Oil versus varnish

[armchairsailor]

Still thinking aloud...

For toerails and grabrails in teak, I was thinking that a more practical approach to care might be to oil them. Obviously it wouldn't look half as nice, and is just a one way trip. Do you get a decent enough finish, or would stripping off the varnish be something people have regretted? BTW, any work done would be on a tight budget and tight amounts of time. It would also have to be done whilst on the water.

 

[tillergirl]

Well that's the most difficult question in boating!

Varnish staying on Teak and Iroko strikes me as almost impossible. I ran out of time at the beginning of the season and I only got two coats on the Iroko rail. Looking yesterday some of the Varnish has vanished! Of course in the rush, the preparation was poor.

My cockpit locker lids are also Iroko and over the 27 years of ownership it has been a perpetual 'Forth Bridge' job. But then I stripped back to bare and used Epifanes Woodfinish. It is a suedo varnish - it isn't really varnish but the result is. It is different to International Woodfinish becasue the Epifane is design specially for the oily timber of Teak and Iroko. It sort of breathes. So far for 4 years of the Epifanes Woodfinish for the cockpit lockers it has stayed, copes with the heavy footfall etc. After the first coat, repeated coats of the Epifanes can go straight on without rubbing down provided it is within the set period (which from memory is 48 hours). It is also very easy to apply. So next winter the rail will go back to basics for the Epifanes.

Oh. I did the grabrails (Iroko) this year and they look very, very good with the Epifanes. Nobody would tell it isn't real varnish.

 

[KellysEye]

Beware of Teak Oil from a chandler it does not say so on the pack but it has cheaper Linseed oil in it. As we found it goes black caused by UV I had to sand every piece of teak to remove it took hours. Buy only pure teak oil. There is teak oil with a UV protector but I have no idea if it works.

Choose varnish carefully: Gloss oil-based varnish, polyurethane and Danish oil can last 10 or 20 years, though satin finishes and stains may fail sooner as pigments and flattening agents disable the driers. Water-based coatings and paints can also be viable longer than three years. Shellac, though, can go bad in under a year.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

If on limited time and budget, then you have a great excuse for not applying any coating to grab / handrails. I prefer my grab rails to be plain wood as the grip is better.

I am a fan of DekOlje on the cap over the gunwale but it does need regular topping up, a quick wipe with a saturated rag along the wood. It fades away over time quite quickly if not regular. I am a convert to Woodskin on the hatches as it does stay on for a long time with no real effort to maintain. I use Ronseal exterior satin varnish for the locker lids and just about everywhere else. It has went on well but this is the first year of extensive use. So far the cockpit lid is doing well.

https://www.owatroldirect.co.uk/product/deks-olje-d1/

 

[Pasarell]

Beware of Teak Oil from a chandler it does not say so on the pack but it has cheaper Linseed oil in it. As we found it goes black caused by UV I had to sand every piece of teak to remove it took hours. Buy only pure teak oil. There is teak oil with a UV protector but I have no idea if it works.

That is a very broad statement. It depends what teak oil the chandler stocks!!
Cheap teak oils consist largely of white spirit with a little tung oil, linseed oil, colouring and cheap biocide.
Good (expensive) teak oils contain a lot of tung oil, more linseed oil, less colouring and good quality biocide.
Black staining is caused by mould, not by UV!
There is no such thing as "pure teak oil".

Varnish, whether oil based or polyurthane is very different from Danish Oil. As above, good (expensive) Danish Oils are based largely on natural oils but differ from teak oil in that they are film forming because they contain a little resin.
Danish Oil and Teak Oil fall into the little and often category of coatings, after initial application but Danish Oil will last a little longer than Teak Oil and resist staining to a much higher degree

 

[Momac]

If you oil teak the oil attracts dirt.
The easiest way to clean the oil out and to restore the new look of the teak is to use wessex two part cleaner.
https://www.marineteak.co.uk/wessex...MIwpvl_KLR1QIV6LvtCh0n7APlEAQYASABEgLuD_D_BwE


.

 

[Skylark]

If on limited time and budget, then you have a great excuse for not applying any coating to grab / handrails. I prefer my grab rails to be plain wood as the grip is better.

+1

Nothing nicer than natural, untreated wood on a boat.

 

[Sandyman]

Cedar Oil. Saying nothing more.

 

[Tranona]

Oil is not very effective. It does not last in outdoor conditions and you are forever topping it up.

Varnishes, either oil based or polyurethane tend not to adhere well to teak and crack, water gets in and film fails.

Only thing that stands a chance is the porous woodstains such as International Woodskin or products made for the building industry such as Sikkens of Cetol. These will outlast any marine finish and slowly erode rather than crack of flake so easy to top up or patch. Only downside is they are nor very glossy and tend to be tinted.

 

[pandroid]

I've tried both oil and varnish. I strongly recommend doing neither and leaving it bare. Oil on toerails drains down the side of the boat and you are forever cleaning it off the hull. If you leave over coating varnish too long it blisters and you have to clean the whole thing off and do it again.

 

[KellysEye]

>Black staining is caused by mould, not by UV!

I can assure it was not mould it was UV damage, in the Caribbean UV levels are high, and the teak needed to be sanded not cleaned. That's why UV resistant teak oil is sold but as I said I have no idea if it works.

One thing I forgot mention is the teak had varnish when I bought the boat but it was in a bad condition I made a big mistake using teak oil. Once sanded I applied nothing and as a hardwood it's fine, just leave it alone.

 

[pvb]

Flood-coat your teak 3 times a year with Boracol. No other maintenance needed. Oil is filthy stuff. Varnishing is crazy. Bare wood looks good, and has good grip (isn't that the point?).

 

[wully1]

I've seen good results with ' Osmo' from Screwfix... Trialing it at home on a wooden handrail currently.

 

[guyd]

Have you tried hardwax oil - several suppliers. I used it on a restaurant table a year ago, and it still looks new. Treatex is a good brand. available in mat, satin and gloss finish. Infinately re oil able, easy to apply.