Why didn't anyone tell me?

BlewByYou88

BlewByYou88

Member
Jul 24, 2010
963
Arizona
Boat Info
268 Sea Ray Sundancer 1988
Engines
2X 4.3L 4bbl Mercs w/ Alphas
I didn't realize just how bad my pulpit was...well, all of my teak for that matter was looking. I had postesd some pics on another thread about the windlass, and I was noticing everyone had a way nicer looking pulpit than mine. I had put fresh teak oil on everything when I first got the boat back...but now....I'm thinkin its ugly!


You can see my before and after pics....I used the star-brite teak cleaner, brightener, and oil kit...Needless to say, I'm still not happy with it.



IMG_1872.jpg


IMG_1920.jpg

The after shot was the result of about 4 hours...say that again, 4 hours on just the pulpit. I scrubbed with the teak cleaner and a hard bristle brush, went thrpough the whole bottle of teak cleaner with little result. Then I sanded for what seemed like forever. It appears someone shellaced it or put some sort of varnish on it and it had gone to crap. As much as I lik the look of a nice shiney coat of shellac, I can live with the bare, natural teak look just fine wit regular recoating of teak oil. I'm extremely dissatisfied with the star-brite system:smt013, is there any you guys reccomend? I still want to redo the pulpit to get it where I want it, but I notice that all of my exterior teak is looking like crap. I neeed some wisdom here guys, I know there are some threads on here with some good info, but not finding them...Links would be greatly appreciated!
 
I too used the Starbrite system. I got ok results. Curious to see what other products folks post too.
 
I sanded (120 then 220) and cleaned....I used a orbital sander for quite sometime....I prefer not taking off wood though, if I dont have to.

I reading alot about this Cetol...But I want pics, I want to see what this stuff looks like. It would seem as though Cetol is the forum favorite, but little to back it up.

If It lasts three years, what dos it look like when it starts to deteriorate? What has to be done to restore it? I don't want to have to keep sanding and reapplying which is what I like about oil, its just a matter of reapplying a few times a year without sanding.

I'm going to keep reading through threads, and see if I find anything, but I'm hoping for some good insight to pop up.
 
BlewByYou88 said:
I sanded (120 then 220) and cleaned....I used a orbital sander for quite sometime....I prefer not taking off wood though, if I dont have to.

I reading alot about this Cetol...But I want pics, I want to see what this stuff looks like. It would seem as though Cetol is the forum favorite, but little to back it up.

If It lasts three years, what dos it look like when it starts to deteriorate? What has to be done to restore it? I don't want to have to keep sanding and reapplying which is what I like about oil, its just a matter of reapplying a few times a year without sanding.

I'm going to keep reading through threads, and see if I find anything, but I'm hoping for some good insight to pop up.
Click to expand...

Before I applied Cetol for the first time I sanded with 80 then 120 with a small palm sander. I wanted some of the grain to show/ feel through the finish. My boat is launched on Friday and weather permitting I'll give it my once a year refresh and take some pics.

edit: I am told it can last a long time if cared for. The plan is to give a light sanding once each year with a single coat. You don't need to strip and reapply. I don't know what would happen if you went 3 full years without any maintenance. I only applied cetol to my pulpit and bow rails. This year I will be reapplying to those as well as applying to my gunwalls and the teak railing on the top of the transom after sanding. I did not use any of the "cleaners" before I applied. I sanded and then applied 3 light coats with a scuff/ light sanding between coats. Cetol comes in a variety of different tints. I need to look up what I used. My boat is in a covered slip all summer long but my pulpit sees sun for most of the day. At the end of last summer it looked as good as it did when I first applied it.
 
Last edited:
Big Island Lifer said:
Before I applied Cetol for the first time I sanded with 80 then 120 with a small palm sander. I wanted some of the grain to show/ feel through the finish. My boat is launched on Friday and weather permitting I'll give it my once a year refresh and take some pics.
Click to expand...

The pics would be appreciated....WHat is it that makes this stuff so great?
 
I use cetol natural color, Looks nice and seems to take the sun well, as mine is uncovered all season. However on my pulpit, I just teak oil it. I clean it with Westleys bleach white, it cleans awesome. I usually do it two times a year.
 
I use rustoleum spar varnish.same care as cetol,light sand and one coat every year or two.I used the starbrite also first the cleaner then the brightener .A guy at work says just use bleach and a scrub brush and rinse well same results .Mabey next time i have some striped teak i will try that.
 
I haven't mastered putting pics in posts so I added two to my album showing my bow pulpit when I got the boat with some kind of bad varnish job on it and another after I sanded and applied regular Cetol to it. Look at the pics and you be the judge of which is better. Let me know.
 
Try using a soft brush or mild 3M pad and bleach right out of the bottle. No damage to the teak from a stiff brush and the teak will look great for 2-3 weeks. Repeat. Takes about 5 minutes.
 
One thing I noticed in your original post was you said you used the cleaner and then sanded off the varnish.

Should have done it the opposite way cause the cleaner wont go through the varnish.

And i too reccomend the cetol natural. I used it last year and i dont have to touch my teak at all this season.
 
BTW, your pulpit looked like crap. Well, you said to tell you!
 
HUMPH said:
BTW, your pulpit looked like crap. Well, you said to tell you!
Click to expand...

Awww, WHy thankyou so much, toook ya long enough.

I spent a whole day wednesday/Thursday sanding everything on the exterior, and cleaned the teak. Applied my first coat of Cetol Natural yester moorning, and did my second this morning....Its looking more....Orange? Than I would have though, but I will let it dry and give it the benfit of the doubt before I pass judgement.

I will post pics when all is finished, I wish I had taken picutres of the wood while I had it stripped, but I got too excited about how good the wood looked after I had it all cleaned up, and wanted to see what the Cetol was going to do to it.
 
I finished sanding and applying my first coat of cetol last night. I was taking pics to show you the progress. I got held up by bad weather (who hasn't) so I haven't been able to get to it until now. It will get darker as you apply more coats. At least 3 is recommended.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I am in the process of doing Cetol Natural, and Gloss. Not a Sea Ray, but I am getting there.

It can be a bit orange for some peoples taste, but I think it looks good, and the lack of having to tend to it every few months seemed like a huge benefit.

IMG_3721.jpg

IMG_3720.jpg
IMG_3732.jpg
 
25th mustang...Are you sure that is Teak? or are you sure you are usuing Cetol natual...becaue my wood looks nothing like that!
 
The pulpit comparison:

I'm on my second coat, this is about 4 hours after drying, and I scuffed the first coat before applying the second coat...Which one looks the best?

Original:

IMG_1872.jpg

Starbrite:

IMG_1920.jpg

Cetol
IMG_2156.jpg


Heres what the rest of the trim is looking like so far:


IMG_2151.jpg
IMG_2155.jpg
IMG_2153.jpg
IMG_2152.jpg
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