Varnish now or just leave it?

[Donal2020]

Hi, the varnished wooden hand rails and companionway step on my boat started to look very tired with the varnish peeling off and some cracking away. I sanded down the companionway step and planned to varnish but with the temperature dropping and condensation on days like today when no rain is expected, should I vanish or just leave until springtime? If I leave it, will it do more damage to the wood untreated over the winter? Thanks

 

[cherod]

If you can build a habitat round it and stick a heater in then go ahead , other wise i would not . ( others may , prob , know better )

 

[Easticks28]

I shall definitely be leaving my varnishing until warmer times prevail - and my boat is now under cover. Preparation will go on however, when Lockdown permits.

 

[jim.howes]

Varnish and damp atmosphere really do not like each other, leave it until next year it will give you something to look forward to.

 

[Donal2020]

Thank you everyone, pretty much confirmed my suspicions, but great to have a sanity check. Thank you..
I shall do something else today!

 

[johnalison]

It might be worth stripping some of the peeling varnish to give it a chance to dry out occasionally rather than stay wet and stain the wood.

 

[Donal2020]

It might be worth stripping some of the peeling varnish to give it a chance to dry out occasionally rather than stay wet and stain the wood.

Many thanks, will do that

 

[BabaYaga]

If I leave it, will it do more damage to the wood untreated over the winter? Thanks

To me, that looks like teak.
If so, it will not be harmed by being left untreated over winter, even if uncovered, but if you plan to varnish next spring you should be prepared to sand again before doing so. Bare teak weathers quickly.
Personally I would not varnish exterior teak, but if you choose to, you probably will face having to put on a fresh coat every season, especially on the step.

 

[tillergirl]

If you want it varnish, you need to use Epifanes Wood Finish. It is different to other products called Wood Finish. Epifanes is specifically invented for Teak or Iroko. It tackles the issue of the naturally oily wood, the UV issue and the 'hard wearing' surfaces such as handrails, frequent using. It need thinned coats to start but once that is done there is no need for sanding between coats (within the time period) and can be very easily applied. You could get the inital treatment started now. It is very easy - and it last!

 

[Poignard]

I think there's nothing to beat a good cover.

My Twister has a mahogany coachroof and cockpit and ,when I uncovered her in August after she had spent more than 18 months without being varnished, she still looked smart enough for me not to feel ashamed of her when I took her out for a few weeks sailing. Without her overall cover she would have looked a mess, and needed a lot of work to get her woodwork looking good again.

 

[Stemar]

I've tried varnish on the small bits of teak on my boat and quickly gave up and got rid of it. I'd use an oil or let it go grey. At least oil doesn't crack and trap moisture, when it starts getting tired, a quick wash, slap a bit more on and you're good to go.

 

[Donal2020]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I considered varnish as that was what was already there when I bought the boat, certainly will look into all the other suggestions, especially looking up cost for a cover. Thanks again.

 

[Little Dorrit]

You may find this worth reading Varnishing-basics I think any moisture will ruin the job so probably best to leave for now.

 

[Donal2020]

Many thanks, a bit of winter reading! Perfect, thank you.

 

[Alicatt]

varnishing our wooden boat was always done late spring when it got warmer in Scotland ready for summer, ... that's why for my first boat I bought GRP