well on ships with teak decks ... 'Holy Stone' rubbing comes to mind. Got to give the Coast Guard crew on the USS Eagle something to do on a year's excursion. Also shaving with cold salt water is a bit raw ... as they say, "that's when men were men and sheep were scared."  

skip.

[dontpanic]

Sounds like it makes sense to leave the slides in place and use the teak brightener and oil.

[nies]

Twice since I purchased my 78 CP I have replaced the teak, called Hutchins and they sent me replacement slide rails and hand holds at low coat....there is a point with teak you either go natrural gray or use a semi trans stain to cover .....................I really worked at keeping nice but after a while there is only replacement.................................nies

[dontpanic]

Nies: after you replace the teak, are you leaving it natural or are you applying oil or something else to keep it as long as you can before replacing it again?

Thanks

[nies]

After I replace the teak I keep it going as long as possible with  teak oil and when that no longer works to restore the wood I switch to SIKKENS CETOL marine light............. two sets in 35 years is not to bad..........................nies

[Jon898]

Hi dontpanic...you've brought up one of boating's perennial hot topics...what to do with teak!  You'll find many strongly held opinions and probably as much misinformation on this as any other topic.

Traditionally (as in Navy decks), teak is left natural and weathers to a silver-grey, aided by copious scraping and sanding (see the Patrick O'Brian books and the descriptions of waking to the grinding of the "bears" being scraped along the nice almost-white decks).  If you keep it clean, the weathered look can be quite attractive, as long as you understand that a "yottie" type may see you as just lazy...of course they are probably the ones who never go sailing, preferring to spend the weekend "refreshing the varnish".  The weathering process is basically the natural oils in the teak being changed in the sunlight and atmospheric oxygen.

If you prefer the "wood" look of newer teak, there are 3 main choices: oil, varnish or a translucent stain.

The oil route is the traditional northern European approach (think Danish furniture) of keeping teak looking new by simulating the natural oils.  It can look great, keeps a largely non-slip surface on the teak and tends to displace moisture (rot resistance).  Unfortunately, the oil is sticky to some extent and seems to attract dirt, the oils themselves tend not to be very long lasting requiring re-coating usually more than once a season.  In addition to attracting dirt, teak oils will oxidize (turn to coke) in sunlight and sooner or later will make everything darker and darker, requiring a strip back and start-over.

Varnish is the next alternative.  Still very traditional and can look absolutely wonderful...if you keep on top of any slight defect in the coating.  That means adding coats potentially more than once per year, monitoring any little ding to the surface and being prepared to scrape everything down to bare wood periodically because water got under the surface of the varnish when you weren't looking and is starting to discolor the wood.  As skip1930 pointed out for the tiller, you also need lots of coats (although I'd substitute bronze wool for steel wool to avoid microscopic rusty bits getting embedded in the wood...been there, done that).  Some people find varnishing therapeutic, so this may not be a disadvantage.  Varnish is also a slippery coating when it gets wet (I almost ended up in the English Channel many years ago because someone had decided that a varnished king plank would look nice), not that you should be standing on the slides, but you never know.

The last option is the translucent/transparent stain.  These seem to be pretty forgiving and go on like varnish, but seem to be more compatible with wood's movements, so the coating doesn't lift off in sheets like varnish will after water gets underneath it.  If you search the Home site here for "Cetol" you'll see some examples of this coating, including photos.  The drawback of the Cetol-type coatings is that some people absolutely hate the slightly orange tint it gives the teak, and if you find you're one of those, it is an absolute bear to remove it to start over with another approach.

Personally, I've used all three approaches on my boats over the years and have been most happy with Cetol.  I just applied the third coat to the wood on my Picnic Cat, having done the first treatment (3 coats) when new in 2000, the second coat in 2004 and the last one this year.  I probably should have sanded down more aggressively before this last overcoat, but it still looks pretty good.

Good luck with your choices!

[dontpanic]

Jon: Great Reply!

Thanks

[Craig]

There is another alternative. It is called Semco, a water based translucent stain/sealer. Easy to apply and clean up.Spills/runs clean up with alcohol. Lasts longer than teak oil,does not attract dirt and a light scrubbing is all that is needed for recoat. Does not  build up like Cetol. I have tried just about every teak product known to man and I find Semco to be the easiest to apply and maintain. Be advised, it does not produce a shiny finish. Rather it is a matte finish that resembles unsealed teak. Not for everyone but worth a look. 

[Eagleye]

When I purchased my 2006 Eclipse 2 years ago the teak was in need of refinishing.  The PO had applied Cetol at some point and for what ever reason it held up poorly.  I am guessing that it wasn't applied properly and/or had never been touched up since the first application.  After reading all the discussions on this subject and doing my own research I have decided to go with the Semco as Craig mentioned. 

There is another alternative. It is called Semco, a water based translucent stain/sealer........ Not for everyone but worth a look. 

I was attracted to the satin natural wood look that the Semco offers as well as the ease of follow up coats. 
I did a test on the Madame's bowsprit early this summer to see how it was going to look.  Semco is very thin and soaks in very readily so after stripping off the Cetol I applied 4 coats in a 2 day period.  I am very pleased with the results.  This is a photo after it had been on for 3 months.








I can see that it will be a cinch to reapply any additional coats.   Now the plan is to complete the rest of the teak before next spring.   

-Allen

[JBC]

Allen,

I sure appreciate your picture.  Yes, the sprit treatment looks great, but what really caught my eye is the little plate extension on the forestay chain plate.  I've struggled to find a way to put my anchor in the position you show, on my 16/III, because my furling drum rests on the anchor shaft if I attach the toggle on the bottom of the drum directly to that top hole in the chain plate.  Tried a shackle but thought it was too wide, and didn't want to shorten the forestay any further, so you've given me another approach.  Thanks!

Jett

[Bob23]

Of course one could not help but notice the custom (and buffed) stainless steel anchor! If there were a Miss America Anchor award, you'd win!
I may try Semco on my flagpole, an old wood mast from a Snipe sailboat. Thanks, Allen!
Bob23

[Eagleye]

Allen,

I sure appreciate your picture.  Yes, the sprit treatment looks great, but what really caught my eye is the little plate extension on the forestay chain plate. 
Jett

Jett,
Actually the extension plate was as spin off fix for another problem.  I had a forward rake in my mast, which was putting a lot of excessive tension on the Mastendr hinge.  The forestay did not have enough adjustment in the turnbuckles to relax the tension so I made the 1" extension plate.  The bonus was that it gave me just enough room to mount a larger anchor on the bowsprit.

Of course one could not help but notice the custom (and buffed) stainless steel anchor! If there were a Miss America Anchor award, you'd win!
Bob23

Thanks for the kind words, Bob!

I made the  SST anchor  out of necessity when I joined a great bunch of sailors at the Barnegat Bay Bash last summer.  Since the agenda dictated that we sleep onboard, at anchor, I wanted a little more security than my 8 lb. galvanized Danforth. I increased the dimensions of the Danforth by 25% and fabricated my model out of scrap SST that was lying around my shop.  It ended up weighing 17 lbs. at total cost of under $20 and was one of the topics of "amusement" at the BBB 2013. 





Sorry for the post hijack....

-Allen