richardh10
Well-Known Member
I have just made some new cockpit coamings and am wondering if I should epoxy them before varnishing, or as someone has suggested, use Danish oil or similar.
epoxy, varnish or oil?
- Thread starter richardh10
- Start date
TradewindSailor
Well-Known Member
If you've made them out of teak I would varnish them only if you are prepared to replace the top surface every 6 months or so. Once water starts lifting the varnish you may end up sanding the lot off before revarnishing. It would also be a good idea to keep it covered during the hot summer months to protect the varnish.
Epoxy coat first? Epoxy will give you a very tough layer.... but it tends to be brittle. Most wood swells and you will probably find that the epoxy at the joints will crack, allowing water to get below the surface and lift the epoxy. You will then be left with a problem of removing the epoxy to repair the coating. You will of course need to varnish the epoxy as it will degrade quickly in sun light.
Deks .... or any oil treatment does look good ..... for a while. You should apply it on clean wood and wipe all excess off before it dries. But you will need to clean it and reapply the oil frequently, before it deteriorates ..... probably every 2-3 months.
Personally I would go with the best spar varnish I could get (single pot) and put on about 5 coats ..... and then sand off the surface every 6 months and renew. I like International Schooner .... but I am sure Blakes have a similar product. Definitely do not use the cheap DIY store products ..... they are often not flexible or have the uv protection.
richardh10
Well-Known Member
TradewindSailor
"hot summer months"? What are those then?
"hot summer months"? What are those then?
Tranona
Well-Known Member
There is a long article in this months PBO reviewing the pros and cons of different kinds of bright finishes. This should help you make up yor own mind in the trade off finish/effort/durability/cost.
Sikkens Novatec/Novatop comes out top except perhaps on finish because it does not give the cabinet style shine you can get with some products (provided you are prepared to put in the effort, have the time, happy with the frequent maintenance, and don't mind paying for the privilege!)
Sikkens Novatec/Novatop comes out top except perhaps on finish because it does not give the cabinet style shine you can get with some products (provided you are prepared to put in the effort, have the time, happy with the frequent maintenance, and don't mind paying for the privilege!)
narcer
Well-Known Member
New Teak
I think in this case...I would not oil the teak. It will go sticky and dark as it picks up all the dirt. Also if it´s cockpit coamings then the oil will end up on your clothes as well.
Standard varnish never sticks to teak for very long anyway because of the teaks natural oil content - it will reject the varnish after a few months.
I would go for Sikkens Marine Cetol, or Coelan. Coelan has 300 % elastisity which is more than the wood. I think either of these will last a couple of years and look good.
I think in this case...I would not oil the teak. It will go sticky and dark as it picks up all the dirt. Also if it´s cockpit coamings then the oil will end up on your clothes as well.
Standard varnish never sticks to teak for very long anyway because of the teaks natural oil content - it will reject the varnish after a few months.
I would go for Sikkens Marine Cetol, or Coelan. Coelan has 300 % elastisity which is more than the wood. I think either of these will last a couple of years and look good.
macd
Well-Known Member
Epoxy is intolerant of UV. Not a good idea unless protected with something else -- and then, what's the point.
Didleydude
Member
New Teak - Epoxy, Varnish or Oil
Narcer and others have summarised the consequences very well. And varnish or epoxy won't allow the wood to 'breathe'.
It's the same story that is often 'forumed' with regard to cleaning and protecting teak decks or cabin tops etc.
There is another product that may also be worth looking at given you have new teak that you simply want to protect.
There's a link to a good dialogue about cleaning and protecting teak from algae and mildew etc. and the inevitable debate about 'grey' teak versus 'rich coloured teak'. Your new rich coloured teak will go grey if it's not protected so it'll be worth having a trawl through the previous dialoge at
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219891&highlight=teak
But if you can't be bothered to read it all, I've extracted the section in relation to Protecting (the teak that is!)
Hope it helps.
extract from above dialogue_______________
Protecting!
So having cleaned to get the dirt and stains out and also get colour back, you now need to protect it from the whole downward slide. Again, after using all sorts of regular chandler-stacked products (no names) Holmenkol’s protector is just tip top.
It’ll leave your surfaces feeling cleaner, you can rinse of the dust and dirt, it repels stains and algae and mildew….it shows the wood grain and it lasts a lot longer than anything I’ve tried!
So your choice of protector is up to you but I’d really and VERY strongly recommend don’t oil or varnish!!
SO tick that one, and let’s get out of here and get you cleaning eh!
Have a look at the link I mentioned before as it’ll give you a really good feel www.oaklandoutdoor.co.uk
Hope it all helps and ‘poligies for ani mispelin as theer is kno spillchocker that I cud yews!’
And just to annoy anyone who loves the VHF protocol and to leave on a fun note.
OVER [AND OUT] Crrriiiiinge!!
Narcer and others have summarised the consequences very well. And varnish or epoxy won't allow the wood to 'breathe'.
It's the same story that is often 'forumed' with regard to cleaning and protecting teak decks or cabin tops etc.
There is another product that may also be worth looking at given you have new teak that you simply want to protect.
There's a link to a good dialogue about cleaning and protecting teak from algae and mildew etc. and the inevitable debate about 'grey' teak versus 'rich coloured teak'. Your new rich coloured teak will go grey if it's not protected so it'll be worth having a trawl through the previous dialoge at
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219891&highlight=teak
But if you can't be bothered to read it all, I've extracted the section in relation to Protecting (the teak that is!)
Hope it helps.
extract from above dialogue_______________
Protecting!
So having cleaned to get the dirt and stains out and also get colour back, you now need to protect it from the whole downward slide. Again, after using all sorts of regular chandler-stacked products (no names) Holmenkol’s protector is just tip top.
It’ll leave your surfaces feeling cleaner, you can rinse of the dust and dirt, it repels stains and algae and mildew….it shows the wood grain and it lasts a lot longer than anything I’ve tried!
So your choice of protector is up to you but I’d really and VERY strongly recommend don’t oil or varnish!!
SO tick that one, and let’s get out of here and get you cleaning eh!
Have a look at the link I mentioned before as it’ll give you a really good feel www.oaklandoutdoor.co.uk
Hope it all helps and ‘poligies for ani mispelin as theer is kno spillchocker that I cud yews!’
And just to annoy anyone who loves the VHF protocol and to leave on a fun note.
OVER [AND OUT] Crrriiiiinge!!
TradewindSailor
Well-Known Member
You can always hope ....... we had some rain here last week, first for months, and it was bitterly cold at night. It got down to 22 deg ......... deg C that is
. I also have to put on a shorty wetsuit 'cause the water is chilly (21 deg), but then it will heat up soon.I've never had problems with varnishing teak ..... and my boat has a lot. If you're worried just wipe it down with acitone first.
As for oil being sticky, collecting dirt, and coming off on your cloths ...... this will happen if you don't remove the surplus oil with a cloth. It may happen with cheaper oils too .... but if applied properly Deks and quality teak oils are fine.
TradewindSailor
Well-Known Member
.....Oh and another thought :
This probably won't apply to you coamings but if you ever scrub wood, scrub across the grain or you'll remove the softer wood and end up with a ridged surface not much better than drift wood. Many teak decks get spoilt this way.
This probably won't apply to you coamings but if you ever scrub wood, scrub across the grain or you'll remove the softer wood and end up with a ridged surface not much better than drift wood. Many teak decks get spoilt this way.
xtiffer
Well-Known Member
4 coats of clear epoxy primer such as Wood Impreg120
followed by 5 coats of good polyurethane varnish such as Seatop PU360UVR.
The primer has enough flexibility to handle spars (it was designed for them)
so coamings shouldn't be a problem.
Cheers,
Chris
