Teak Refinishing

Hello,

We are starting to refinish our teak for the second time. This time we hope to get a better finish and more longevity.

We are planning to use Cetol Marine Light and Cetol Marine Gloss.

We have sanded and used an oxillic(?) acid solution on the Bow Sprit area and about fifteen feet of the Port cap rail.

We have two questions:

1) How long can one wait with the teak sanded before applying the Cetol Marine Light? We would like to be able to have sanded the entire boat (eye brows, hand rails, coaming tops, and hatchway) before moving onto the next step of Cetol application, but all the sanding may take us quite some time. We realize another solution is to do sections at a time, but we would prefer the first approach of completing sanding and then applying the two Cetol products.

2) As the summer heat will no doubt get hotter by the time we are indeed ready to apply the Cetol products we have heard that one could dilute the Cetol Marine Glos so that it applies easier in hot weather and flows better. We know that the directions on the Cetol can does not recommend diluting, but some have done it with success. Our question is how much can Cetol Marine Gloss be diluted with no ill affects?


Happy Sailing,

Gerry & Larry Rossi
s/v Galileo IP 37-44

Hayden,

Well we are finally finished with the deck teak of Galileo. Sort of followed your recommendation of splitting up the work into sections, but since there were two of us working together we were able to cover bigger sections.

The wringle in all this was the weather this past summer, between rain, hot, and sunny, trying to pick the right days when conditions were permisable to apply the Cetol Light and Cetol Gloss. The sanding and bleaching part went relatively easy because we let the finish that we put on three years ago wear off during our trip to Florida over this past 08 Fall and 09 Spring. Since we had spent five months on the boat we were willing to forego sailing this summer to refinish the teak. We will put up for the winter early this year in a couple of weeks and finish the bottom of the cap rail and the rub rail.

Attached is a photo of our nearly finished product.


Gerry & Larry Rossi
s/v Galileo IP 37-44

Gerry & Larry:

We always break the teak project into 4 - 5 parts and find that that really does make the project easier. Also found that by using a Scandvik scraper and not a sander that the project was a whole lot easier and less effort. When we had our boat in the Bay we used to try sanding and found that the prep work took way to long. When we switched to the scraper (thanks Hayden) we found that we could do a better job with a lot less effort and abuse to the teak.

We do cockpit coamings one side at a time, eyebrow one side at a time, cap rail is then done in quarters - dividing line is the break at the boarding gates on each side etc. We always do fore first as we are anchored in the trades and do not want the scrapings back on teak we are sealing.

Bobby

Hello Bobby & Hayden,

Had to get back to boat to retrieve scrappers we too use in refinishing our teak so it took awhile to be able to respond.

These are made by Spectrum Razor Tools and can be obtained from

Preservation Resource Group, Inc.
80 South Early Street
Alexandria, VA 22304
1-800-774-7891

although when I called them, they were located in Rockville, MD.

Check them out on: www.prginc.com/Clean&Rmv/scrapers.html

Enclosed is a picture of ours. String is for wrist attachment while working aboard so they don't get lost overboard.

They were relatively inexpensive and are very light weight.

Keep a #10 machinists file handy to resharpen as you work to keep a really fine edge on them.

We used these 3 years ago to remove ten (10) years of finish applied by previous owner. As we did not have very many layers of finish this time to remove and some gray teak we went with the Black & Decker Sander mentioned above as our primary means this time. We still made use of the scrappers since they come in various sizes that can reach anywhere.

Hope your Fall season is going well for each of you. We placed Galileo on the hard this past Wednesday in order to get to the rest of the teak (lower cap rail edge and rub rail) before we shrinkwrap her for the Winter.


Gerry & Larry Rossi
s/v Galileo

Gerry & Larry:

We still use the Scanvik scraper for all of the teak and have not used an electric sander since back in 2000. We've found the scaper a whole lot easier to use and a whole lot less mess (dust).

Teak is a four letter word but it sure looks nice when it's maintained.

We were up in Rock Hall area the week before the boat show and are now winterizing our Florida home for our planned return to Grenada on 6 Nov.

Hope you have a great winter.

Bobby

Off topic, but just out of curiosity, have you shipped your barrels down to Grenada yet? Thought that was a great idea. Will be interesting to see how it worked out. Keep us posted. Wonder if it works to other areas?

Yes, shipped the barrels from West Palm Beach, FL using Tropical shipping. Process was very easy and inexpensive. Cost was approximately $240 for two full 75 gal barrels and a 130watt solar panel. Think the total weight was just shy of 600lbs.

Tropical has all of the forms on line and their customer service folks are great. There is regularly scheduled service to all of the Islands as far as I know. You would need someone on the receiving end to broker the shipment through customs and store it for you.

The shipment took 7 days and another 5 working days before the shipment was cleared and in storage at Le Phare Bleu Marina. We used Island Dreams Yacht services who are co located at LPB Marina so all we have to do when we return to Grenada is paint the bottom, launch the boat, sail to the marina - about 7 miles and then we will be in the marina for a week as we unpack the barrels and do our refit.

I just picked up 200 ft of new anchor chain and will be shipping that along with some new rigging next year.

Bobby

Hayden:

Before I went with the carbide bladed Scanvik (Bahco) scraper I tried several different types of scrapers with marginal success. These could be used for small areas but did not hold up well to an entire caprail project. I've had no luck sharpening the carbide blades but did find a more reasonable source for the blades - of all places www.thecollegetoolbox.com/bahco.html

Bobby

Bobby & Hayden,

I have had these blades and handles now since 2006. Yesterday while doing the bottom edge of the starboard cap rail and the starboard rub rail I sharpened them three (3) times over a six (6) hour period. The correct term for the file used is "bastard" file which I believe is a number ten (10). Get the larger size with a screw on handle since it is easier to use when filing blade while blade is still attached to handle. The blades are steel, but they really retain their sharp edge.

Yesterday while prepping these teak areas I had to rely on them more so than the Blacke and Decker Sander. Our Cetol finish on these pieces seemed to be more firmly attached for some reason. Interesting

Anyway, I still have the original blades that were procured in 2006 and they hardly look used. The handles were $9.95 each then, and the blades were $6.95 each. The file came from Sears.

Bobby and Hayden,

Used them again today with great success. The handles are ergonomically shaped so you can easily position your other hand to apply pressure with your thumb or palm where needed. These have held up great for us without blade replacement. The couple that introduced us to these use theirs on their Tayana 37 all the time and haven't had to replace blades either over a eight year period. The initial purchase price of $9.95 includes one (1) blade. The other blades are for different areas/shapes.

Anyway, port side bottom cap rail and rub rail plus stern bottom cap rail to go, and I'll be done. Got a coat of Cetol Marine light on Strbd side stuff today. Looks good.


Larry

The scraper company says they no longer make these. Any suggestions for substitutes?

Not sure about your comment but the Bahco 650 scraper and replacement blades are still widely available.

Here is a link to a few sources.

tinyurl.com/ye8hs25

Bobby

Gents,
I called PRG to order scrapers and blades and was told that they are no longer being manufactured. All of their leftover stocks were bought by one individual (there were only a few odd sizes remaining). Anyone know of an alternate product or manufacturer? Mike

Mike:

I don't know who PRG is but either Jamestown Dist as Hayden mentioned - also check out Collegetoolbox.com.

Look for the BAHCO Scraper they are widely available. I use the 2"

Bobby
St Davids, Grenada

Hello,

I called PRG (Professional Refinishing Group) to satisfy my curiosity that in fact the Pro series scrapers were no longer available. Yes indeed that is what they said. They are heartbroken.

I then looked at Bobby's recommendation about the Bayco(?) ones and they look pretty good. Looks like they have different configurations for hard to get to areas. Pricewise they are about the same.

Called PRG back and mentioned these to them and they indicated that they would inquire about them for their use.


Larry

I use the Bahco 650.

www.thecollegetoolbox.com/basacaedposc.html

Bahco also makes a heavy model with a handle that you can use to press down.

www.thecollegetoolbox.com/basahedusc.html

I've tried other scrapers and they are just not the same - the blades on these things are superb.

Bobby

St Davids, Grenada