But if you really want to turn heads with your brightwork, age-old spar varnish still provides the best combination of beauty, durability and maintainability. I have ordered tongue and groove teak (real wood 2 2/4" wide face, 1/2 thick) to cover the salon on our 43 DC. When varnish starts to crack and peel, you have to sand it down to bare wood. This video goes into detail on the proper way of refinishing the floor in a boat; The cabin sole. Spot repairs to a polyurethane finish are likely to be as conspicuous as the damage you’re trying to hide. Yacht or Spar Varnish. Because of the risk of UV damage to the epoxy, it is even more essential to keep the varnish fresh. Just before varnishing, wipe teak down with an acetone-saturated rag to remove surface oil. For teak decks, oiling can be the best alternative to bare wood, but when it comes to brightwork, the cooler, cleaner, and more overcast your environment, the longer your teak oil will last. Most of the teak available today is no longer the old growth Burma variety that once was available for boat building. As fans gather to watch the racing down in Auckland, New Zealand, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of the ...read more, Today’s sailing community is pretty homogenous, but it hasn’t always been like that; at the beginning of the 19th Century, 20 percent of American sailors were Black. Considering this, should Teak be varnished? Exterior Teak Varnish: Cetol – Marine, Light and High Gloss There are many varieties of exterior teak varnish that work well and have strong advocates. Here's a few more finished teak photos. Scrap the wood floor with the paint scraper. Epoxy is, however, prone to UV damage, so the overcoat of varnish provides essential UV protection. How many coats of varnish do you need on stairs? This is why it is a highly popular wood for use with boat building and outdoor furniture. Avoid bubbles (produced by jabbing or squeezing the brush) and gently stir in thinner with a clean wooden stick. Start with a high-quality natural bristle brush and you're halfway to a smooth finish. Burma Teak was very hard and carried a lot of oil in its structure. To restore weathered teak, first clean teak furniture with Teak Cleaner and then apply Golden Sealer to prevent re-graying. Some skippers varnish their swim platforms, too, using several coats of polyurethane and adding nonskid powder to the final coat to improve footing. This type of finish can significantly outlast varnish alone, but unlike a two-part polyurethane finish, it needs frequent recoating. Unfortunately, their durability ranges from fleeting to seasonal, with some notable exceptions. Say charter, though, and people think colorful brochures with catamarans anchored off some tropical island. Also, varnish is MUCH trickier to apply well. It has been such a joy to write for this magazine, meet our community through your feedback emails and at boat shows, and lead our DEI initiatives. Books have been written about applying varnish. Luckily, total boat has sent us some of their new varnish and we decided to test it out. Awlgrip AwlSpar (for professional use only), Bristol Finish Traditional Amber Urethane (exterior), Classic Clear Water Based Urethane (Interior only), Epifanes Clear Varnish (Tung oil/Alkyd/max UV resistant), Rapid Coat (Alkyd/Urethane), Woodfinish (tung oil/urethane). Over the years I have tried several different varnishes, most to good effect. What do we mean by a boat’s teak looking “wrong”? I don’t do teak for a living, just on my boat, a 1985 Passport 37 which happens to have lots of teak. Shipwright Louis Sauzedde shows us some clever tips and tricks for applying varnish. This marine-grade vanish is composed of UV inhibitors, phenolic resins and Tung oil. The question, therefore, became how to pack all of the 50’s innovative features onto ...read more, Offshore racing sailors will always find the fastest route. On the downside, it dulls tools quickly because it is full of silica, and the very oil that helps preserve it from rot also makes it hard to paint or varnish. Do you have to sand between coats of varnish? This ploy is effective, as translucent finishes outlast transparent ones, all other things being equal. Wet down the teak. Asked By: Osmar Tamber | Last Updated: 11th June, 2020, Thin the first coat 50% by volume—1/2 ounce of thinner to every ounce of, Start with a high-quality natural bristle brush and you're halfway to a, This is why it is a highly popular wood for use with boat building and outdoor furniture. Maintain the color of new teak and prevent weathering to gray. The discoloration you see is actually mold and mildew that feeds on teak oil. Today there are many other formulations on the market, but no other transparent single-part coating is more durable in the marine environment than spar varnish. TeakGuard is easy — see my info on applying it: Boat Renovation: Applying Teak Guard. All Rights Reserved. Formula contains UV protectants, mildew inhibitors, and pigments. Mine is a small one, but our varnish expert has these in every size imaginable. For oil-based varnish, use a natural-bristle brush such as china bristle (hog's hair), or a synthetic (commonly nylon/polyester) brush with flagged bristle tips. Is there a difference between a saltwater boat and a freshwater boat? I’d used Semco on the teak on the exterior teak on our previous boat, Que Tal, and that was a possibility — Semco is very much like Thompson’s WaterSeal, but for teak on boats. Here’s why. Does Hermione die in Harry Potter and the cursed child? It is the varnishing we hate. But if you fail to maintain it properly, the additional resin makes prepping the wood for a fresh attempt more difficult. Alkyd Varnish. Any recommendations on what to use to finish the flooring. Brightwork can and does suffer damage. Never apply varnish to the bottom of a wooden boat… Teak Left in Place and Basic Cleaning Technique. Bleach with oxalic acid. It is broadly defined as a transparent hard coating, “hard” being the key word. Keep initial coats thin. Dorothy Parker’s sentiment applies: everyone loves varnished wood. Teak is an almost perfect wood for boats, since it resists rot and is very stable from warpage and cracking. Semco is extremely easy to apply, but I wasn’t sure it really was the look I wanted inside the boat. It is good for use on outside timber; however, this is not recommended for surfaces that people commonly walk on. All bungs should be set with varnish. Sealers, sometimes called “treatments,” typically contain the same core ingredients—oil, resin, solvent and UV additive—but the ratio of resin to oil is higher. Just before varnishing, wipe teak down with an acetone-saturated rag to remove surface oil. For glossy brightwork that’s easier to maintain, just apply the gloss finish over the natural teak or satin finishes. Moisture that gets under the varnish will lift it. On the downside, it dulls tools quickly because it is full of silica, and the very oil that helps preserve it from rot also makes it hard to paint or varnish. When the surface of the teak is a muddy brown, uniform wet, apply “Two-part cleaner”, dispersing with clean stiffed brush. The idea here is that the epoxy adheres better than varnish and is less likely to separate from the wood. If you like the natural gray color that teak will fade to over time, then no finish is actually necessary. In some places, it was black with mold. This refers to modified vegetable or natural oil. I like the look of varnish but am concerned about scratches. Like many woods, teak can be varnished until it’s smooth and glossy. I take it personally, because I've been varnishing teak on various fine yachts for nearly thirty years. Wait 48 hours to sand. Few things evoke the romance of sailing better than varnished wood. Oil is the easiest alternative and the shortest-lived. Whichever team wins the final will go on to race Emirates Team New Zealand in the America's Cup, beginning in ...read more, You may be surprised to learn there’s nothing new about the half-doughnut-half-sheave-shaped bits of aluminum known as low-friction rings. In fact, virtually all these alternatives are both easier to apply and reapply. Varnishing is like reefing; when you wonder if it’s time to recoat, it is. You can add additional coats later, but for complete protection you need at least six. Removing oil from teak. Nothing flatters a boat more than the glow of well-varnished wood, but to bask in that glow, someone must suffer through the process of preparing the wood and applying the varnish. The idea is that it restores wood’s natural oils, which, take note, sounds a lot like marketing for daily skin care products. Woodwork like this cries out for many coats of varnish. Today's teak is mostly plantation wood that grows fast and holds little … For water-based varnish, use only synthetic bristles, as water causes natural bristles to splay. Paint is the most effective protective coating, but if you paint wood, all you see is paint. Unquestionably, it is the solution if you want to bring your wood bac… Complete prep work: remove old varnish by sanding, rinse down your boat and tape off your area. Rinse heavily to remove every trace of acid. It should be noted that I owe much of my familiarity with boat maintenance to Don Casey's classic book, This Old Boat. Over time, you end up with less wood and can sand right through veneer. Rinse thoroughly, and allow to dry completely. If the varnish is too thick, it will result in obvious brush marks and overlap streaks. The following tips on how to varnish wood apply to both boats and other wooden items. Foam brushes tend to keep you from applying varnish too thickly and they don’t spoil the finish with loose bristles. Two-part coatings are hard to repair, so widespread failure usually means starting all over. Sealers are best applied to fresh teak or to teak that has been freshly oiled. The other two-part finish, a boatyard innovation, is varnish over a base coat of clear epoxy. How to varnish boat handrails Following on from my last blog post, which you can see here , with Rita's help I made a short video today. Copyright 2020 FindAnyAnswer All rights reserved. I will offer this: you can’t go wrong in terms of aesthetics and durability if you select a spar varnish that has a tung oil and phenolic resin base along with UV inhibitors. Is a boating safety certificate the same as a boating license? However, while it is not necessary to varnish teak or protect it, some owners prefer the non-weathered look of the wood and desire the extra security, particularly in the case of boats that suffer a lot of wear. This formulation enables it to render an impres… Packed with stunning images, we have the inside stories of the great classic yachts and motorboats afloat today, as well as fascinating tales from yesteryear and the latest from the wooden boat building scene around the world. Unfortunately, the act of varnishing remains as odious as ever. With varnish, a little skillful touch-up can make a ding or blister virtually disappear. 1. Hard coatings, whether single or two-part, can be lifted off wood hydraulically by moisture. I have always been of the opinion that the natural oils in teak cause problems for the varnish adhering. Teak doesn't hold varnish as well as other woods due to its oil content, but a long-lasting coating is possible with the right technique. Boat Renovation: Choosing Teak Cleaner and Finish; Our boat has a fair amount of interior teak — one large wall plus lots of trim — and it was horribly dark with years of teak oil. Apply a thin first coat, and keep a wet edge. We sincerely hope that these tips on how to repair varnish on wood help you achieve a great spar varnish finish to spruce up the bright-work on your boat, and please read our tips on How to Varnish Wood.If you do not find the answers to your questions here, please do not hesitate to Contact Us for advice. For teak trim on a GRP boat, I would not varnish, but use teak oil and a scrubbing brush. The fact that boat manufacturers are now turning to plastic teak to deliver the appearance of wood without the maintenance says a lot. [advertisement] Teak oil looks nice when fresh, but it washes away at sea or carbonizes and turns dark at a dock. Start with a perfect surface. Classic Boat is the magazine for the world’s most beautiful boats. I have had at least one professional boat-yard guy stop by and compliment me on my varnish.