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knightwind
Navigator

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Canada
114 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/30/2008 : 15:32:40

When shopping for boats recently, I found it strange that every boat I looked at had exterior wood trim as gray and weathered as an old barn.
Same deal with the boat I just bought. I asked the PO about it and he said doesn't matter what you do, in a year they'll look like that again.
Is he right? I don't know about you guys but keeping my new lady polished and pristine will become very high priority. I'd like my wood to look like...well...wood. I would assume a standard coat of varnish or something before each season would preserve the "tan" colour...wouldn't it?

Peter Keddie
Turkey Point, ON
79 Catalina 25 Fixed Keel #1050

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2008 : 15:52:38

Teak naturally ages to the gray you're talking about. Some think that's the most desirable shade. Others spend a lot of time and money keeping it looking more "woody". This might be one of the most hotly debated topics on this site. Good luck. BTW, I'm in your corner I like wood to look like wood. However, I have a 250 without so much as a sliver of exterior wood. Belowdecks, I use lemon oil.

Edited by - on

Renzo
Admiral

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USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2008 : 17:13:54

There are many preperations for keeping teak looking "woody" and everone has a favorite method that they swear by. Some of the favorites are Teak Oil, Varnish and Cetol (also known by the product name -Sikkens) each method requires, more or less, yearly maintainence and diferent degrees of preperation prior to the first application. One thing to consider is if you are in salt water or fresh and if you are in a southern climate or in the north, it will make some difference as to the staying power of the treatment you use. I'm sure many other's will chime in before this thread runs it's course but in the end "You pays your money and takes your choice" as the old carny barkers used to say.
Good luck.

Edited by - Renzo on 04/30/2008 17:15:19

quilombo
Captain

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USA
301 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2008 : 17:20:58

they sell some pretty good stuff to get the wood back to its original, what I did with mine this year is remove all the easily removed wood from the companionway etc, and brought it inside and used a small palm sander, it really came out good,
I used some Minwax wood oil/finish and it came out like new,
I dont like the gray either, looks like rotted wood

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2008 : 17:38:24

I also like a finished look. As teak weathers, it develops mildew (black stuff) as well as the silver color of dried wood, and eventually tends to crack and split. The fact that it takes longer to deteriorate than most other woods doesn't mean it isn't deteriorating.

For exterior teak, teak oil looks nice, but depending on climate, may have to be renewed every few months to keep that "wood" look. Varnish (or polyurethane) looks very nice until it cracks or is abraded, at which point it must be removed before it can be refinished--a big job.

Cetol (made by Sikkens) is, IMHO, one of the best compromises. It gives a satin finish in one of three shades (I've used Marine, which has a somewhat orange tint, and Natural Teak, which is a bit yellow like traditional spar varnish). There's an optional gloss version you can add as a topcoat--I haven't done that.

The best feature of Cetol is the maintenance--after the initial 3-4 coats on fresh wood, you add a coat every year after scuffing the surface lightly with a Scotchbright pad to remove any flaking. It isn't a fine furniture finish, but it looks good from a few feet away. I now have six exterior handrails that take me an hour a year to do with a small foam brush.

To get to that look you want, you'll have to do some sanding--there's real reddish-orange teak under that gray somewhere. Many remove the exterior pieces to do that initial sanding and finishing--the frame around the companionway, incidentally, is held on by screws from the inside, under the interior trim. You can Search for threads on doing the handrails and other pieces.

Walk the docks, see what looks good, and ask people what they used. (Everyone likes a compliment for their teak.)

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2008 : 18:10:20

When we had our C22 I let the teak go gray and I really liked that look. Your teak will outlast you and the rest of the boat even if you just clean it with mild soap and water every so often. If you do decide to go for a more finished look then you will need to be vigilant. Let up and the teak will go gray and you are back to square one. I know this to be true.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2008 : 21:31:52

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by John Russell
 Others spend a lot of time and money keeping it looking more "woody".<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I wonder what those "others" are using?

I use Cetol because it wears like iron. The beauty of Cetol for me is that one, it doesn't really take anytime (I overcoat every other year) and two, its inexpensive (the quart can I'm using, which is about half full, I've had for about 5 or so years.)

It really boils down to personal preference. Like Dave said, walk the docks and go with what catches your eye.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3477 Posts

Response Posted - 04/30/2008 : 22:32:51

Over 20 years ago, I use to use teak oil on my ODay 23 exterior wood. Maybe it was the quality of the teak oils they used back then but my experience was that I oftentimes would procrastinate renewing the teak oil finish in time and if I let more than say 2-3 months or so go by without renewing it, it then would start to turn grey. Then I would have to start from ground zero again with bleaching the wood and preparing it for a new batch of teak oil. Perhaps, the teak oils these days have a longer longer life. Teak oil does have a very nice look.

As it was said earlier, Cetol is sort of a compromise in that it has not quite the same look as teak oil but does look good and is easy to apply and renew. I keep my Cat 25 in the water all year-round. In the Spring and again in the Fall are the times I put 2 coats of Cetol on. The directions call for washing the wood and then either doing a light sanding or scrub the wood during the wash. I scrub the wood and then come back a day or two later and put the 1-2 coats of Cetol on. I get a little bit of flaking/chips during the end of 6 months but it is generally minimal. Applying the 1-2 coats is easy and I like the look.

I would rather have the wood treated with something rather than live with the drift wood grey look. The Cetol gets me thru a full season and the renewing is not all that difficult.

Edited by - on

ilnadi
Captain

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452 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2008 : 10:33:20

I have never used varnish but gave up after reading the whole process and my own capabilitis/patience. I've used cetol, it is pretty foolproof. I am first doing the wood I can remove in my garage (that way I know about flow, drip, clean-up etc). Then I'll do the handrails and I think that's about it.

BTW, I heard of world cruisers lettign teak gray so they look poor when anchored in questionable places. Of course only Jim may need to worry since one of these days he'll take a nap passing Ensenada and end up in Panama

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2008 : 15:32:06

Before applying a maintenance coat of Cetol, I give the teak a quick wipe with paint thinner. So far (knock on teak), I've not had any problems with flaking or chipping.

Edited by - on

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.