OIL or VARNISH

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cherod

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what is the prefered , last year i treated with oil as i prefered the oil look to the shine of varnish , was going to use Decksolje , ( which i believe is the best av ) but put off by the price , ( £100 per gal ) so used Cuprinol ( which is also a quality product ) Teak Oil , ( however ended up using a gallon anyway which was the same price !! ) ,, i put on 4 coats on to clean wood ,, but found that this year it was looking pretty shitty and have had to do it all again , 6 coats this time ,,, i am just wondering if i would have been better using varnish originally ,, my neighbour used varnish on the same wood and it still looks like new :eek:
 
I tried teak oil once on toe rails and wasn't impressed. Within a few months it had faded and looked pretty rubbish. On present boat, I have just taken all the toerails and handrails back to bare teak and given it 4 coats of varnish (2 thinned, 2 non) and pleased with the finish, but time will tell how well it stands up. I'm hopeful of a light sand and extra coat at the beginning of each season, but may well be just feeling optimistic!
 
you are right , it is filthy stuff and attracts dirt , i think varnish drys harder , but i dont like the faded grey look . mine is not teak , i believe it is some sort of mahogany ,, ( 200 yr old reclaimed ) but with the faded grey look
 
Another vote for Boracol and the grey look.

Varnish looks great but to keep it so is a lot of work and easiest if you lay lay up indoors from September to April as was normal in the UK in the era when nearly all boats were wooden.

The yard where I lay up my boat in Sweden has some beautiful varnished boats - in the water from June to August and in a shed the rest of the year.
 
I've been using International Woodskin for some years, it's marketed as an hybrid oil/varnish. First sand the wood, then apply 3 or 4 coats, it's not very shiny and I think shows the grain and colour of the wood nicely. The next year clean, give a very light sand and a further single coat, and so on. Once the initial work of sanding and applying several coats is done it's a quick and easy job to keep a nice finish on all the wood...

Edit - pic shows recently finished toerail on my Bowman 26, before it had on thick dark brown varnish where you couldn't see anything of the wood at all...

resized.jpg

Here you can see the previous coating and the wood after its removal...

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pvb said:
Teak oil is filthy stuff, it just attracts dirt and does nothing for the wood. Varnish is similarly unpleasant. The easiest solution is to let the teak weather gracefully to grey, and just treat it a couple of times a year with Boracol.
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But that grey teak is weathering away and you'll be replacing it in 'n' years.

These days I think the best answer is mostly not to have 'outdoor' wood, have the minimum amount and look after it obsessively.
What finish to go for depends on the application.
Oil for things where varnish won't survive.
Varnish for things which aren't the right wood to oil, or where it would get too grubby.
 
Sandy said:
I have found that International Woodskin vanishes in salty air. (I have a tin left of the ribbish if anybody wants it)

I'm a convert to Le Tonkinois
Click to expand...

Really, I'm surprised - I have found that UV will get to it eventually if I don't stick to the regime but if I do I've had no issues with it. Might try the Le Tonkinois though, prices are reasonable if it's good...
 
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Sandy said:
I have found that International Woodskin vanishes in salty air. (I have a tin left of the ribbish if anybody wants it)

I'm a convert to Le Tonkinois
Click to expand...

Well that can't really be right if Rona has been Sailing in salty air for years with that product on her, I really like the look of her toerail.
I find no one agrees on much of anything about this. I've been reading various threads before we started on ours, but the impression I had was that le tonkinoise and woodskin were different suppliers of a very similar product? a kind of oil/varnish hybrid.
 
V1701 said:
Really, I'm surprised - I have found that UV will get to it eventually if I don't stick to the regime but if I do I've had no issues with it. Might try the Le Tonkinois though, prices are reasonable if it's good...
Click to expand...
So was I! Woodskin was highly recommended, applied following the instructions and in over a summer saw it evaporate.
 
V1701 said:
Really, I'm surprised - I have found that UV will get to it eventually if I don't stick to the regime but if I do I've had no issues with it. Might try the Le Tonkinois though, prices are reasonable if it's good...
Click to expand...
So was I! Woodskin was highly recommended, applied following the instructions and in over a summer saw it evaporate.
 
cherod said:
what is the prefered , last year i treated with oil as i prefered the oil look to the shine of varnish , was going to use Decksolje , ( which i believe is the best av ) but put off by the price , ( £100 per gal ) so used Cuprinol ( which is also a quality product ) Teak Oil , ( however ended up using a gallon anyway which was the same price !! ) ,, i put on 4 coats on to clean wood ,, but found that this year it was looking pretty shitty and have had to do it all again , 6 coats this time ,,, i am just wondering if i would have been better using varnish originally ,, my neighbour used varnish on the same wood and it still looks like new :eek:
Click to expand...

My 2p.

I used to use varnish, it tended to last up to 5 years and by the end was pretty tatty, even if you touched it in occasionally. A pain to apply but looked exceptionally good.

After that I used Sikkins Novatech (etc) which also lasted around 5 years before removal but was easier to keep up and looked ok for longer. An exceptionally easy product to apply, to overcoat and to touch in. Any initial gloss is soon lost but it generally looks ok. Does not put up with hard wear.

Last year I applied Woodskin alongside Sikkins Cetol HLs+, as a comparative test and found they survived just about the same, as far as I could tell. Most of the Sikkins products can be got for about the same price as Woodskin but you generally get a much bigger tin. The cheaper commercial finish comes in a range of shades.

Danish Oil can be made to work outdoors, on teak and the matt finish is superb, masking none of the beauty of the timber . However you probably need a crew to refresh it every week or the silver threads begin to come through. It only works with clean golden wood.

.
 
My toerails and hand rails were originally varnished. Upkeep was tedious, although they looked very good. In a period when their condition had deteriorated quite badly I sanded them down and applied Deks Olje, which was disastrous. Within weeks it was breaking down, although on my outboard bracket, teak, never previously treated, it lasted very well. It would seem that the Deks Olje was unable to soak into previously varnished wood and was unable to provide the desired protection. At this stage we were moving into the Mediterranean and I decided to leave the wood to age naturally.

After a few years I realised that the surface of the untreated wood was deteriorating rapidly and losing so much thickness that the plugs covering the screws were falling out. At this stage I sanded it all down again and applied Woodskin. Conditions for any wood treatment are harsh in Greek sunshine all year but the Woodskin has stood up well. It needs to be re-applied at the start of each season but the condition of the wood remains as it was when I first coated it. Appearance is not as good as with varnish but not too bad. Shown here at the beginning of 2019 season.
 
i think i will need to be more diligent in re coating it more often , try to keep it looking decent . ( masking it all off takes more time and is considerably more hassle than applying the oil !! )
 
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