Teak Sole Finish product?

[cousineddy]

Hi, I am putting in a new teak sole. I am replacing the veneer/plywood sole with real teak boads separated by a thin strip of something. It may be holly, but probably pine. I was thinking that I would use natural cetol, followed by gloss cetol. I know this will look really good but will this hold up? Is it possible to use polyurethane Gym seal instead? I know this holds up. Just dont know if it works on teak.

Oh, and what is the best glue to use for the teak board? They will be bonded to the marine plywood floor board.

Thanks!

[safira]

just a suggestion but the putty tape works great

[mitiempo]

If you are permanently attaching the teak I would use epoxy - both under and between the planks. Thickened a bit and put on with a serrated trowel. Acetone wipe first before the epoxy works well.

For the lighter wood pine is pretty soft - maple or ash would be better choices.

The Gym seal should work - again after removing dust acetone wipe to degrease the teak.

[kb3pwc]

IMO Cetol is a wonderful product but not hard enough to use under foot. I use it in about 6-7 coats (gloss clear) on our outside teak and it is a thing of beauty but wears away and is only in need of a scrubby pad before next coat. Heavy traffic would give it too much wear.

Leslie

s/v Tango, Cabo Rico 34
On the Hard
Lankford Bay Marina
Chester River, MD

[JimsCAL]

I agree that epoxy is what to use to bond the wood.

As to finish, either spar varnish or polyurethane floor finish would work. The poly would be more durable and should be fine inside.

[poopdeckpappy]

I recently refinished two soles, one was done with cetol, it looks great but in my opinion is too soft for that app and is very slick under wet feet. The other one was done with warmed tung oil, it also came out beautiful, brought out all the colors of the wood and is not slick ( personal perference )

T88 is a great/easy to use 1:1 two part adhesive that resists chemicals and rot

Pine maybe to soft and tends to invite mold and rot

[allene222]

I redid my cabin sole with some teak and holly ply in 2001 and had to decide how to finish it. My goal was to have a surface that I would not slip on when it was wet, would hold up to the elements, and be low maintenance. I think that is what teak and holly are all about. Holly is white and doesn't turn black when it gets wet. Pine and most other white woods turn black when they get wet. That is why they use holly.

I have no varnish on mine and it does not slip when it gets wet. I use some teak oil every few years. It looks fine but not like it would if it was varnished but then it would not meet my goals. I personally don't understand why people take a wood that needs virtually no maintenance, has all these great properties and varnish it. Especially since having varnish stick to it is not one of its great properties.

[mitiempo]

Going back a few decades it was teak, usually without the holly, and just scrubbed occasionally.

I like solid teak (or cherry) varnished with strips of non skid created with ground walnut shells under the varnish like below. Not mu boat by the way - the pic is from Dashew Offshore.