Wood treatment

F

Fish Mode

New member
Hey all, got another question :lol:

Well, it pertains to wood and I don't know if a lot of your boats have it (in the open I mean not inside the cabin). On my bayliner I have some wood finishes which seem to dry, real dry and the searching around I've found some sources telling me to clean them periodically. Well, I don't want to :lol: and what I'm asking is does anyone here have a solid answer to keep my wood finishes rich and bright and w/o periodic cleans like a sealant or something but I don't know of any which are made for marine use. Thanks again, David

EDIT: I'll post some pics soon, if I could get the chance... :wink:
 
David:

You first need to clean your teak with a teak cleaner product. Then apply a sealer such as Sikkins if you want a more permanent finish. Teak oil products are easier to apply but they will not hold up throughout a full season. I would suggest removing the wood from the boat as it makes cleaning and finishing a lot easier. Also, you reduce the chance of staining the fiberglass. Check out the West Marine on line catalog or any other marine supply catalog for complete product listings.

Best regards,
Rollie/C-Batical
 
I have an older 1987 CD-22 Cruiser with a lot of wood, both inside and outside of the cabin. There are a lot of options, but here's what works for me:

If you have teak outside the cabin, such as the handrails, I would do as suggested earlier and remove all the teak oil and get down to new /bare wood that is free from any contamination of any type. Then coat it with Varathane Polyurethane Clear Diamond High Gloss Finish, thinning the first coat about 10-15% for penetration and applying 4-8 coats thereafter. Sand lightly for adhesion between coats and to remove dust debris from the finish. I redid my rails in 2001 and they still look like new. Varnish is too soft. Epoxy is too easily attacked by ultra violet and other sunlight. Polyurethanes are the most indestructible things I know of at this point.

I also used the same coating on the wood inside the cabin. Brushed a coat or two on the real wood, and on the plastic Decaguard (dull Formica like) plastic surfaced plywood, I coated it lightly twice with the same finish applied lightly with cheesecloth to give it a new like sheen and darken the color. Probably could use a satin finish on these surfaces better than the high gloss.

This polyurethane is clear, doesn't yellow much with age, and is extremely tough, elastic, and impact resistant. Get a small can of it and try it out to see if you like working with it and like the results before launching into a complete re-do of the entire woodwork. Actually, this is good advice for any painting/coating project. You have to learn the idiosyncracies of the paint system before you're standing there with spray gun in hand trying to paint the entire vessel stem to stern. Joe.
 
Back
Top