Cetol

[jccrane]

I would love to hear anyone''s opinions on Cetol as a teak finsh, specifically it''s durability, appearance and ease of application. Currently varnish, would like something that last longer yet looks good.

[chopsy]

We would never use any nasty Cetol on Gypsy. We ONLY go with varnish. I have varnished miles of teak and I would never do it any other way. Now....that being said, I saw a boat the other day and was admiring their fine varnish job. I remarked that i liked the rich color of their varnish and the owner told me it was Cetol. Don''t know about the durability of the stuff, but it looked darn good! Not on my boat, but on his it was swell.

Paul G.

[williamjchampion]

I''ve used Cetol Light - not quite as much of the amber color - for about 10 years on my teak. Very easy to apply. Do at least 3 coats. More is better. Where it wears (handrails, etc.), get on it fast with add''l coats before the wood starts to weather. Make sure the initial surface is clean. I''ve found it to be pretty durable.

[fer@fer]

You might find useful this report

http://www.flanaturecoast.com/gofc/cetol.html

I did not contact this guy to ask him. I just followed the same process, and applied satin natural cetol to my deck two months ago.
So far, everybody who passes by my boat, ask about the deck. Previously I used International teak oil.

Regards

Fernando

[mikehoyt]

I too have used Cetol light. I had it on for two seasons without any problems. To me that is nice. Is easy to work with.

Mike

[NickFinneran]

There is much ado about Cetol requiring less maintenance than a traditional varnish. This is only partially true. A Cetol finish (assuming three coats), will last a couple of years. The benefit is that you can spot-varnish the sections that wear out, and it blends in nicely. But, you will still need to strip it down every 2-4 years. When the coats build up, the finish looks cloudy. It ain''t the miracle product that they claim it to be.

Good luck.

Nick Finneran

www.NickFinneran.com