What Varnish to use? What wood is this?

[m0ssy]

Since going to Sea a few weeks ago my exterior deck woodwork is looking terrible.

That day was wind against tide so all the wood work was effected by the salt water and the current coating is deteriorating rapidly.

By the looks of it, the eejit who owned the boat prior to me has used a mahogany type of Sadolin or some other crap that since having exposure to the salt water is peeling off.

Pictures:





It looks like Teak to me. Is this correct?

Is my best method to use a heat gun lightly on it to lift the rest of the varnish or is there a solvent I can use to remove?

Following removal of the old and rubbing down what is the BEST type varnish to use on it??

Cheers

[Snoggledog]

Mahogany from the looks of it. I'd suggest a gentle warming with a hot air gun, followed by stripping off the varnish with a scraper. A light sanding with P240 grit or thereabouts should pull the grain back out and put some colour back on the wood. Varnish with Epifanes. Couple of watered down layers followed by a couple of thick layers.

[Jackleman]

Yes, Epifanes is the best varnish out there in my experience. If you really want to do it well up to 8 coats!

[don4l]

I use semco as an alternative to Varnish. It is a lot less work.
The first year that you use it, you use the cleaner kit before applying the sealant. After that you just give it a good wash before applying the Semco once a year.

http://www.semco-online.com/page2.htm
or
http://www.onwardtrading.com/shopsect_Boat%20and%2...


Don
--

[Huntsman]

On bare wood I use one 50/50 coat of Epifanes, followed by 5 coats of 100% straight from the tin, leave the tin in the sunshine, its easier to work it about if its warmer.

You can, in good settled weather, do one coat a day for 5 days without sanding in between and it'll be fine, then treat it gently until it bakes off hard.

After that, each spring, a quick denib with some fine paper and two coats, you'll be fine for years.

You need a good brush, I prefer the Harris ones, not the cheap ones either, the proper Harris, and for more intricate stuff the one from France with the round stock. You need to be very careful about keeping your brush clean, when finished, rinse, rinse again, leave in spirit up to the stock. Cheapo B and Q spirit is fine.

[m0ssy]

Thanks for ideas so far chaps.

What's the general consenses for what type of wood it is? my vote was teak, been another for mahogany and another vote for teak. so.. Teak - 2 Mahogany - 1

Also which Epifanes is best to get? Clear gloss?

Should I use Epifanes thinners with the product or will any paint/ varnish thinners do?

[Snoggledog]

I'm sticking with Mahogany. (Shonky quality mind but still Mahog.) Epifanes Clear Gloss is fine. You could use the Epifanes thinners but I seem to remember that they're quite expensive. I've thinned it with Tong oil before. I believe that you can use Turpentine or Linseed oil to thin it out a bit.

There's a French varnish called something like Tonseau or something like that which is pretty decent as well.

[Huntsman]

Snoggledog said:

There's a French varnish called something like Tonseau or something like that which is pretty decent as well.

Le Tonkinois.

I use the epifanes gloss.

Use the thinners if its going on the boat, but B and Q white spirit for brush cleaning.

Looks a bit like both teak and mahogany in the pics, get a bit sanded back to bare wood and lets have another pic.

Its its teak, I'd sand it and leave it bare.

[Snoggledog]

Huntsman said:

Snoggledog said:

There's a French varnish called something like Tonseau or something like that which is pretty decent as well.

Le Tonkinois.

I use the epifanes gloss.

Use the thinners if its going on the boat, but B and Q white spirit for brush cleaning.

Looks a bit like both teak and mahogany in the pics, get a bit sanded back to bare wood and lets have another pic.

Its its teak, I'd sand it and leave it bare.

That's the stuff. Used it on a Vintage 14 mast. Worked a treat as it's very flexible.

Agreed.. If it's teak, bare is best. The grain looks a little too open for teak to my mind but as you say a rub down and a new pic would make life easier.

[m0ssy]

Thanks chaps, will rub it all down and take some more photos in the next week or 2.

Is the best way to remove all the existing varnish with a mixture of a heat gun where not near grp and paint/ varnish stripper for bits a bit awkward or too close to the GRP?

Then wet and dry to rub down?

[Snoggledog]

m0ssy said:

Thanks chaps, will rub it all down and take some more photos in the next week or 2.

Is the best way to remove all the existing varnish with a mixture of a heat gun where not near grp and paint/ varnish stripper for bits a bit awkward or too close to the GRP?

Then wet and dry to rub down?

TBH, the wood looks past its best at the mo so you could 'theoretically' use a paint stripper across the whole lot. BUT, and here's the caveat, chemical strippers take all the natural oils out of the wood so you'd need to work fast to get some oil back into the wood before it starts to split or warp. If you go the chemical route I'd suggest keeping a heated pot of Linseed Oil on hand and liberally paint it onto the wood after you've washed off the chemicals. The Linseed oil should penetrate back into the wood fairly quickly and restore all the natural oils.

Forget Wet n Dry unless you're rubbing down between coats of varnish. I tend to use these (http://www.3m.com/product/information/Flexible-Sanding-Pad.html) as I'm lazy.

[m0ssy]

I like the look of the 3m sandblaster pads.

Medium grit? or a selection?

[Hard-Drive]

Hmmm, to me that really does have that silvery appearance of weathered teak. Mahogony usually looks redder in colour. I'd also say by the way the previous stain has just blown off that it's teak...but I'm not a professional. Does it almost come off in slightly rubbery flakes if you just rub it by hand?

I had exactly the same issue (and the same woodstain by the looks of things!) on my boat, and I sanded all the woodwork smooth and used Deks Olje D1. It's half way between a varnish and an oil and brings the woodwork up a treat. Granted you will need to redo it every year but it's an easy, and dare I say it pleasurable, job.

[deeen]

My best guess from that photo would be 70 - 30 in favour of teak.

Deks Olje and teak oil look great, protect from the elements and very easy to refresh annually, just a wipe over with a cloth will do it.

However they do not give much protection against physical wear, so just make sure your fairleads, rubbing strips etc. are all where you need them, if you choose against a hard varnish.

[bluesatin]

Epifanes for me and for best results use fresh tin for each coat and wet sand down between. I used to get to 12 coats on a slipper launch and it looked stunning.

[Huntsman]

I've ordered lots from here.

http://www.3mselect.co.uk/

If you need masking tape, get the 3M blue outdoor stuff, its brilliant. Dont use cheap masking tape outside, it'll end in tears.

[SlipStream77]

It's very light compared to mahogany I've used.

[Jackleman]

Could it be Iroko? that is quite often used as a cheap alternative to Teak and Mahogany.

[Simpo Two]

My guess is mahogany and it's been totally neglected (hence the sun bleaching almost to white) and then tarted up with a coat of stain. If you sand it down there will be proper wood colour underneath!

[MOTORVATOR]

I'd plump for it being a mahogany species just because teak is an ball ache to steam bend for a handrail.