Applying Cetol

[jackytdunaway]

I am at the coast enjoying a week off but before i left home i took the ladder steps off the boat so i could sand them down and put Cetol on them. i am going to do 3 coats of natural and 3 coats of gloss. The instructions say to wait 24 hours between coats. is this really necessary? I was hoping to get 2coats on a day but can't if i have to wait 24 hours
Also when i took them off the ladder rungs there was an adhesive applied to help keep them from shifting. i sanded all that off and i am putting the Cetol on all surfaces. Should i put the gloss on the bottom where the adhesive will go. Also what type of adhesive should i use? Thanks in advance for all the sage advise i am sure to receive

[svHyLyte]

Unless you want a really dark finish, you don't need 3 color coats. We found a single coat of Natural Teak did nicely, although you can judge that once you've got the first coat applied. As for the gloss, each coat needs to cure somewhat before the next is applied. Once it is pretty well "skinned" over and not "tacky", you can apply another coat with no sanding. If you do wait 24 hours, you will need to scuff the surface lightly. I found that a Scotch Pad worked well although 320 grit sand-paper will also work. As a wearing surface you'll need 3 coats minimum and preferrably more as sand and dirt on peoples feet and footwear will be taking the finish off. Once the surface is fully cured and hard, say 7-10 days, your adheasive non-skid patches can be applied directly to the finish withour difficulty. There are clear non-skid patches available now that some friends of ours used to good effect. We used off-white patches as I prefer that the treads be more visable in the dark.

The foregoing is our experience. Others may have different suggestions. In any case, good luck,

s/v HyLyte

[gimmellsdad]

Not sure about Cetol specifically, but found when varnishing to wait the time for it to cure then lightly sand the surface to help the adhesion of the next coat.

The instructions on the varnish we used said to dilute less and less on each subsequent coat until almost straight varnish on the last one. It also recommended to wet sand before the last couple of coats.

svHyLyte is correct.....everyone has different suggestions.

Good Luck

[lbdavis]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

As a wearing surface you'll need 3 coats minimum and preferrably more as sand and dirt on peoples feet and footwear will be taking the finish off.

s/v HyLyte

Here, here! (Sorry, watching HBO's John Adams) You'll need as many coats as you have patience and time for.