Sealing/laquering/varnishing teak toerails - advice please

Bobc

Bobc

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I have big teak toerails and rubbing strakes on my boat.

In the past I've used Teak Wonder (cleaner/brighter/sealer), which does a good job for a few months, but then it seems to wear off and go grey again.

They need a good sanding flat also, so I was thinking maybe laquering or varnishing them instead (something more permanent).

International do a varnish called "Woodskin", which sounds like it might be the right kind of thing. Alternatively I was wondering whether a coat of SP320 might be a better option.

Any advice appreciated from anyone who's done it, or anyone in the trade.

Thanks
 
Have used Woodskin on my teak toe rail last few years and found it to be the best option so far. Very easy to patch up when it gets scraped. Water doesn't get 'under it' where it gets damaged in the same way other coating suffer. Havn't tried SP320, but wouldn't touch it for this sort of application.
 
Epifanes Woodfinish is specifically designed for teak. After the first coat has hardened, subsequent coats can be added quickly and easily without re-sanding prep.
 
Another vote for Woodskin although sikkens would also do, but get the lightest tint otherwise it looks muddy.
 
Thanks for the feeback everyone. I think I'll give Woodskin a try and report back.

Bob
 
My vote is for Wessex two pack cleaner and renovator followed by Semco natural. And no sanding away the valuable teak. Works for me, in fact it has transformed the boat.
 
wully1 said:
Anyone tried ' Osmo ' from Screwfix ?
Click to expand...

Designed for hard wood windows, previous owner of our boat swore by it. Will try it again on our toerail next spring as our usual coating of choice, Starbrite's Tropical Teak Oil can't cope with the wet Scottish winter (or summer for that matter)
 
Recently spent 2 days taking all my woodskin off. The trouble is that in the end it gets darker and darker and takes a lot of work to repaint a 100 feet of rail.

For me its bare teak forever, but with regular treatments of boracol. Boracol is a doodle to apply, is netter than patio magic on wood, and the teak looks superb.
 
ip485 said:
Recently spent 2 days taking all my woodskin off. The trouble is that in the end it gets darker and darker and takes a lot of work to repaint a 100 feet of rail.

For me its bare teak forever, but with regular treatments of boracol. Boracol is a doodle to apply, is netter than patio magic on wood, and the teak looks superb.
Click to expand...

+1

I'm for an easy life.
 
I used to have beautifully varnished toe and hand rails but maintenance was tedious. After an abortive attempt to replace varnish with Dels Olie, a total disaster, I removed all coatings and left the wood to weather. In the Med this seemed like the perfect option - until the teak plugs started to pop out. Over time the timber had eroded naturally to such an extent that its dimensions are considerably less than they were. I bit the bullet, sanded even more off, and applied Woodskin. This is easy to do, just brush on without any of the care needed with varnish, and it seems to last well. Even better, when applying again the following season it only needs minimal preparation before painting more on. No wood treatment lasts well in Greek waters but Woodskin does seem to be one of the best.

In UK my motorsailer has wooden spars. These were Woodskinned about four years ago and still look OK.
 
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