Trojan Boat Forum

What do you recommend to use on teak? Oil vs varnish. Any brand recommendations. Thanks for your input

What is it you need to do. Interior, exterior swim platform all could use a different treatment.

Outside railings, bow pulpit, boarding steps.

I like to use Cetol on things I don't step on (railings and bow pulpit) but oil the teak I do step on (boarding steps and swim platform). Cetol is very slippery when wet.

I use Sikkens Cetol Original on all of my teak and mahogany. On interior wood such at doors and trim, I also add the clear coat to this finish. On any wood that gets stepped on or is exposed to the elements, I do not use the clear. My swim platform is also done this way and I have never found an issue with it being slippery. If the wood is prepped correctly, this finish can last years. My platform is going into its 4th year since the last re-finish and still looks great.

As for oil, too much maintenance in my opinion.

Hope this helps,

Paul wrote:I use Sikkens Cetol Original on all of my teak and mahogany. On interior wood such at doors and trim, I also add the clear coat to this finish. On any wood that gets stepped on or is exposed to the elements, I do not use the clear. My swim platform is also done this way and I have never found an issue with it being slippery. If the wood is prepped correctly, this finish can last years. My platform is going into its 4th year since the last re-finish and still looks great.

As for oil, too much maintenance in my opinion.

Hope this helps,

+ 1

defiantly Sikens Cetol, i tried the light originally but prefer the natural (their 3 different shades) on my ladder I added the grit to the clear to prevent slipping, I would never waste my time with oil or a cheap varnish anymore

K4282 wrote:defiantly Sikens Cetol, i tried the light originally but prefer the natural (their 3 different shades) on my ladder I added the grit to the clear to prevent slipping, I would never waste my time with oil or a cheap varnish anymore

For anyone not aware, Cetol Gloss can only be applied over cetol, which is the base coat.

I'm a teak oil fan - Watco is my brand choice.

Does anyone have pics of the different shades of cetol? I am going to be redoing my neglected swim platform and would like to see the difference. Thanks in advance

Watco oil on swim platform, taffrail and steps.

https://missriverrat-public.sharepoint. ... atform.jpg

Looked pretty bad a couple years ago.

Scrub your teak with comet & a brass gas grill brush. When it's dry coat it with Sikkens Door & Window. It's clear & will bring up the natural color of the wood.

ill try and post difference between what I did although I sold the boat and cant take close ups at this time ill show what I had experimented with you may have to zoom in. I used the light which comes out orangy on the pulpit and aft woodwork and the natural on the steps on the ladder. The aft and pulpit i did 4 coats no gloss, the stairs I did 4 coats cetol and 2 or 3 clear, actually maybe i did 4 clear. The steps look amazing. I was unhappy when i read the directions to add the grit, they said shake it on while the clear or cetol is wet and as you can imagine it came out uneven and clumpy, i scuffed it and added some more clear to smooth it out. Mixing it in the clear will take some practice to get a good and effective non skid and believe me you need to add the grit to anything youll be walking on. A friend didnt believe me and did his swim platform and everyone who walks across it slips, its very dangerous ive hurt my toes on two occasions with just a 3 coats of cetol and no clear/ So in conclusion my method is to sand then clean with snappy teak nu, 4 coats cetol natural and a couple coats of clear over that if you would like a deeper shinny look (More on the even for a deeper look) and mix interlux Intergrip Polymeric No-Skid Additive into your final coat of cetol or clear if your going to be walking on it

the last pic i found is a side by cetol natural with no clear on a 30 Penn Yann with my old F32 with the cetol light next to my new trojan with some kind of ugly old dark finish, sorry its so dark of a picture

just found this great pict my friend posted of how orange the cetol light is, this is 4 year old now no maintenance in between and left uncovered in the winter]

The ladder steps and swim platform are regular Cetol, as are the 'boarding strips'. The speaker box and the box for the VHF are regular Cetol over oak, and the rest of the flybridge wood is Cetol over Teak. The bow pulpit is Cetol Light with Cetol Gloss over top. You don't want to use the Gloss on a swim platform though as it can get slippery when wet.

Here are links to my 'wood finishes' gallery:
Wood Finish examples (part 1)
https://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/view ... f=1&t=3206

Wood Finish examples (part 2)
https://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/view ... =1&t=12738