Varnish vs Teak Oil for exterior caprails

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Lucky Chucky

Lucky Chucky

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2016
Messages
107
Location
USA
Vessel Name
L'Eau Vive
Vessel Make
Bayliner
Captains,

Happy New Year to all...

We've sanded down our caprails and have to decide whether to apply 4 coats of VARNISH (ala the Captain Sipe's prior posting), or go with TEAK OIL (perhaps from the Star Brite line which seems readily accessibly in every marine chandlery).

Our ship will be in the tropics for the next few years. We don't really care weather it's a piano grade mirror finish or flat. Our goal is to reduce the long term maintenance and costs.

Any feedback would be much appreciated...

~Lucky Chucky
m.v. Ho'okipa
S4326
 
Let it go gray. Sand and finish when you return home from the tropics.
 
I used Semco sealer on our teak decks. So far I like it. Very easy to apply..
 
Varnish or polyurethane would be my pick. My exterior teak done in Cetol goes a few years between needing any attention. When it was oiled, it was an every 2 months or so chore to re-oil it. Interior teak (except floors) can stay oiled, as it's pretty low maintenance when it's out of the weather.
 
Are you going to walk on it or is it just a handrail? Mine is low and I walk on it, so it's gone gray as a non slip finish. If it were a hand rail and I didn't walk on it I would probably varnish it. All of my interior teak is oiled, but the oil doesn't hold up well in sun and weather IMO
 
There is nothing like teak oil. It is just boiled linseed oil, tung oil, mineral oil or a mix of the 3 marketed as teak oil to make it fancy and attractive (and more expensive).

L
 
I’ve done a lot of both.

I’ve always mixed my own “teak” oil.
Used a lot of raw linseed oil, some boiled, turpentine and very small amounts of Tea Tree Oil. It’s an anti-mildew additive. Expensive.

For you at this time I’d (looks like your’e in Cal.) use lots of teak oil mixed yourself. Start and apply 7-8 coats of raw LO and turp. Mostly turp. Only 10-15% LO at this time. If you have anti-mildew additive add that. Slop on as much as you can w a brush. Add more oil w each coat up to around 6-7 coats. You can use throw away brushes and pick out the brush “hairs” as you go. You can use the brush until it starts to harden. It’s slightly better to use a better brush but you need to clean w turp after each coat.

When the wood won’t take anymore oil/terp wipe off the excess. Don’t use a paper towel.
It would be good to let it stand for a day or two (hopefully one w sun and some warmth. Now switch to boiled LO (or Tung oil) and apply more LO. Apply and wipe. The last coat or two one can add some Japan Drier (as directed) to the mix.
Hopefully you can stop there and also hopefully be happy w it. I was in Alaska and didn’t use any boiled LO and no Japan Drier. After I was sorta doe w it we could sit on the cap rail but when standing up it would feel slightly like our butt had stuck to the cap-rail. It never did nor was there any oil residue on our pants. So it worked well in very wet SE Alaska. I recoated about every 3-5 weeks.

Now for your California oil job you should have some UV additive/protectant in the oil. With just oil I don’t know how much or even if any UV protectant is needed. I never did use any and don’t think it’s needed. I’m hoping someone will offer up an opinion.

So HaHa I suggest you may use both.
 
Lucky Chucky said:
Captains,

Happy New Year to all...

We've sanded down our caprails and have to decide whether to apply 4 coats of VARNISH (ala the Captain Sipe's prior posting), or go with TEAK OIL (perhaps from the Star Brite line which seems readily accessibly in every marine chandlery).

Our ship will be in the tropics for the next few years. We don't really care weather it's a piano grade mirror finish or flat. Our goal is to reduce the long term maintenance and costs.

Any feedback would be much appreciated...

~Lucky Chucky
m.v. Ho'okipa
S4326
Click to expand...

I have LOTS of exterior teak on my boat and I prefer the look of brightly varnished teak. BUT, In my opinion, if its reduced maintenance that you're looking for AND you're going to be in the tropics, then teak oil is the way to go. You'll need a few coats to start, but its quick and easy to apply. (much faster and easier to apply than varnish) After that, a coat maybe every 4 months should keep it looking good. I'm talking about *standard* teak oil, not Cetol or anything other than ordinary "teak oil". It will have a fairly dull finish and won't (can't) peel.

Ken
 
The downside of letting it go gray/no finish is you will loose the soft grain on the wood. After a few years in the tropics and then trying to sand it smooth to take a finish, it may be impossible without removing some serious wood. Use some Cetol or equivalent and once a year, a light sand, a couple of coats and be done with it. When you get back to the states or get ready to sell the boat, you’ll be glad you did.
 
Thank you ALL for the feedback!!!

We chickened out and went back to what we know...Interlux Schooner 96.

I know we should have probable used Awlgrip - Alwood or Epifanes, but we had the Interlux in stock and on board.

Thank you!!!

~Lucky Chucky
 
I let the rail cap on my N46 go gray. I was teak-shamed by those who lived ashore. LOL Had it professionally refinished.
 
Lucky Chucky,
Schooner 96 is a very good product.
Something about varnish is that they seem the same but aren’t. There’s “high oil” varnish that is softer and more flexible. I prefer that as it is far less prone to crack at the joints and let water in that works it’s way under the varnish, turns black and goes south from there. BUT the harder varnish is much less prone to “scratch” or crack. So you’d want to varnish steps w the harder varnish and high oil varnish on cap rails. I’ve used a soft varnish for everything and been un-inclined to use anything else. all the big manufacturers offer a top quality product. But there’s nothing super special about any one brand. IMO
 
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Larry M said:
The downside of letting it go gray/no finish is you will loose the soft grain on the wood. After a few years in the tropics and then trying to sand it smooth to take a finish, it may be impossible without removing some serious wood. Use some Cetol or equivalent and once a year, a light sand, a couple of coats and be done with it. When you get back to the states or get ready to sell the boat, you’ll be glad you did.
Click to expand...
My boat had deep grooved teak cappings fwd from being left with no finish. I sanded to an extent but not fully smooth in exposed areas, it would have removed too much wood. Instead of varnish or Cetol needing taking back after failure, I went with Deks Olje#1(oil) and#2( gloss,polyurethane I think), which degrades away leaving the oil saturated wood, easily re-oiled#1, and refinished with #2. In 10 years I`ve not had to go back to bare wood, which was my pet peeve. Will never look as good as a varnish but it`s good enough,and the wood is not getting grooved or sanded away.
 
Larry M said:
The downside of letting it go gray/no finish is you will loose the soft grain on the wood. After a few years in the tropics and then trying to sand it smooth to take a finish, it may be impossible without removing some serious wood. Use some Cetol or equivalent and once a year, a light sand, a couple of coats and be done with it. When you get back to the states or get ready to sell the boat, you’ll be glad you did.
Click to expand...

Agree with you inletting it go grey. I used Cetol for years but last few years have been mixing my own oils still not perfect but like the UV protection I can add to it
 
siestakey said:
Agree with you inletting it go grey. I used Cetol for years but last few years have been mixing my own oils still not perfect but like the UV protection I can add to it
Click to expand...
What UV protection do you get from oil?

L
 
Lou_tribal said:
What UV protection do you get from oil?

L
Click to expand...

I have been experimenting with Saicos adding to my blends amazing product but to to say I have it perfected would be stretch prior to that I tried adding in Treatex with my old blend
 
For the tropics you should varnish teak not for looks but until the grain is filled. Then coat with white paint. The paint will handle the harsh sunny conditions better than anything else. When you want to refinish back to bright, the teak will be protected from the paint by the varnish. It will be easy to remove and start the varnish regimen from there.
 
alormaria said:
For the tropics you should varnish teak not for looks but until the grain is filled. Then coat with white paint. The paint will handle the harsh sunny conditions better than anything else. When you want to refinish back to bright, the teak will be protected from the paint by the varnish. It will be easy to remove and start the varnish regimen from there.
Click to expand...

Yikes!!!!!!!!
 
Lucky Chucky said:
Thank you ALL for the feedback!!!

We chickened out and went back to what we know...Interlux Schooner 96.

I know we should have probable used Awlgrip - Alwood or Epifanes, but we had the Interlux in stock and on board.

Thank you!!!

~Lucky Chucky
Click to expand...

Hey you two!

We just had our cap rails done again while here in La Paz.

The cap rails base is Epifane and that lasted 4 years up in the PNW and over 50% of the time they were covered. Earlier this year we had a guy up in Portland repair the chips and then put 5 coats of Poly on. It looked great until about a month ago. The Poly was blushing and we started to notice small “spider” cracks. The poly struggled with the UV down here and we didn’t use the covers since it was done. Did a bit of research and the Poly we used had almost no UV protection.
The crew here in LA Paz, sanded it real good, started with 180 grit, then 220, finished with 300, probably lost 2-3 coats of the poly in the process.
4 coats of Epifanes and 2 final coats of High Gloss with UV protection, also Epifanes. Looks awesome and let it cure for 7 days, and am using the covers again.
Pretty sure that if we scuff and put one or two coats every year or so it will stay nice, just gotta remember to use the covers more often.
Anyway, we will be heading over to Mazatlan in a week or so and hope to hook up again. Save some Taco’s for us.
Cheers
 
One website I visited a couple years ago had a suggestion for applying oil to exterior teak. Think it went something like this:

Once a day for a week
Once a week for a month
Once a month for a year
Then whenever it needs it.
 
alormaria said:
For the tropics you should varnish teak not for looks but until the grain is filled. Then coat with white paint. The paint will handle the harsh sunny conditions better than anything else. When you want to refinish back to bright, the teak will be protected from the paint by the varnish. It will be easy to remove and start the varnish regimen from there.
Click to expand...

This is solid advice for a boat in the tropics. The good news is if you choose to varnish (which it sounds like you have), then you can always top with paint if you find the varnish is not holding up like you want. When you are ready to restore to varnish, hit it with a heat gun to loosen the varnish and paint and scrape back to wood, then revarnish.

I think in sunny environments, the only viable choices for exposed wood is leave bare or varnish. Oil looks good until it doesn't - and that point is usually hit long before I want.
 
MurrayM said:
One website I visited a couple years ago had a suggestion for applying oil to exterior teak. Think it went something like this:

Once a day for a week
Once a week for a month
Once a month for a year
Then whenever it needs it.
Click to expand...

That’s about right.
 
Larry M said:
The downside of letting it go gray/no finish is you will loose the soft grain on the wood. After a few years in the tropics and then trying to sand it smooth to take a finish, it may be impossible without removing some serious wood. Use some Cetol or equivalent and once a year, a light sand, a couple of coats and be done with it. When you get back to the states or get ready to sell the boat, you’ll be glad you did.
Click to expand...



Another fan of Cetol here. I’ve been using Sikkens with good results in the Mexican sun - never covered. In fact today I’m putting on another coat after 15 months. It was showing some fading but still doing its job. Light sand, apply a coat, pretty easy....
 
I have the same task ahead of me..... and soon. I have no idea the last time the hand rails and cap rails were done. The cap rails around the cockpit are almost bare wood now, with some peeling varnish (I assume it is varnish) peeling off. The rest of the boat was (WAS, not now) more protected from weather. We are cruising full time on it now and will be in FL, the Bahamas, then up the east coast over the next year, and back to FL in the winter. I really need to get something on them to make it look better, and I guess to protect them.

My question: Do I need to sand them down to bare wood before starting with varnish, or Cetol, or can I just lightly sand and clean them well and then start coating them with something?
 
I'll stir up the pot with a vote for a two part. Bristal finish is one, honey teak is another. I prefer honey teak. Easy to apply as temperature and humidity are not critical, unlike most other finishes. You can apply coats twenty minutes apart and get 4 to 8 coats in a single day. Try that with any other finish. Also try and get 3 to 4 weekends of rain free and 50 to 80 degree weather that are required for various other finishes. The durability is great, my 4 year old handrails are still like new. When it is time to refinish, scotch bright is all the sanding needed. Whats not to like?
 
I'm having my Willard 36 completely repainted in Ensenada MX (thumbs up to Niza Marine - good guys). Plan is to cruise the tropics on way to Florida, her new home. Caprails have been encapsulated in fiberglass and will be painted out(AlexSeal) a contrasting color. Pic below is from a few weeks ago after gassing but before hi-build primer - she will be sprayed in a few more weeks.

Cost was reasonable - encapsulating the caprails was around $1700 as I recall, albeit Mexican labor rates. IMG_20190822_164149.jpeg
 
I use a product called Honey Teak but I do not use the color portion just the clear coat. It it a 2 part product and it seems to last longer then varnish. I have also found that if you have an area that gets scuffed up or peals, it very easy to blend.
 
Our mahogany caprail was varnished when we bought the boat, but the idea of maintaining that look was very unattractive, so we scraped and sanded it all off and put on 2-3 coats of Simco (Semco?). Looked good, until Hurricane Irma knocked about 6' of the caprial loose, and at that point, we simply removed it all! Attached the stainless handrail to the steel that the caprail had been glued and screwed to, and now, you'd never know it didn't come that way. And NO maintenance! (It's a steel boat - not sure what you'd find under the caprail on a fiberglass boat if you removed it.)
 
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