Coats 3 and 4

More varnishing. Go Packers!

Refinishing Teak

Ok first we have to share last night's sunset with you.

I know.  It is amazing. And this is an iphone picture.  Amazing.  It deserves its own post.

Secondly, we are refinishing our teak.  After 16 months, it is shot to hell.  The lacquer was very warm and inviting on the teak a year ago, but the elements have beaten the warmth out of it.  We sanded down the varnish until the black weathered teak could no longer be seen.  We are applying layers of high gloss varnish now.  How many layers?

Neighbor Wilson says he has 10 layers on his teak.  His 10-layer-job is only 4 months old.  We'll see what it looks like in one year.  Another dock neighbor said his have 4 layers.  His are a year old and they look it.

We have settled on a cordial 5 layers.  And we are just expecting to have to do this every 16 months.  Some online research has suggested that applying a single touch-up coat or even some basic teak oil every other month will make the job last longer. Not sure if that is more or less work but may give it a try.

Refinishing Teak

First and foremost, there is not that much wood on the Coronado 25. It is mostly fiberglass, but the teak we did have, we wanted to look good! We also added a teak table in the galley.

Teak is an interesting wood. I grew up with Oak antique furniture and a wood-burning stove, so I was familiar with refinishing hard woods and lugging cords. Teak is a whole different beast.

Teak is a hard wood, but it sands easily and seems much softer than Oak. Per wikipedia, "Teak, though easily worked, can cause severe blunting on edge tools because of the presence of silica in the wood. Teak's natural oils make it ideal for use in exposed locations and termite and pest proof, where it is durable even when not treated with oil or varnish."

Teak is universally used on boats. Varnishing it is highly controversial. Most teak is just maintained with teak oil. But, we went for the controversial look. What can I say? We are newbees at this whole thing, we are city folk, and we like the shiny glow!

We tried a few different methods for applying the varnish that we researched online. Applying a coat, letting it dry to the touch, sanding with high grit paper (180 or above) and then starting over for 6 coats worked well but took far too long. Instead we stuck with applying 4 coats in rapid succession not allowing each coat to fully dry, then sanding after the 5th and 6th coats.

We might have to refinish it frequently. The clear gloss coat that we put on it seems to wear off easily. Wearing off is ok though. We were more worried about it yellowing in the sunlight. I can report no yellowing after 4 months. We will have to report back to you in another year.

~Captain and Crew