Treating Iroko

PuffTheMagicDragon

PuffTheMagicDragon

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The replacement wooden slats for the cockpit locker lids/seats are now cut and planed. Soon I shall have the coaming strips, the coachroof handholds and the boards that go under the sheet winches (on a plinth outboard of the coaming) also ready.

My question is this: Do I treat the Iroko with anything or do I leave it bare?

On my other boat I had fitted an Iroko 'bowsprit' plank that allows the Bruce to self-stow but which also serves as a convenient step-up when berthed bows-to. I had applied teak oil for the first couple of years but nothing for these last eight years or so. It is now weathered to an even grey shade.

The options that I am considering are:

(1) Teak oil
(2) Spinnaker "Wood Life" (never used it before but is available)
(3) One-part Yacht varnish (e.g., Epifanes or Tonkinois)
(4) Leaving the wood bare and exposed
(5) something else that may be recommended by the forum


All ideas, comments, suggestions and recommendations are welcome.


(n.b. FWIW, The boat is a Wauquiez Centurion 32, considered by many to be a 'classic')
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
The replacement wooden slats for the cockpit locker lids/seats are now cut and planed. Soon I shall have the coaming strips, the coachroof handholds and the boards that go under the sheet winches (on a plinth outboard of the coaming) also ready.

My question is this: Do I treat the Iroko with anything or do I leave it bare?

On my other boat I had fitted an Iroko 'bowsprit' plank that allows the Bruce to self-stow but which also serves as a convenient step-up when berthed bows-to. I had applied teak oil for the first couple of years but nothing for these last eight years or so. It is now weathered to an even grey shade.

The options that I am considering are:

(1) Teak oil
(2) Spinnaker "Wood Life" (never used it before but is available)
(3) One-part Yacht varnish (e.g., Epifanes or Tonkinois)
(4) Leaving the wood bare and exposed
(5) something else that may be recommended by the forum


All ideas, comments, suggestions and recommendations are welcome.


(n.b. FWIW, The boat is a Wauquiez Centurion 32, considered by many to be a 'classic')
Click to expand...

Nice boat Govner ;)
 
Watching with interest

I'm in the throes of some iroko woodwork too, also something which will be exposed to the elements. I was planning to treat it like teak so a good few generous coats of Endevour oil. But I have no idea whether this is a good solution or not so I'm watching this thread with interest.

Incidentally, if you want Endevour buy it quickly it's not available any more from Howells - apparently the manufacturer's factory burned down. There is some available through eBay though.
 
Depends on whether you want a "finish" or not Avoid oils as they just encourage dirt to get in - last thing you want on cockpit slats for example.

Best compromise for finish, ease of application and long life is a porous woodstain such as Sikkens Novatec/top or even easier the new International Woodskin which replaces Sikkens Cetol. Latest Classic Boat has a comprehensive review of long term tests of different kinds of finishes.

Iroko needs degreasing with acetone before any finish, and of course be aware that your high UV does none of them any favours, so a cover when the boat is not in use is the best investment you can make.
 
I think I would sway toward leaving the wood untreated to go silver/grey.
My previous boat had mahogany brightwork and I had no choice but to keep up the varnish work (Le Tonkenois) which I actually enjoyed. The new (to me) has teak cappings, running strakes and furniture which had been treated with Deks Ojlie before the boat was abandoned. The Deks was coming off in sheets, presumably because of the natural oils in the wood.
I helped the process with a light sanding and the wood has now weathered evenly.
In Malta's summer sun it will be an annual job to keep up with varnish. Teak oil will trap dirt and will be sticky in heat.
 
I have some exposed Teak and Iroko on my boat.It's all left untreated and in the Algarve sun it goes silver very quickly.After a while it's very difficult to tell the Teak apart from the Iroko.
 
I have an Iroko "plinth " for my manual windlass. This has been installed for 3/4 years. I painted with clear epoxy and then coated with x3 with Epiphanes. One remedial varnish coat since. Still looks OK, but this last 2 seasons I have also put an acrylic cover on to protect windlass & I guess this will also help the wood coats re UV degredation.
 
Thanks everyone for your comments. Erecting a cover to cover all of the wood is not very practical in this case. I shall go along the 'bare and untreated' route and see what happens. However, as I am still intrigued by the possibilities of Wood Life plus the fact that several cans came with the boat, I shall treat a test piece of Iroko with it and fit it somewhere on deck to see how it performs. According to the Italian website, Wood Life cannot 'peel' because it does not form a skin. Apparently it also contains some sort of wax; I shall be able to see what effect this has on altering the surface characteristics of the slats given that they wil be horizontal and regularly stepped upon.

Once again, thank you for your input.
 
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