[Public-list] Painting teak toerails

Tue Sep 20 10:10:10 PDT 2005

I have to admit frustration when folks talk about varnish as if it actually
possible to do successfully.  To me it is an unattainable dream, a wistful
indulgence into the unreal (or should I say surreal).  I have tried to
varnish a few times with
perfect intentions and the results proved to me that, only with some kind of
varnish god guiding your brush can mildly acceptable results be achieved
and, even then, not without great sacrifice.

Let's say some stranger approached you and said you could make something
look really pretty.  All you had to do was cover it perfectly eight times,
sanding in between, with a material that bubbles and runs just for fun and
acts as a dust magnate while drying.  Of course, if you put the material in
the sun, you must add more coats on a regular basis.  If you don't, then you
have to remove all the original coats and start over.  I don't know about
you other Albergers but I might think that stranger either had a screw loose
or was a sailor (really very little difference).

I once saw a carved elephant tusk that had an entire Japanese village of at
least 100 structures sculpted along it's 6' length.  The owner told me
that, after the artist was trained, he spent the rest of his life making
this
one piece of art.  There is a marina near Mile Lehamn's house where a friend
kept his 41' ketch for a while.  While there for a work-on-the-boat weekend,
we walked
around the yard and discovered a dilapidated wood boat with beautiful lines.
She was in bad shape, missing planks, rot; with the exception of the
transom which had been beautifully varnished.  It looked like the varnish
was a foot deep but the rest of the boat was a mess.  I know exactly what
happened.  The owner need some self motivation and decided to finish the
transom so he could visualize how beautiful the boat would be after he
restored her.  Problem is, it took his WHOLE LIFE just to varnish that
transom!

Roger Kingsland
Managing Partner
KSBA Architects
N40°- 27.83'  W79°- 57.99'

(412) 252-1500 x101 office
(412) 779-5101 cell
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Connolly" <crufone at sbcglobal.net>
To: "JohnI" <a30blueteal at gmail.com>; "Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all"
<public-list at alberg30.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 10:50 AM
Subject: Re: [Public-list] Painting teak toerails

> JohnL,
> You are not going to have anyone in their right mind on this list offer
you tips to paint all your teak trim.   The teak is an integral part of the
aesthetics of these handsome boats.  Understand I don't mean to sound crass
about this issue...........................I too weep when I see wonderful
woodwork ruined with pigmented paint coatings.
>
> On my Alberg and my Seafarer, both 1966 models with teak trim I plan to
strip down to bare wood and apply oil coatings.  This imparts a beautiful
non gloss not slippery finish to the teak.  In Florida it may require to be
touched up once every two months.  In Michigan perhaps twice a season.
Touching up an oiled finish is 10 times easier and much more visually
successful than attempting to touch up a spar varnish finish.
>
> I had smaller boats with teak rails, a Thistle and my Oslojollen
Daysailer.  The advantage is ease of application, ease of repair to damaged
areas and ease of maintenance.  I once saw a New York 40 in Newport and
almost peed in my pants it was so Gorgeous, miles of brightwork.
>
> Bright work spar varnish or any of the synthetic blends is very hard to
repair when damaged to make it look like anything good.  Many coats are
needed to provide depth to the spar varnishes, I know because my Thistle had
spruce spars.
>
> Cetol and it's partners is a total cop-out on maintaining wood trim.  It
really makes the trim look like plastic without any of the beautiful depth
of the spar varnish.
>
> My opinion is that the oiled trim is a good compromise between the major
work of spar varnish and the fake wood look of Cetol.  Painting fine teak
trim is not an option for me.
>
> Michael #133 Lorrie Rose
>
> JohnI <a30blueteal at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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.
> Bare wood is starting to show in places. It is particularly bad on the
> toerails. My research so far has concluded that I need to strip this down
> and start over with 6-8 coats of new varnish, then apply a coat or two of
> new varnish every year to keep up the protection. As much fun as this
> sounds, I'm thinking that I would prefer to remove the varnish, paint the
> wood, and add a coat or two of paint every 3 or 4 years. Has anyone on the
> list done this? If so, I'd appreciate info on the materials and technique
> you used. Thanks.
> John
> #284
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