[Public-list] Painting toerails - take-2

[Daniel Sternglass]

Sent this Tuesday, but only the subject line made it into the digest... I see that most of us are in "violent agreement" on this subject...

> The teak toerails, hatch covers, and coamings on my boat are currently
> varnished. After one season in the sun, the varnish is faded and peeling.

Hi John,

I've had my A-30 for almost 20 years, admittedly in a fresh water lake... Just last year I discovered Epiphanes "High gloss finish" -- Varnish with no sanding between coats! (if recoat is applied within 48 hours). So, each season, you sand and tack cloth once, then apply 2 or 3 coats (after building up an initial 5-6 coats after you strip it, including a slightly thinned coat or 2, per the instructions). By not sanding, you do get minor defects, but it looks great to me! The time saving is huge. After you strip, use teak cleaner mixed strong, and sand well, I use a finish sander and progressive grades. BE very careful with the veneers, don't sand them much.

*Many* people have given up on varnish, and gone to the "Armada" type coatings, but they look "painty" to me. I really like the look of varnish, even though it is more time consuming. If you decide to stay with varnish, I'd recommend this stuff.

In any case, if you varnish use a high grade marine varnish like Epiphanes, the material cost is tiny compared to the labor, and there is a huge difference in quality and durability for $30/quart vs the $15/quart hardware store "exterior" variety. 

Lastly, in case you did not know this, you can save a lot of time stripping if you uses a heat gun with a (frequently sharpened with a file) scraper. Use a piece of sheet metal or a painting guard near the fiberglass (e,g, the coamings and toe rail) to avoid melting it, or just aim the gun very carefully.

Good luck, I also hope you don't paint the teak...

--Dan S.
dans at stmktg.com