If you are a boating traditionalist like myself, a boat is not a real boat unless there is some exterior bright work (varnished teak) on the boat. But the trend of today's builders is NO teak if at all possible. The modern consumer does not want to be bothered with such mundane chores.
How sad. I even hear buyers state clearly "if there is any teak outside, I don't want that boat". But I know why, they just don't have a good understanding of what it takes to keep it looking perfect. Today you'll learn how to get that finish to see on other's boats.
The key to maintaining bright work is to reapply the finish before it needs it, yes, before. Don't wait until it begins to crack or peel, you have waited too long. But for discussion sake, lets assume you are looking at an older used trawler you are thinking of buying from me. The owner has let his bright work go and it needs replacing. Should you shy away from buying that used trawler? Not at all. Let me show you how to get it looking great.
Ok, to get the old varnish off we need to go to Lowe's and get a heat gun and a 2-3 inch metal putty knife; look in the paint section. This method is far safer and quicker than chemicals. Don't even think of using a vibrating sander! Using the heat gun on full power, hold it about 4 inches from the surface at an angle, you'll see the varnish soften and with a little help from your putty knife, it comes right off in long thin sheets. Be careful not to get to close or you will scorch the teak itself. After you have it down to bare wood, sand with 120 then 220 sandpaper and you are ready to varnish. Let's talk about applying the varnish now.
So how about varnish that does not need total removing but needs some maintenance? I reworked my trawler's bright work last weekend and these are the details with the time it took to do it. My boat has 94 feet of teak handrail to give you a feel of what we did and how long it took.
My choice of finish is Sikkens Cetol. It's a synthetic varnish made especially for marine work by the same manufacturer of Awlgrip and Interlux paints. You can check it out at http://www.yachtpaint.com.
Clean the Teak
The first thing you want to do it get some soapy water and really clean the dirt off your teak. Get the grime off. Wipe it down and let it dry. Next, important here, using a cloth dampened with mineral spirits wipe the teak again. The solvent will remove any wax, grease or silicone that might be present. Sanding with these substances left on there will drive them into the surface which will lift your finish later on.
Time - 30 minutes
Preparation
OK, the teak is clean and we need to rough up the surface. Using medium grit sandpaper, 220 grit, we want to light scuff the surface of the finish. Not enough to go through to the wood mind you, but just to knock off the gloss. Using a tack rag, remove all of the dust
The next thing you will want to do is tape all of the nearby metal of fiberglass to aid in your cleanup later. Spending a little time using blue painter's tape to cover those places will save you lots of time later.
Time - 2 hours
Varnishing - Getting Ready
If you are starting with bare wood you may want to use the Cetol Marine which has some pigment in it. I like to use two coats of it on bare wood to give it a nice color to it. I follow this with 4 coats of gloss . On previously finished wood rails, I use only gloss. Obviously each year, you will build it up so you'll have to strip it down and start over every 5-6 years or so.
This year I only applied 3 coats of gloss as I stripped it down to bare wood last year.
The label on the Cetol can says not to thin it before use. Forget that! I cut my Cetol with mineral spirits at least 30%; if its in the 90s up to 50%. The reason for doing this is that is allows the Cetol to flow and level itself, reducing the uneven results you will get otherwise.
The best applicator is a 2 inch foam brush from WalMart. Look in the craft department. No brush hairs and it spreads it on oh so smooth.
Ready to Lay Some Varnish
Ok, we are about ready but there's one more step you need to do. Bright work has a tendency to get mildew under the varnish on the wood over time. You'll want to kill any likely spores with a cloth dampened with bleach and wiped over the surface before the first coat. The bleach will not raise the grain nor will it damage any bare wood .
Lets varnish. Using the foam brush, apply to the teak in about 6-10 inch stokes. Apply it light to avoid runs always watching your work to catch that run that does occur. Always keep a wet edge, meaning you brush into the previously wetted surfaces to avoid drags from drying varnish. The going appears slow but it moves quickly.
You'll need to let each coat dry before reapplying another; perhaps two can be applied in a single day if the weather permits. I use a tack rag to remove any dust before another coat. There is no need to sand between coats when using Cetol.
Time - 2 hours each coat
Total application time - 6 hours
Clean up
Remember we put the tape on certain spots for catching the missed brush strokes? It took me about 5 minutes to remove it all. I spent nearly 4 hours with a Dremel tool and brush a long time ago removing the varnish that the Patricia Ann's previous owner had "applied".
It looks pretty good. All said it took Mary and I a total of 8.5 hours out of a 2 day weekend to put the bright work back into Bristol condition. So its not such an ordeal after all if you know how to do it.
Next September, we'll do it again.
Mike
