wood protection - experience of Sadolin ?

sarabande

sarabande

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I would like to move away from trad varnishes to a more "flexible" "breathing" coating and which does not contain solvents.

Does anyone have experience of Sadolin Woodstain or any similar products please ?

The wood is a sort of dense pine, which has been varnished / stained a very dark colour in the past, but is starting to need a bit of TLC.
 
Our rowing club has two Gigs which have had Sadolin on their woodwork, (thwarts, gunwales etc) for the last 5 years. They get a freshen up coat in the autumn & one in the early summer. Those two boats see a lot of hard use & abuse but look good, it aint varnish but it works!
 
We used a waterproof wood dye for years on our last boat and found it superb having tried all the other wonder products that weren't. We started from bare wood and put on the recommended 3 coats, using a 'pine' dye on teak rubbing strake, toerails, handrails and the teak cockpit grating. Annual maintenance was to rub down, locally patch any bare chafed patches from fender or mooring lines etc, then one more coat overall. The cockpit grating was left 6 years without a recoat and was still good. The advantages over a varnish are that it doesn't flake off as water getting behind it can escape as the finish is micro porous. Whatever you do don't use a 'teak'colour on a dark wood like teak as it will go too dark, as I said we used 'pine' on ours.

We originally use Sikkens which was a one pack version of what now comes as a base coat then a final topcoat although I think you can just use the base coat. We bought enough stock of the original version from In-Excess at 50p/750ml tin and have enough to last us out now as our current boat has very little exposed teak. Sikkens has a high UV protection which is why it is good too.
 
I second Sikkens, the 'deal' colour seems to be the lightest available and doesn't darken the wood too much. You don't need the top coat either, 2 or 3 coats of the normal stuff gives a silk type finish.
 
I have used it for a number of years round the wooden trim in my cockpit. It does look a bit like brown paint, and is definitely no substitute for varnish. But: its very easy to apply - 2 coats done on a sunny day and its useable within a few hours, and it seems to stand up to the knocks and scrapes of cockpit life for a season. I normally expect to recoat it each year, but for some reason after I treated the woodwork in my latest boat 18 months ago it has stood up better and after a season and a half's use is still looking fine. The other advantage is that it does not get slippery like varnish when it is wet,so can be used on floorboards safely, and which it seems to stand up to quite well.

But it doesn't look anything like as good as a proper varnish finish.

I have found it works best if you apply the second coat before the first coat has cured properly - it seems to bond better.
 
I think this is what a marina neighbour used on the capping rail of his HR Monsun. To my eye it looked awful, like a flat brown paint that totally spoiled the beauty of the original teak.

I have selectively used Coelan, which is expensive, but it certainly seems effective. One irritating point is that the primer (allegedly necessary) can only be obtained with a harsh colouring incorporated - yellow for teak, red for mahogony and brown for oak (as advised by the manufacturer) - why they cannot supply a colourless version beats me.

The other negative point is that if you want a matte finish the final coat that can be used to give that is not much less glossy than the normal, which is very glossy. And, if you use it on a teak deck, as I did, it turns it into a skating rink.
 
Just to add to what I already said about Sikkens it doesn't look at all like brown paint after a few recoats! It looks just like a varnish but with a semigloss finish and very slightly less clear, but then that I think is because there is more solid content acting as a UV inhibitor. However you cannot get that kind of finish by overcoating what is already there, you have to start with bare wood so get out the Skarsten and the sander.
 
That's where people go wrong - they apply it like paint.

Sadolin, Pinotex, Ronseal etc. all make stains that are exactly that stains. Then you move up the range to the Micro-porous variety. If you apply sparingly and not overcoating like a gloss or varnish 'paint' you avoid that dull brown effect.

Many years ago - my first house had a real traditional wood door with glass highlight in as front door. Previous had done the 1950's trick of panelling it. I stripped the door and then used Micro-pore stain on it. 2 light coats only. That door was still as good later when we sold the house. Light thinned touch up where dogs / kids knocked only. Next door asked me how I did it ... they did theirs but did as many do - 'painted it'. It looked like someone had stuck brown plastic film all over it.

I use Pinotex, a Baltic version of Sadolin and very happy with it. At start of season - a light sand and single thin recoat brings up the grain and character ...

I love varnished wood - but not the work and lack of wear it takes. Micro-pore stain if used lightly removes most of that work and looks good.

If you really want a shine and cosmetics .... then light coat of stain with a light thinned coat of varnish over top. Onced polished - it will shine. OK you destroy the micro-pore but have a more durable easier maintained varnished product.

Here's my main hatch and washboards ... in stages.

Hatch stripped from waterlogged varnish :

Image000.jpg


Washboard having rec'd stain to bring up grain and colour :

Image005.jpg


Image004.jpg


Now finished articles in place after single light varnish coat over top of 2 light stain coats :

Image000-1.jpg


All the above after a full seasons use still look the same with no lifting flaky varnish, no UV damage, no grey-green areas where varnish cracks etc.

Dull brown ? Where ?
 
used the Sadolin light pine, two thin coats followed by their clear (two coats) as that one has higher uv bits, the only places where its faded are small patches that were still saturated with old varnish. wears well and looks good, easy to apply,I rollered mine on after seeing a wood fronted house being done, one of two, the one that was brush applied after 5 years now looks terrible the rollered one needs some treatment but still looks shiny, so thats the route for me. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: wood protection - experience of Sikkens?

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Sikkens which was a one pack version of what now comes as a base coat then a final topcoat

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Sikkens Natural is straight-from-the can brush application which produced a long-lasting silk finish on teak grabrails and mahogany cockpit trim which draws compliments from visitors. It's easy to touch-in and has high UV resistance.

One problem; have still to tackle the interior!
 
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They are too soft for abrasions, look like brown paint after a few coats, and make turn a yacht into a SHED!

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Only if .... I repeat .... you treat it like a paint - which it is not.
Best type is the thin as water stain ... soaks in, gives ultimate UV / weather protection .... raises grain ....
 
[ QUOTE ]
Best type is the thin as water stain ... soaks in, gives ultimate UV / weather protection .... raises grain ....

[/ QUOTE ]I used to use a product like this on my oak garage doors. It was called Sadolin Classic Wood Protection. This year, I needed some more and found to my horror that despite having the same name this product is now totally different, doesn't soak in, and has a silky sheen. It's been reformulated to reduce the VOC level!

Regardless, I wouldn't use Sadolin on any boat of mine.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Best type is the thin as water stain ... soaks in, gives ultimate UV / weather protection .... raises grain ....

[/ QUOTE ]I used to use a product like this on my oak garage doors. It was called Sadolin Classic Wood Protection. This year, I needed some more and found to my horror that despite having the same name this product is now totally different, doesn't soak in, and has a silky sheen. It's been reformulated to reduce the VOC level!

Regardless, I wouldn't use Sadolin on any boat of mine.

[/ QUOTE ]

You'll have to come over here then - we still have the thin stuff with all sorts of different company names on ...

Pity - seems as if the Green boys have got to it ...
 
My boat has two areas of teak decking on locker tops. Previous owner had done them with Coelan (sp?), but water had got under the surface, and it was getting worse. Chose good weather, and stripped it all off back to bare wood. Gave it three coats of "Sadolin Quick Drying", and it is wonderful. It is very strange stuff to apply -- goes on like spreading soft butter, but once on, something happens to it, and it all smooths out. It is what we've all been looking for -- dry in less than an hour, and wash the brush in water. I would ask all doubters to try it out on something, to see for themselves. I think the "brown paint" people must have put it on top of an existing coat of something else, brown paint, maybe?
Note, it must be the "Quick Drying" type.
 
Both in this thread and on the Sadolin website, reference is made to this product as a "woodstain". But I do not want a "stain", I want the wood to retain its natural colour and grain with its shading and highlights to be enhanced by a permanent protection.

Certainly with the application that I have seen the finished wood had certainly been stained - the teak ended up as an unnatural brown that was obscene, compared to the original teak. The strange thing was that the owner couldn't see that he had ruined it, he proudly exclaimed to me what a great job had been done and how long-term the effect would be.

This staining is one of my complaints with Coelan, the primer that contains a pigment and with its blanket colouring that detracts from the original subtle shading of natural wood.
 
The previous owner of my vessel was a Sadolin enthusiast. He had achieved the "shed" look on the locker lids and weatherboards through repeated application.

This winter I needed to address some deterioration of the wood and began by removing the Sadolin. It peeled off easily using a heatgun and scraper - just like paint. I don't see how it can be called a woodstain.
 
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