Coelan

[Ex-SolentBoy]

My boat is not a classic ( yet, anyway), but I have elected to use Coelan on it and thought this may be a good place to get advice.

We applied Coelan to the toerail and a few other areas about 18 months ago whilst still in the factory. It still looks almost like new, apart from being a bit duller perhaps. There are very few areas of damage, apart from a few dings thanks to various visitors rafted alongside. These will be repaired ASAP.

What I would like to ask, is if anyone has multi-year experience of this product and can advise on long term maintenance, as it would be a very tough job to strip it all off and redo.

Prior to putting it on the boat I did some test strips and those gave been in the garden for 2 1/2 years now. They are still perfect.

Many thanks.

 

[EastCoastChris]

My understanding is that you can just sand the damaged areas and feather the surrounding area and then repapply the Coelan to patch repair the area.

Chris

 

[Tranona]

The potential negative of this product is if the film gets broken and water gets underneath and breaks the seal with the wood..

To my mind, just like any other solid film coating such as two pack poly, it is fine while it is intact. Coelan has the advantage over two pack polys in that it is flexible so less likely to be breached.

Personally, I much prefer microporous coatings such as Sikkens Cetol and Novatech/top as they do not rely on homogeneous films.

I came to this conclusion after over 20 years of trying to keep solid film coatings on my wooden boat. I did consider Coelan, but rejected it because of the stringent preparation conditions, high cost and limited long term experience.

You are lucky in that you will be able to add to knowledge on the last point! Bit of an act of faith in using it and I look forward to hearing your long term experience.

 

[BrianH]

I echo Tranona's post, the preparation and application conditions are critical. I underwent the process on my teak deck in 2008 and stripped it all off in 2009 to replace with teak oil.

To be fair, my conditions were totally unsuitable. Outside without cover in northern Italy where spring deluges alternated with blisteringly hot sunshine - I had no chance from the start. After a winter I could see where the water had got in and blistered the surface, bit the bullet to get it all off - as you surmised, a two-week horror scenario.

But there were enough negatives for me to never repeat the process. First, as you probably already know, the cost - this stuff is seriously expensive, calculate your requirements well; you don't need a 3 litre unused can sitting in the cellar as I have.

Secondly, the primer is coloured. I don't know why this is but there is no transparent primer. This leaves the wood with a uniform, artificial tinge - I hated the yellow that is the teak primer and which imparts an orange hue. The others are red for mahogany and brown for oak.

Thirdly, the finish is glossy, even using, as I did, a final coat of matte as advised. What is not advised but is essential is to add glass beads to the final coat because the whole finish ends up as a lethal skating rink when wet.

Good luck with the project.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

My understanding is that you can just sand the damaged areas and feather the surrounding area and then repapply the Coelan to patch repair the area.

Chris

Yes, I have done this several times to repair the odd bit of bad wear or damage and it works very well, being almost undetectable. It is a bit of a pain though as to put on six coats or so takes sometime waiting for each one to dry. I have chickened out and done only 3 or 4 on occasion.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Thanks Barnacle. We were able to apply the product to new teak in a factory environment at controlled temperature, so it should last as well as any I hope. I first saw it being used when visiting a boat yard in Sweden. They use it frequently, but as the boats there are undercover many months a year it is not a real test for my condition. I saw a boat with the sealer and the glass beads. Not ideal in my opinion.

I am not really fussed about the cost. Still a good deal for me compared to regular varnishing or the cleaning alternatives which I did on my previous boat and disliked. It would be nice if ey did little touch up pots though.

the Coelan guys say they cannot do a clear primer as the anti- uv stuff is in the pigment. Anyway, we did a sample of all of the colours and we put the brown one on teak. I think it looks really nice. However, it is only on the toe rail and grab bars etc so I do not know how it would look on a whole deck.

Anyway, it looks like I am pioneering this one for the forum. Will let you know how it goes.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

On a related point, I am also currently trying the Holmenkol range of wood products. On our decks we have used their teak wash and sealer which is completely clear. First impressions, after 4 months are excellent. The wood still looks clean, new and has has not faded. It is still non- slippery and water repellant.

 

[MapisM]

Anyway, it looks like I am pioneering this one for the forum.

Not exactly. This thread is just one example of various previous debates on this subject, that you can find searching around a bit.

 

[Seanick]

Conilan

We recently 'had' to apply Colean to new toe rails and rubbing strakes at the request of the owner.

We made the following observations:

The pigment makes the timber look artificial. The stain is strong, and covers grain detail.
It dries very fast, and is hard to keep a wet edge and a good flow when applying.
Sanding prior to the final coats was very hard. Its like rubber, and nigh on impossible to get flat. This is made worse by its fast drying times when applying.

Hideous price!


The old toe rails etc had been coated in Colean. They looked orange, and after about 10 years had allowed water ingress and induced and covered decay.

On a damp morning the finish goes milky.

I think there are eaisier ways of coating your bright work.

 

[OldBawley]

View attachment 6499

 

[narcer]

We recently 'had' to apply Colean to new toe rails and rubbing strakes at the request of the owner.

We made the following observations:

The pigment makes the timber look artificial. The stain is strong, and covers grain detail.
It dries very fast, and is hard to keep a wet edge and a good flow when applying.
Sanding prior to the final coats was very hard. Its like rubber, and nigh on impossible to get flat. This is made worse by its fast drying times when applying.

Hideous price!


The old toe rails etc had been coated in Colean. They looked orange, and after about 10 years had allowed water ingress and induced and covered decay.

On a damp morning the finish goes milky.

I think there are eaisier ways of coating your bright work.

That´s spot on.

I´ve been using Coelan on and off for years - even on my own boat. If the wood is dry and the prep is perfect AND you can obtain a "complete" seal of the wood ie with hand-rails varnish also underneath (or behind the outer surface) where it´s on deck then it will last for years and protect the wood well from UV.
However the problem with this stuff is you can´t get a real finish especially on a flat surface. It´s OK for hand-rails, rubbing strakes etc but not for cabin sides. After a few years in the sun the pigmented primer coat underneath goes patchy and inconsistant - the only way is to strip it all back again. Sometimes the topcoat will detatch as quoted above and you can peel it off in one piece.

 

[BrianH]

If the wood is dry and the prep is perfect AND you can obtain a "complete" seal of the wood

And if you can't, this is what happens ... after one year since application:

In fact, if anywhere on a teak deck has water entry - and it's very difficult to completely seal such a large area - water will gravitate below the wood to a low point and cause what shows here, The seams have wicked up moisture and the Coelan has blistered, the plug surround and a previously invisible crack has blackened. In all, it has been more detrimental than not doing anything.