Varnishing Toe Rail Capping - Best Practice?

[Tim Good]

Hello Wooden boat forumites. I don't normally post here but thought I might get the best answer for this question. See below. I have Iroko capping on my toe rails and after 18 it may look ok but isn't great. the varnish is in need of doing again and staining has occur in various places.

1. What is the best practice nowadays? Can I epoxy it first and give a more permanent solution?

2. Before I do re varnish can i remove the dark staining somehow?

Thanks.

 

[sailorman]

International woodskin works well & easy to t/up

 

[Tim Good]

International woodskin works well & easy to t/up

62,000 posts! Holy ****. Time Inc should be giving you a medal. Or a free boat.

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

Re 1. -- What would you want to epoxy, and why? For instance, is there any rot present?

Re 2. -- You can probably remove the staining using a diluted solution of oxalic acid. Google 'oxalic site:forum.woodenboat.com' and you'll get pages of results.

However, a better solution might be to paint the rail (after cleaning back, of course). I've just seen an example of a boat whose owner gave up on varnishing and painted the rail maroon, getting plenty of compliments afterwards. While a bit of brightwork certainly looks lovely, keeping the varnish looking good is really a never-ending job.

Mike

 

[Tranona]

See my post on similar thread below. Unless you are prepared to spend hours in preparation , maintenance avoid conventional varnishes.

Ruball the existing coating off to 120 grit finish, use oxalid acid to reduce staining, then 3/4 coats of Woodskin and that is it for typically 5 years.

 

[tolhurstorganic]

Use Coelan, do it well and it will look like new for more than 10 years. Expensive it needs 10 coats to get 1mm thick but for such a small area it is well worth it. Fit and forget.

 

[sailorman]

62,000 posts! Holy ****. Time Inc should be giving you a medal. Or a free boat.

I do my own boat maintenance too :encouragement:

 

[Tim Good]

Use Coelan, do it well and it will look like new for more than 10 years. Expensive it needs 10 coats to get 1mm thick but for such a small area it is well worth it. Fit and forget.

Is that a simialr product to the International wood skin?

 

[TimBennet]

Is that a simialr product to the International wood skin?

No, you could think of it as being the complete opposite. It's a 'plastic' coating that is very durable and can last well.

But the trouble with toerails is the wear and tear. All these 'hard' coatings (especially epoxy but including two pack varnishes) are best where you have very dry, very stable wood that can be fully encapsulated and then not subject to bangs and rubbing. Whilst it can be 'made good' at any time, any break of the surface integrity is quite hard graft to repair.

I prefer the more traditional conventional varnishes which don't wear as well but can be patched and made good. If it's a teak toerail, I've had lots of success with Deks Olje No1, then No2 followed by International Original or Schooner.

I've heard good reports of Le Tonkinois varnish being easy to live with and repair.

If you are tempted to paint your woodwork, make sure you completely varnish and seal the wood properly (three or four coats) before putting on the final couple of coats of paint. This is the traditional way to look after varnished wood before heading off to the tropics for a couple of years. It means that a light sand will bring all the wood back to brightwork at a later date.

If you have no pride in your boat you can also use Woodskin.

 

[Tim Good]

If you are tempted to paint your woodwork

No way. I own a plastic boat so the small amount of woodwork there is needs to stay and be proud.

If you have no pride in your boat you can also use Woodskin.

I have price in the boat but what is so unpirdeworthy about it? Just curious.

 

[TimBennet]

I have pride in the boat but what is so unprideworthy about it? Just curious.

This is the 'Classic and Wooden Boat' Forum.

Woodskin has its place, but that place is over on the PBO or other forums!

 

[Tranona]

No way. I own a plastic boat so the small amount of woodwork there is needs to stay and be proud.



I have price in the boat but what is so unpirdeworthy about it? Just curious.

If you want your Brightwork to look like a piece of furniture go the traditional route and be prepared to keep on top of it.

I am inordantly proud of my 50 year old wooden boat but 20 years ago I switched to a similar product to the newer Woodskin. The search for a different product came after stripping my 33' mast to bare wood and spending hours pouring on the 2 stage Deks Olje only for the film to break down in less than 2 years. Stripped again and used A Sikkens product. Did not have the gloss finish but went 10 years with the mast up before refreshing. Just about to strip again and use Woodskin which has a much better appearance than the old Sikkens.

To my mind no contest and my experience is in line with the long term tests published in Classic Boat and PBO.

 

[cliffordpope]

Unless you remove the wood and put your 10 coats of whatever on the bit that's normally hidden, then moisture is going to get into the wood. Then the varnish on the showy bit will trap the moisture and the wood will rot.

Much better to leave the thing untreated and let it breathe.

 

[JumbleDuck]

International woodskin works well & easy to t/up

+1.

 

[sailorman]

+1.

Deks Ojlie was never any good back in the 70 when it was first imported (imho ) i used it & it fell off having followed the instructions to the letter. It has worked very well on my kitchen teak trim @ home :encouragement:

 

[Hadenough]

62,000 posts! Holy ****. Time Inc should be giving you a medal. Or a free boat.

Or ignoring him!

 

[JumbleDuck]

Deks Ojlie was never any good back in the 70 when it was first imported (imho ) i used it & it fell off having followed the instructions to the letter. It has worked very well on my kitchen teak trim @ home :encouragement:

I have found the matt stuff (No. 1) very good for cabin floors, but never had any luck using it outside.

 

[itchenseadog]

You state that tbe toe rail cappings are iroko. That is your problem. Iroko, although a very durable wood is not very stable and will always move on the joints thus breaking any varnish or coating seal and allowing damp into the joint and subsequent staining. It is always very difficult to get staining out of Iroko (unlike teak). Nothing can beat a conventional varnish finish for looks but it is high maintenance. I have used Coelan in the past and it seems to stand up well provided it is applied correctly. It is very thick and difficult to apply especially in winter and I have found a number of tins in which the Coelan had already gone off - a pain in the a** if you are in the middle of a big job and have to return to the supplier ! As a recently retired boat builder and yacht painter, I have not found the perfect system yet !

 

[Tim Good]

You state that tbe toe rail cappings are iroko. That is your problem. Iroko, although a very durable wood is not very stable and will always move on the joints thus breaking any varnish or coating seal and allowing damp into the joint and subsequent staining. It is always very difficult to get staining out of Iroko (unlike teak). Nothing can beat a conventional varnish finish for looks but it is high maintenance. I have used Coelan in the past and it seems to stand up well provided it is applied correctly. It is very thick and difficult to apply especially in winter and I have found a number of tins in which the Coelan had already gone off - a pain in the a** if you are in the middle of a big job and have to return to the supplier ! As a recently retired boat builder and yacht painter, I have not found the perfect system yet !

Thanks for this. Yes Iroko and I see you point. So am I better with some sort of UV protective wax or skin? Coelan sounds like a plan but it is super expensive and how long would I expect to get from it before needing to reapply?

 

[sailorman]

Thanks for this. Yes Iroko and I see you point. So am I better with some sort of UV protective wax or skin? Coelan sounds like a plan but it is super expensive and how long would I expect to get from it before needing to reapply?

wood skin is the answer, easy to apply & repair