Teak oil......or varnish?

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Eeyore

Eeyore

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 Oct 2007
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835
Location
Kudat, Malaysia
www.yachtrhumbdo.co.uk
I’ve just started the long postponed job of re-doing the cockpit woodwork. It’s a Warrior, so - centre cockpit with three washboards to the aft cabin and three to the saloon – both with associated surrounds. In addition, there is the steering wheel, cockpit table, drinks holder and a centre line foot rest/brace. I have scraped off the old varnish, which I think was polyurethane, from the table and foot brace and was thinking of doing the whole lot with teak oil to avoid the hassle of scraping and sanding again. The boat is presently in the Med, so a lot of sunshine and UV to contend with. A Spanish friend advises polyurethane on wood below decks, but ‘Epifanes’ high gloss clear varnish topsides – and his boat does look nice! I’ve now applied teak oil to the foot brace and although it enhances the appearance of the wood, there is no shine to it! So I’m now in a quandary as to what to do.

What does everyone else think? Varnish and have to do it all again next year? Or oil and just coat it again once or twice a season?
 
it is true pig of a problem, I stripped the woordwork back to bare wood and used starbrite tropical lihgt teak oil, more like a paint, looked ok for about a month but then didnt last 2 seasons in Portugal, so tried deks olje teak oil, that didnt last a season, I then tried teak oil with a finish of international deks 1+2 over the teak oil, about 10 coats, good satin finish lasted this season with no degredation, but guess what? International have stopped making 1+2. So I'm back to good old varnish and I am now making canvas covers for my rails and all other exposed varnish work.

I will not be beaten by the sun!!!! (say's he with his parched lips and dying breath)
 
Have you thought of Le Tonkinois ? - I'm currently restoring a 1931 custom cutter (with too much still to do) and I'm very happy with the application, the look, and cost !
One of the longest lasting in the tests as well
 
Epifanes and covers for when your boat's idle. Even an old t shirt and long term masking tape/string will do as a cover.
 
Le Tonk seconded.
I persevered with Deks Olje for two seasons, saturation coats of No1 and five coats of No2 and was disappointed.
Converted to Le Tonk two seasons ago and the mahogany brightwork is still intact after two years with just one de-nib and single recoat.
 
I tried most when in alicante.
Le tonk is lovely to look at but too soft in areas that can be knocked.
Tung and teak oils are easy but it is a continuous process, not just a couple of times a season, and, again they don't give a protective finish.(but good indoors)
Good strong varnish and Immediate action to repair chips and scrapes is the way the professionals do it. Just take a look at the finish on the crewed small ships and gin palaces in your area, and watch the guys in white T-shirts and blue shorts with the perpetual brush and jar of varnish!
They work to try and keep about 10 coats of varnish between the wood and the elements.
 
I've found both Epiphanes and Tonkinois to give a very good gloss, which keeps well in the cold and gloomy north of Europe, especially if it is kept covered when not in use. UV will undo your work even quicker than lots of rain .
For ease of application, especially in low wear areas, try Danish oil. It can be applied in several coats, and polished to a certain extent. and it doesn't mess up the surface if you want to varnish at a later date.
 
Curious selection of answerd, "Polyeurathane", "Epifanes" and "Teak Oil".

Epifanes is only a brand name for a Greek made Polyeurathane varnish, isn't it?

Thus the question is almost the same as, "Polyeurathane", "Ronseal" and Teak Oil"

Anyway, what, exactly, constitutes "Teak Oil"? I've a sneaking suspicion it is no more than boiled linseed oil in a fancy tin at 9 times the price.

Varnish really doesn't stick well to teak if there is much UV about, but I'm stuck with it. Next time I'll use oil. (and try linseed)
 
Nothing looks better than well maintained varnish but nothing looks worse than badly maintained varnish IMHO.

First impressions of Sikkens Cetol are good but only time will tell.
 
Last season I applied Coelan to most of my bright work with trepidation due to its expense, effort required and potential of ruining the look of a 70 year old boat. I am pleased enough with the results to be applying to the rest of the bright work and decks this layup. A friend applied Coelan over 10 years ago and has not re-coated! Also, in tests I have read it to be very resistant to UV degradation.

More information here: http://www.coelan.com/de/products/boat/index.html
 
We have used Burgess Woodsealer for a number of years and been really happy with the finish and the longevity of it. we found the hardest part of the application was the scraping back to bare wood the first time we applied it. Once done nice and easy to apply.
 
Thanks to all for the imput so far. I'm just trying to avoid extra work the next time around. I admit that I'm leaning toward Epifanes at the moment though I don't relish the thought of scraping it all off again in x months time, should it prove less hard wearing than anticipated. The wheel does have a cover and I have a bimini up except when under sail, but covering the companionways isn't really practical, as I live onboard.

Some of you have come up with a couple I've never heard off, but I'll look them up and see if they are available in Turkey.

Currently, we're running at 50/50 with the oil and Epifanes and few seem to think polyurethane a good idea!

Mash....I don't think it a strange choice of answers as polyurethane varnish is alkyd based and modified by the addition of polyurethane (the stuff used for car suspension bushes and anti-skid surfaces) which gives it a hard finish, whereas Epifanes (indeed a 'brand name') is tung oil based with a softer surface finish. Incidently, it's made in Holland not Greece. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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Epifanes is only a brand name for a Greek made Polyeurathane varnish, isn't it?
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NO - you are completely wrong here.

Epifanes is a DUTCH company that IMO make the best varnish going. It is still very hard work to get the desired finish. Most of the wooden boat builders I know swear by the stuff.

Their English website is: epifanes.com

I use this whenever I have any varnishing to do.
 
Have just got back from the boat, spent 2 days stripping and cleaning my teak capping, and have today put on a coat of Sikkens. Used it on my last boat, definitely better results than Deks Olje. Knackered, but the rails look a treat.
 
Definitely NOT Danish oil, that's what I put on earler this year. Wood was completely black when I started work on it a few days ago, dirt just sticks to it. It's fine indoors but not outside.
 
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Definitely NOT Danish oil, that's what I put on earler this year. Wood was completely black when I started work on it a few days ago

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It's not dirt.

I have a swedish friend who is very big in linseed oil. He tells me that if the oil you are putting on teak (wood), other than a mineral oil, is not absolutely crystal clear, then your teak will go black. Any coloration in the oil is caused by proteins left over from processing. Tiny fungi feed on these proteins and leave a black residue.
 
In my experience, all oil finishes are easy to apply and give a nice matt look, but a next to useless for durability and need continual recoating.
Varnishes of all types look well, and last longer but eventually give up, let water in, and then are a pig to strip off and re-do.
Essentially there is no magic solution to the problem of keeping brightwork in perfect condition, other than frequent maintainance. Hence the reason working boats use paint.
Best results so far with have been microporous woodstains, e.g. Sikkens Novatech or Sikkens HLS and Filter7. These are not recommended for use below waterline though.
Coelan gets good reviews in tests, but the price!
 
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