Epoxy coating for teak

[oceandreams89]

One more question....experiences and advice requested....

I have heard of some people refinishing teak by applying a thinned epoxy resin to the teak, and varnishing or Sikkens on top of the epoxy. The thought being that the epoxy will seal the wood from moisture, and give great wear resistance. I'm thinking of doing this to the swim ladder, and caprail, mostly for sealing and wear from foot traffic from boarding over the transom.

Any experiences, or ideas on this?

Thanks

Todd

 

[davisr]

Todd,

I'm thinking of doing something similar to the teak on my boat. The West System User Manual, which is available free at West Marine. The manual indicates on p. 13 that a variety of finishes can be applied on top of the epoxy. One of these is varnish. I've also been reading a book on building what are called "stripper kayaks." I friend of mine loaned me the book because it describes this very process in greater detail than the West System manual. I have another friend with a 30 foot wooden sailboat who just refinished his wooden spars - epoxy with multiple coats of varnish on top. Incredibly beautiful.

Best,
Roscoe

 

[Martin King]

Here's my take on this. Unless you are completely sealing the wood on
all sides i.e. encapsulation, you are wasting your time and money. Of
particular note are fasteners that if not properly sealed, will allow water in the
form of vapor to penetrate the wood and after enough heating/cooling
cycles will have the film turning cloudy and eventually lifting off the wood
in short order. DAMHIKT. As great as the new coatings are like urethane
and epoxy, I still have to side with the traditionalists who prefer an oil
based varnish finish on their exterior brightwork.

 

[Mort Fligelman]

Epoxy coating on Teak

Roscoe and Todd:

Many years ago I, along with several guys got the epoxy on mahogany trim bug....problem....no UV Protection.....

Then came the same Idea for Teak......OK...varnish or Cetol over the epoxy...NOW....the oil in teak rises forever....NOTE.....no bedding compound guarantees a hold on teak.....

Listen to Martin.....or just keep it clean and oiled.....

Gloom and doom .......finishing teak for the long haul is just not a viable situation.

FWIW

 

[rwthomas1]

I'm in the process of working on the little bit of brightwork on my E38, in between other "projects". The one thing I really hate doing is sanding, specifically sanding epoxy. Its hard, it clogs the paper, and generally sucks. My solution is Cetol Light. Yes, its not nearly as nice looking as a traditional varnish job but it is easy to work with, recoat with no sanding, etc. The brightwork on the boat was in very nice shape when I purchased her 5 years ago but now needs to be redone. It was Cetol. I can live with a 4-5 year cycle and it sands easy so I'm not killing myself. RT

 

[oceandreams89]

Well, sounds like good advice. I was thinking of trying something new, and have considered trying the epoxy thing many years ago, but I'm always too chicken to change from what works. Many times I have found when I deviate from the usual methods, things go badly. I think I'll stick with the Sikkens Natural Teak that I have used for several years. I have used the gloss top coating before in an attempt to get more life out of the Sikkens, but it always cracks and lets moisture below where it gets trapped, and in short order...looks terrible. No more gloss for me after that.

Does anyone add anything like pumice to Sikkens or varnish to give some non skid protection for areas like the ladder, and caprail boarding area? Maybe I'll try that.

 

[davisr]

Martin,

I went back and read your posting on how you constructed a new companionway hatch for your boat. I had thought you said that you had put epoxy on your teak, but I see now that it was only on the luan substrate on which you put the epoxy. I'm about to construct a new companionway hatch. Given what I've heard, I think I'll avoid putting any epoxy on top of the teak.

Thanks,
Roscoe

 

[tenders]

Here's my take on this. Unless you are completely sealing the wood on
all sides i.e. encapsulation, you are wasting your time and money. Of
particular note are fasteners that if not properly sealed, will allow water in the
form of vapor to penetrate the wood and after enough heating/cooling
cycles will have the film turning cloudy and eventually lifting off the wood
in short order. DAMHIKT.

I had to look up DAMHIKT, but ITYHIKT too.

I dried, prepped, and epoxied the top surface of my (already-installed) teak-and-holly sole several years ago in an effort to delay the inevitable, and this is exactly what happened to me too. Never again.

 

[Martin King]

I'm in the process of working on the little bit of brightwork on my E38, in between other "projects". The one thing I really hate doing is sanding, specifically sanding epoxy. Its hard, it clogs the paper, and generally sucks.

If you think sanding epoxy sucks, try stripping it off after the coating
fails without damaging the wood or adjacent surfaces. Lots o' fun.

I went back and read your posting on how you constructed a new companionway hatch for your boat. I had thought you said that you had put epoxy on your teak, but I see now that it was only on the luan substrate on which you put

Yes only the laminations are glued with epoxy. The finish is a standard
10 coat varnish build and topcoated with clear L.P.

 

[Emerald]

Hi Martin,

I'm thinking way back we talked about using Smith's CPES instead of a "traditional" epoxy like West or MAS. Did you find that you had the same failure issues with teak saturated with the Smith's CPES as you did with the West?

 

[Martin King]

Hi David,

The short answer is yes. Even after countless hours of stripping and refinishing the toerail, the coating is now lifting off at the aft end of the boat-the area of wood that is original to the boat. The only sure cure I know of is to rip the rotten mess off and scarf in new (sealed) wood. This only confirms
my belief that for epoxy coating to be effective (no matter what brand) as an underlayment for varnish, the wood must be completely sealed off on all sides.

Martin