CB varnish test April 04

nordic

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So pleased to see CB testers found Endeavour Marine Wood Oil to be the same as I found the hard, expensive way.

Stupidly I bought two large cans of preparation and finishing oil, totally taken in by the advert. Followed the directions to the letter on a mahogany hatch cover to obtain what was a beautiful glowing sheen finish. The result lasted approx four weeks on the boat before appearing dry and greyed. "Clothed in" (their term!) more finishing oil, which restored the finish, but it dried out, greyed and allowed the surface wood to crack in another two to three weeks sailing!

Rubbed it down and used Burgess Hydrosol. A good matt/sheen finish which has overwintered well and looks as good as when it was put on.

I know what I will be using for the rest of the wearing surfaces. Ever been had?

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Jeep

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I have by the looks of it, Hydrosol in post as I speak (hopefully) after reading the same article. Is it usuable all over? I am thinking of doghouse, toerail and maybe wooden mast and the hatch cover edging when the carefully applied Endeavour wears off (it did smell nice though).

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nordic

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We intend to use Burgess Hydrosol on wear prone parts after a trial on the trim round the bow roller and cleats and the aforementioned hatch cover - toe rail, rubbing strips, hatch covers, cockpit sides (maybe seats as well). It's so easy to apply once the wood is stripped bare, and easy to touch up. We have the gloss top coat as well, but have not tried it yet. International Goldspar varnish has been successful on the mast and hull with annual touch up for the mast and gentle rub down and further two coats for the hull. Varnish will not stand the pace on other parts and I want to spend my time sailing, not varnishing!

You're right about the fruity smell of Endeavour! I'm sure Endeavour oil would be OK below decks, but so is varnish!

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castaway

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I have also bought the Burgess Hydrosol online whilst reading CB at work. I have used Endevour for the past few years and was not impressed, except for the pleasant smell.

I was disappointed that the Varnish test did not include the regular varnishes ie Int Blue Peter and Schooner and also Blakes, I always use Schooner as it dries so much quicker.

Perhaps I missed somthing; was there a reason for not using these in the conparison?


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Nick

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Gilm

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Hello,

in a few days I’m going to plank an iroko deck over plywood, and I don’t know which varnish to use. I missed the second part of the CB test on varnishes, so I don’t know the results. They recommend me Coelan, but is very expensive and looks very glossy. I’ve seen deck pictures on the Colean website, and I think don’t like a so thick transparent layer, like a glass, over the wood. I would prefer a matt, natural finish. After reading the previous posts, it looks like Burgess Hydrosoil had good results on the test, but I’ve read somewhere that after six months Burgess gets darker. What do you think? What other varnish/sealer had good reports on the test?

Thank you


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nordic

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I'm no expert and have learned the hard way - trial and error! However I do not think I would take the trouble to lay a teak deck then cover it with Coelan. I think it probably depends on whether you want a weathered grey finish which you maintain by regularly scrubbing with sea water then re-oiling once a year or an oiled finish needing regular maintenance.

Incidentally, Burgess Hydrosol requires oily woods like teak to weather grey before using. I would also consider Burgess Hydrosol to be "utility" rather than decorative. It has been on our mahogany quite a few months now with no signs of darkening, but I would expect additional coats to cause darkening.

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Gilm

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Nordic,
thanks for your reply, but the deck i'm laying is iroko, not teak. I've been told iroko checks if not protected.
Being iroko, what would you use? What the CB test conclude?
For me the "trial and error" way of learning gives you good credibility.

Thanks

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Merv

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S/V 'Meridian Pasage'

I have read all comments regarding Endeavour Marine oil and agree with all the disappointing remarks about it's lack of a satisfactory performance. I am a New Zealand cruising yacht currently in Alaska/BC Canada and am keen to try the Burgess Woodsealer/Hydroclear products on my vessel. Namely to my teak decks which are in very good order and have been periodically coated with Endeavor oil.
Do I need to use the woodsealer first then the Hydroclear? OR do I just need to apply the Burgess Hydroclear??
I have been advised this product is only available in the UK is that correct? Sure would be nice to be able to purchase here in Canada/USA
Merv
 

Seanick

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Nordic,
thanks for your reply, but the deck i'm laying is iroko, not teak. I've been told iroko checks if not protected.
Being iroko, what would you use? What the CB test conclude?
For me the "trial and error" way of learning gives you good credibility.

Thanks

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You can leave the iroko uncoated. Plenty of iroko decks around left scrubbed.
 

Simes

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Acceptable Varnish?

Does not seem to be any such thing. Started with Blakes Classic (I think it was called) not easy to apply, wears fast and does not seem to like sunlight (I know we are on the South Coast but we still had some sun), as soon as it cracked we had big black lines down the grain of the wood, so off it all came and the wood was prepped again.

Burgess seemed like a great idea, bought two bottles, sealer and topcoat. Followed instructions to the letter. Every time it rains the varnish (?) goes milky and soft. It wears very quickly and because it is soft it also has dirt sticking to it.
Tried to get it off, only by scraping will it come off. Eventually got it off and all of the timber prepped yet again;

Endeavor, this does not claim to be varnish, however they do say you can get a decent finish, so far, so good. the wood (Mahogany) looks good, the smell of the Tung Oil is fantastic although there is no gloss yet, I will keep applying the Oil as it is protecting the wood. I think that we will persevere with Endeavour as it is so easy to apply that I quite enjoy doing it (the smell helps).

Below we are using Schooner to good effect, easy to use, smells good, and has a pleasent warm finish.

Probably going to end up with some form of oil based finish, can't afford Coelan, Endeavour is at least easy to apply.

Simes
 

ccscott49

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Just starting to use Awlspar and Awlbrite. The awlspar is eyewateringly expensive, but covers in 3-4 coats, that epifanes takes 8-10 coats. Then cover with awlbrite, which goes a long way and is not as expensive, but fabulous finish and easy to repair. I had coelans previously on the bulwarks etc and it has worked very well, I just wanted to try another system, which does look a lot better finish, but we'll see how long it lasts.
 

Rameling

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No one has so far mentioned Sikkens, which I recall came out quite well in the tests. We use it on the spars and deck brightwork and it gives a good durable finish which only requires a single coat top up each season.

You need to use a light shade, eg on mahogany use pine shade. If you use mahogany shade on mahogany you get an unpleasant dark finish which hides the grain.

I wouldn't use it on decks though.
 

mollyoxford

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Molly has a mix of existing Sikkens (pine) over iroko, bare teak and bare iroko treated with clear water sealer (Cementone - about £10 for 5l, IIRC), Sikkensed iroko now covered in 6 coats of B&Q bargain white gloss, spruce/fir with 6-8 coats LeTonkinois (spars). The actual gaff jaws and bitts are Sikkens covered with Le Tonkinois (just cos I couldn't be faffed to strip it off first). Top section of mast is 4-5 coats LeTonk with 4 coats whitegloss over it. Oh and the end of the bowsprit has been previously sheathed in fiberglass and I just whacked white gloss over it since it seemed intact (unlike the stuff on the mast....)

I dislike the look of the Sikkens, but the pine is the least bad, and it is dead easy to apply - go over with red Scotchbrite pad and slap another coat on. It seems to stay on fine except where rubbed by sheets etc. - then it comes off easily - but so would anything...

Le Tonkinois was a bit more stressful to put on - don't try it on a hot sunny day if you want a nice flat glossy coat. We'dstipped backto bare wood.I was quite fussy and sanded between each (quite thin) coat, and ran back and forward smoothing it out before it dried. Looks pretty good and I am impressed by how flexible it is - we trapped a parrel bead in the gaff jaws and it ran down the mast denting the wood but the varnish never cracked at all... So far a winner. I still wish I'd gone for oil of some sort though... I hate varnishing. Hate runs....

White gloss - what can I say. <£9 for 2.5l. The B&Q ultra cheapo is quite thick I think I went 30-40% with white spirit in the end-maybe more for a top coat. *REALLY* wouldn't recommend using this stuff on a hot day or you'll get 'orrible brush strokes. A few bits have chipped off where knocked with something hard, easy touched up - and a whole section peeled off when I tried to sand between coats - where had forgotten to sand the underlying Sikkens in that section...

Cementone water sealer - another bargain @ about £10 for 5 l. Seems to do the trick on teak and iroko. Leaves it very slightly sticky for a week or so. The teak has always been done with this sort of stuff and at 20 years old is in fine nick. Just watch - not all versions are suitable for wood - check the tin.
 

ianc1200

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Weren't the articles continuation of a couple of articles in PBO beforehand by the same author (who owned a Sea King)? I seem to remember he concluded the Sikkens was the longest lasting. I've used the HLS Plus (pine) & Filter 7 (pine) over mahogany, oak, and iroko and it certainly doesn't look as good as varnish initially but still looks the same the next season, whereas varnish often doesn't.

IanC
 

xtiffer

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As a professional varnisher I would only use Epifanes for one part jobs.
My 2 part solution is Sicomin Wood Impreg ( 4 coats)
followed by Seatop PU360 ( 5 coats).
Wood Impreg is a clear epoxy primer that has a bit of give to it
and Seatop is a polyurethane varnish for UV protection.
This regime will give the same effect as about 20 coats of Epifanes.
By the way I am in Turkey so the UV effect is massive.
Don't know if it will be as good in colder waters.
Cheers,
Chris
 

ditechspain

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Somewhat surprised by the negative results for Endeavour.

I applied it to teak patio sets, one in the UK and one in Spain sitting on a south-facing terracotta-tiled terrace. I spent a lot of time applying it according to the instructions with worn-out sandpaper. It's not a quick operation! I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the finish I achieved and more than pleasantly surprised by the years it stood up to the Spanish sun before showing signs of needing a reapplication. In the Spanish heat the oils seemed to penetrate my skin and affect muscle control, which I could have avoided with gloves if I'd had them. My mother then proceeded to show how clever she was by applying a petroleum-based product before I finished the treatment and screwed everything up. I refused to have anything more to do with them.

If I can find another UK supplier I'll continue to use Endeavour. If I can't I'll try to find another wax-based natural product, and possibly try my own version by diluting the wax with eucaplyptus oil.
 
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