Brightwork Maintenance

[CLOVERMILL]

NEED HELP WITH MY BRIGHTWORK. My grab bars, dorade boxes and trim are teak and have been done in the past with Epiphanes. What is best way to maintain and freshen these up? How do you deal with spots where the varnish has chipped off and has exposed the grey teak, while the rest is a rich dark color? I also have noticed that some sections have turned a yellowish color, almost like a staining which I have also seen on other boats. Looking for good advice and techniques. Thanks, Dennis.

[Freesail99]

Sanding and more sanding is what I do, then re apply the varnish.

[SchoonerMISTRESS]

When ever anyone asks Skip what he uses on his teak to make it look so good, it is always the same reply. A scrub brush. While there is plenty on MISTRESS that has varnish, all our teak is natural. About twice a month I take out a scrub brush, add a little bleach to some water, and use elbow grease to clean them up. When done, they are a beautiful color and all of the grey is gone. When they get wet, they turn a pretty golden color.

With reference to varnish itself. Skip has always used epiphanes until just before the launch when he was running out of time. He opted to try Bristol finish which is suppose to last two years here in the Florida sun. It is now one year 4 months old and looks as good as the day it was laid. Nice thing about Bristol was he was able to lay 5 coats down the first day, give a quick scuff the second day, and then apply one more coat. Big time savings over epiphanes.
Kathleen
aboard
Schooner MISTRESS

[Boasun]

Bright work?? what brightwork... Due to the judicious use of a paint brush, I don't worry about any brightwork...

Mainly because I haven't bought my next boat yet either.

[RichH]

I dont worry about brightwork either.
I have a teak farm and covered it with "Honey Teak" 6 years ago and probably have another 6 years before I have to 'redo' it. Just a quick scuff with a scotchbright pad followed by two quick coats of 'clear' every two years ... and a quick light power-buff in the intervening years. Needs to be applied 'thick' (wet on wet on wet) initially. www.signaturefinish.com

[leecarlson]

Hello Dennis, just found this thread while I was searching for something else, so sorry about the late reply; hope it still helps. Definitely the only right way to do it is strip, sand and bleach. Lots of good books, website advice on the subject that will tell you what grit sandpaper, etc.

The one thing I wanted to emphasize is, if you leave the teak natural, DON'T scrub the natural teak with a regular scrub brush. Hard bristles will remove the soft cellulose fibers over time, leaving you with teak that has ridges/valleys and must be deeply sanded and eventually replaced. Even the soft bristle brushes used by professional crew on boats with teak decks will cause wear if used too hard and too often. That's why in the olden days they used to "holystone" the decks.

In the long run, some sort of coating is always best to protect the wood. If you leave it natural, it will eventually rot and need to be replaced. Maybe 10 years, maybe 20, maybe 30, but eventually it will happen.

I'm about to redo all exterior teak on my boat with Bristol Finish. A formidable task on a 62-foot boat, but from all the people I know that have done it, well worth the effort, in looks, ease of application and longevity. I just don't like the looks of any of the new one-step teak stains such as Cetol or Honey Teak. Looks cheap, IMHO.

[teshannon]

Do you need to completely sand the old finish off before reapplying Cetol or can you freshen it up with light sanding and then a few more coats?

[CharlieCobra]

If it's cracking, checking or peeling it all needs to come off because the foundation is toast.

[teshannon]

CC,
Thanks. No mine is just a little worn and scratched in spots, otherwise tigh and in good condition. I was hoping I could just dress it up without having to strip it all off.

[TrueBlue]

te,
Normally, one seasonal recoating is all that Cetol requires, after only a light scuffing with a Scotch Brite pad. In the past, some areas of my Cetol finish have gotten a bit worn, sometimes down to bare wood. This is the nature of Cetol, being somewhat soft.

All the worn areas require is to lightly sand just the exposed wood and feather the edges of surrounding Cetol. Then apply a couple coats of fresh Cetol - while blending in the new to the old finish level. This is not difficult and doesn't take long. I even use a disposable foam applicator, so there's no clean-up involved.

Last season, I applied a couple coats of Cetol Clear gloss and have found the finish to be much harder, requiring fewer touch-ups. Subsequent annual maintenance coats are Clear, but keep some Light (Marine or Natural if that's what you've used) for future bare wood or scratched area touch-ups.