refinishing wood handrails on an old c-dory

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need to refinish the handles / grabrails at the back and top of cabin,
they are dark brown where the varnish has come off.

Do these need to be sanded to get to fresh wood or is there a cleanser that will get back to fresh wood, with maybe a light sanding?

bleach/water?

Thanks,

Stefan
 
Hi Stephan. First thing to decide is are you removing them to refinish or leaving in place. Off the boat into a shop is the easier way. If leaving in place you can get 2 part cleaner/brightener solutions at WM or Trotac in your area. These will clean and bring back the golden look most times. Careful use is required due to oxalic acid in the solution. Use lots of rinse water and wear gloves. Sanding can do the same thing but often too much wood is removed over the years. Once all cleaned to your specs, a teak friendly varnish can be applied. Not all varnishes coat teak well. Maybe Epiphanes brand would be best. Do 4 coats minimum 38 coats maximum and light sand between.
George
 
Teak (as most woods) has soft and hard parts of the grain. If you scrub teak with the grain, and use the chemicals (as ghone suggests)--brightener will have oxalic acid, and if you use a stiff brush can actually remove part of the soft wood--leaving voids in the surface of the wood. Same with teak decks--one should brush across the grain, and when possible avoid the harsh chemicals.

You can use very mild chemicals such as "spick and span", next up the harshness scale is "Bar Keeper's Friend" which has both oxalic acid and a mild abrasive. Finally are the multistage cleaners, with higher concentrations of oxalic acid and sodium hydroxide. Serious stuff--and I have come to avoid these.

If you elect to sand, then either by hand, and do not use harsh grits (start with 320 and shed how that does---work up to 600. If using a sander, consider a high speed orbital--again be very careful about getting any cross grain "cuts"--they have to be sanded out.

As to finishing teak: I do like to protect them. I have tried all types of oil, the latest and greatest varnish, even epoxy, pigmented (Simco) or Cetol. All in all , I have concluded that going back to a good spar varnish is probably the best solution. Leaving it raw, or oils tend to detiorate more rapidly, and in the long run is more work that a good varnish job. For varnish, be sure that the teak is dry, vacuumed, and then tac ragged. The first coat, I like to thin 50%. A very light sanding with 600 between coats. Use a very high quality badger brush---or go with the cheap foam applicators. Don't use cheap brushes. If you are going to the trouble to do a good job, I think it is worth the while to take the rails off the boat, and put on at least 6 coats of varnish. I have see epoxy last well, if coated over with urethane varnish, which has UV inhibitors (We did this for the teak and holy sole in our Cal 46, and 10 years after, it was still like glass--just a new coat of urethane every 3 to 4 years.)

After the rails are refinished--and back on the boat, you may want to make some simple Sunbrella railing covers to protect them.

One advantage of removing the railings is there is no masking issue on the deck, and you can make the sanding and cleaning smooth and even near where the railings meet the deck.
 
If there is no other exterior teak, there is the option to replace the seasoned teak
rails with SS and avoid all that "labor of love" so well suggested.

Aye.
 
Thank you George and Dr Bob.

I did not relish the thought of sanding to get down to fresh wood.

I will remove them from the boat as suggested and use an oxalic acid cleanser, followed with spar varnish :thup

Foggy, I had thought of the stainless, but I am on a tight budget this time around :wink:

Cheers!

Stefan
 
Stefan-

Hope it's not too late for some more input.

I tried the easy solutions for the wood rails on my '87 CD-22, but was soon disappointed in the quality and short lived nature of the product.

So after a year or two, I removed the rails, sanded them by hand down to new wood, then applied 8 or 9 coats of two-part polyurethane, brushing by hand, and sanding only lightly between coats for tooth and any light dust contaminant removal.

When finished, they looked like they had just been dipped in resin!

It's been 12 years or so now, and the poly-urethane has shrunk down gradually over the years and, although it still looks good, the surface is beginning to show the texture of the wood grain underneath, so I'm thinking it's about time for a re-coating. (To be fair, the boat has always been stored inside or moored under a covered berth.)

So I guess how much time you get in subsequent service depends on how much time and $$$ you invest up front.

However, winter is a long process, and the sanding and painting can fill up a lot of days that don't lend themselves to boating very well, anyway!

Alternately, you could just buy new rails (and handles) and start with them, as they're not that expensive.

Personally, I wouldn't replace the teak with stainless. I love the wood rail look and much prefer it over the stainless: more nautical, more traditional. Also, I like the feel of the larger wood rails in my hand over the smaller metal ones. I think the rails ought to be 1" in diameter, minimum, and prefer 1-1/4"- 1-1/2". Another problem would be that the holes required in the cabin top will be quite different.

Hope this doesn't confuse the issue too much!

Good Luck!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Joe,
What two part clear polyurethane did you use? (I don't have teak on my boats any more, but just wondered for reference in the future.

Thanks.
 
thataway":27ma1fnr said:
Joe,
What two part clear polyurethane did you use? (I don't have teak on my boats any more, but just wondered for reference in the future.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Bob-

Sorry to say

1.) I can't remember the brand,

2. ) I don't still have the cans, and

3.) the product might have even changed some in the intervening years.

(STRIKE THREE!!!) :lol:

BATTING AVERAGE TODAY (so far): = .000 !

Getting old(er) is for the birds!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Cetol is a great, long-lasting finish for the exterior teak. I used it on the rail of 2 c-dories, and it lasted well. Took 3 coats to give it the longevity. Duckdogtitus now has my last boat, and that is what I used for the finish. I wish the teak had been in better shape before I used the product, because the teak oil does not make for a long lasting protective finish.
 
A couple of comments about Cetol. I was so impressed with it when I had the Cal 46 in Sequim, that I removed all of the varnish on the teak, and did the whole Cetol thing. You need to have the teak down to bare wood and clean--put on at least 6 coats. Then at least 2 clear gloss coats--and follow up with clear coats on a regular basis. Worked great in the PNW.

Once we got to Mexico--it began to go South..Cetol is more subject to abrasion than varnish. As the Cetol was exposed to the hot sun in the tropics it began to detiorrate. By the time we got to Pensacola, even with touch ups, it was pretty well gone. So, I re-cetoled the teak. During the next couple of years, it detiorrated again--and before I put the boat up for sale, we removed all of the cetol (not all that easy) and went back to varnish.

The cetol just does not do as well when it is exposed to the UV light in Southern climates. Unfortunately. Again, it is important to build enough coats--and keep a good layer of clear on the railings.

Here are the instructions for application and maintenance of Cetol:
http://www.yachtpaint.com/literaturecen ... -guide.pdf

It is possible that newer products may do better in the higher UV areas, but I note that very few boats are using it in Florida.
 
where does one go about getting the SS replacement? and anyone know approx cost of them? I am tiered of upkeep on the teak and need to either redo or swap out. thanks
 
As Joe says, the holes may be different spacing for the SS railings--but you can get a rail maker to make anything you want--just make a template on cardboard for the screw holes.

Another option is to paint the teak, a dark brown. The best way is to prep the teak for varnish, then put several heavy coats of varnish over the teak. Sand lightly with 320, and then apply 2 to 3 coats of brown paint. If anyone wants to restore the teak, the varnish will keep the dark paint from getting into the grain of the teak.
 
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