What varnish do you use on teak?

Skybolt

Well-Known Member
Nov 11, 2014
6,264
Kent Narrows, MD
Boat Info
Reel Nauti
460 EC
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Detroit 6v92TA
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Alison Gears
Westerbeke
12.5kw Genset
So I am pretty old school when it comes to varnishing etc. I pretty much only use Captain's varnish inside and under cover and Sikkens for railings and outside etc.

I am about to re-varnish some inside trim and I can't get Captain's varnish as everywhere is temporally out of stock, but has been for the past six month's. So I ordered Epifines and going to give that a try. There Epoxy is pretty good and easy to work with so why not.

All this got me thinking about changing up from Sikkens satin to something else for the railing teak. What have you guys used with good success and will use again?
 
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I'll qualify that my experience with varnish is singular as all I've ever done is my teak cockpit table. I used totalboat's Gleam varnish and thought it was super easy to work with and the result was outstanding. Again, I have zero experience with other varnishes, but given that it was my first rodeo I found it easy to work with and very forgiving. I did 5 layers and it looks like you could dive into it.
 
For the past 11 years I have used McClosky's Man O War gloss marine varnish. It has the highest UV rating and has never peeled. 11 years ago I stripped the teak and applies 6 coats (sanding between coats) and each year I do a light sanding with 220 and apply 1 fresh coat. It has built up over the years and looks better now than it ever did.
 
Look at Awlwood. It’s like Awlcraft for wood. Very durable and UV resistant, but has a bit of flex so it’s doesn’t crack. I had it on the exterior teak on a boat it was held up extremely well with no maintenance.
 
@stg099 Thanks, I was actually looking that product not too long ago. I re-painted my bilge with their bilge paint and was very happy with the results.

@hottoddie Thanks, I never knew McClosky's had a marine varnish. Have used their interior stuff and liked it a lot.

@b_arrington Brad, thanks for mentioning this! I did not know Awlgrip made a wood product. I am definitely going to try this out. I like their urethane so this is worth a try!
 
@b_arrington Brad, thanks for mentioning this! I did not know Awlgrip made a wood product. I am definitely going to try this out. I like their urethane so this is worth a try![/QUOTE]

Awlwood is a 2 step product. They have a base “primer” in 3 available colors. That goes on the wood first to color and condition it. Then you do the multiple coats of top coat. From what I understand it can go on faster than traditional varnish. It looked great on my teak brow.

Not great pic of it, but it’s what I have. Maybe you can zoom in. The teak was in perfect condition after 2+ years with no maintenance when I sold the boat.
upload_2022-2-8_17-13-39.jpeg
 
... Awlwood is a 2 step product. They have a base “primer” in 3 available colors. That goes on the wood first to color and condition it. Then you do the multiple coats of top coat. From what I understand it can go on faster than traditional varnish. It looked great on my teak brow. ...

I saw that. Curious on the color tinting of the primer, there is clear, yellow and red. But yeah they state 8 top coats, hopefully two a day will work. What I can see, your brow looked nice.

Edit: I see your coming right past the old Tinker Bluff. I use to have a mooring over by the horse farm. You've got a long way getting out of Setauket harbor and out of PJ. Grew up (early years) on Setauket Harbor.
 
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I just removed sikkens from my cockpit rail. I’m going to replace it with Totalboat Gleam Gloss. I did the swim platform inserts at home with the Gleam to see how it was to work with and how it looked, it was easy to work with and looks great. Going to do 5 or 6 coats same as I did on the inserts.

Rick
 
I guess I am old school, but I prefer real varnish on my wood projects. I have used Epifanes clear gloss and both Interlux Schooner high gloss and Interlux Schooner Gold, with excellent results. All are high end products that are not catalyzed.

I have sprayed all 3, even thought the manufactures advise not to….you just have to thin no more than absolutely necessary to get the the varnish to spray instead of spit out of the gun and shoot the varnish at the warmest part of your day and don't get it too thick then stop when when it lays down then gently shut the door on your shop so as to prevent airborne dust settling on what you just sprayed.
 
I guess I am old school, but I prefer real varnish on my wood projects. I have used Epifanes clear gloss and both Interlux Schooner high gloss and Interlux Schooner Gold, with excellent results. All are high end products that are not catalyzed.

I have sprayed all 3, even thought the manufactures advise not to….you just have to thin no more than absolutely necessary to get the the varnish to spray instead of spit out of the gun and shoot the varnish at the warmest part of your day and don't get it too thick then stop when when it lays down then gently shut the door on your shop so as to prevent airborne dust settling on what you just sprayed.
I brushed Epiphanes matte on some cabinets as a winter project 2 years ago. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and that was the most miserably frustrating boat project I’ve ever had. I just couldn’t get the varnish to lay down without some “dry” spots, no matter what thinner ratio I used. Also, dust. Upon reflection, I think the temperature in my garage was too low.
 
I saw that. Curious on the color tinting of the primer, there is clear, yellow and red. But yeah they state 8 top coats, hopefully two a day will work. What I can see, your brow looked nice.

Edit: I see your coming right past the old Tinker Bluff. I use to have a mooring over by the horse farm. You've got a long way getting out of Setauket harbor and out of PJ. Grew up (early years) on Setauket Harbor.
Yep, that pic was taken as we exited Setauket Harbor from our slip. We were on out way to the day mooring we have just off Strongs Neck, east of the horse farm. That farm had a massive barn fire last summer, by the way. Electrical. Burned it to the ground. No horses were harmed though.
 
Yep, that pic was taken as we exited Setauket Harbor from our slip. We were on out way to the day mooring we have just off Strongs Neck, east of the horse farm. That farm had a massive barn fire last summer, by the way. Electrical. Burned it to the ground. No horses were harmed though.

Had a mooring right off of the yellow house by the silo, for over 20 yrs. Glad the horses were ok. Friend of mine has a 34 main ship, light blue hull, over by your mooring, he lives at the top of that cliff right there.
 
+ 1 on the McCloskys Man O War.
 
Had a mooring right off of the yellow house by the silo, for over 20 yrs. Glad the horses were ok. Friend of mine has a 34 main ship, light blue hull, over by your mooring, he lives at the top of that cliff right there.
Is that Craig, with Nauti Girl?
 
Is that Craig, with Nauti Girl?

Ha, no, but I know him as well. He use to be right by me when I had my 34 and briefly with this boat. Joe is the guy I am referring too, he keeps his boat at Stony Brook Yacht Club where I use too. His house is right on top of the bluff by your mooring.
 
I know this is an old thread but I wanted to plug a product mentioned here.

I just completed what turned out to be a massive teak bright work restoration on an older Carver for a friend and used Totalboat Gleam 2.0 satin and really liked it.

I'm a traditionalist myself but broke from those traditions after learning the Gleam is phenolic resin based and had faster dry times.

After stripping, repairing and replacing a few things I applied the Gleam with a badger hair brush and was able to coat the other side of the parts the same say, which saved lots of time over the entirety of the job.

Despite their claim that multiple coats can be applied within a specified time window, the old timer in me wouldn't do that so I waited over night and sanded with 280. Not just scuff sanded, but blocked flat. This filled the grain pretty quickly.

I applied 5 coats this way. No thinning is needed as the product is thinner than you'd expect.

We'll see how it weathers, but it looks spectacular and has a furniture grade surface with no brush marks anywhere.

Noteworthy is the fact that the satin is quite bright. It appears to be about a 60 sheen, which makes it more semi gloss than satin.

Try it, you'll like it.
 
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@Soulshine Thanks for resurrecting as I meant to follow up on this.

I ended up going with Awlgrip's Awlwood. I used the untinted primer first then five coats of the satin finish 24hrs apart roughed with steel wool in between coats. It came out better then I expected and has help up great even with my white Lab (Cody) jumping on it all of the time. I will post some pic's when I can. I will say this stuff is amazing, expensive but amazing.
 
Back when I had a boat that had wood, I used Amazon teak oil (not the shopping company). Never liked look of varnish. Oil is a once a month project but that golden satin look can’t be beat.
 
@Soulshine Thanks for resurrecting as I meant to follow up on this.

I ended up going with Awlgrip's Awlwood. I used the untinted primer first then five coats of the satin finish 24hrs apart roughed with steel wool in between coats. It came out better then I expected and has help up great even with my white Lab (Cody) jumping on it all of the time. I will post some pic's when I can. I will say this stuff is amazing, expensive but amazing.

I'd like to see pics of that as I'd never used that product before.

The use of steel wool concerns me a bit though. The steel particles can rust if left in the nooks and crannies and is treated with oil to prevent rusting in the package. That's why they make bronze wool. :)

I prefer sanding since it yields a flatter surface, making the following coats lay down flatter.

Either way, I'd like to see your results and may look at that product more closely for my next job.
 

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