How to protect varnished teak cap-rails?

Look at the UV qualities of a good two part clear coat, especially the acrylics, and also their 'bendability', which is a measurement of how small a diameter mandrel a cured product will bend without cracking. They are superior to varnish in every way.

There are two basic methods, one is to fill the teak grain with Clear Epoxy and then topcoat with clear coat; and the other is to fill the grain with enough coats of traditional varnish and then switching to clear coat after COMPLETE curing of varnish.

The problem as stated before is that the inevitable breakdown is down at the interface between the coatings and the wood fibers, so not having epoxy deep in the fibers is perhaps a better method.

I have been using 3M Ultra performance Paste Wax on brightwork, painted hulls and superstructures, etc. The longevity gained for very little work is impressive.

Except in real life and the South Florida heat and sunshine, it does not work. Clear coat, when baking in the sun bakes right off of the varnish and you cannot touch it up. It does not adhere well enough to the varnish either. When it peels you have to strip it and start over again. Varnish if maintained properly, such as a light sanding and 2 more coats is the easiest and best way, and if you keep up with it as soon as it gets a little dull, you should never have to strip it. Not to mention it's also the easiest to touch up a chip or rub mark.

Enough coats is when the wood grain is filled, if you are not sanding through the finish to the bare wood with 220 grit you are good, usually 3-4 coats will fill most teak.

Full cure time is usually a week, you can test by mixing some clear coat and applying to a small area to see if the solvents in the clear coat are attacking the varnish.

All the big paint company's have clear coat, two-part products.

I stripped my external teak of old varnsih in 2007 and have since built up 30+ coats of Epifanes. First year 15 coats, then 5 or 6 maintenance coats every year.

Despite being in the Florida sun @ 26N the varnsih will go 12 months between coats. Been thinking about having covers made, last estimate was $1,750.00.

It looks nice. You must have a lot of time on your hands to do 30+ coats. hehehe or love to varnish. I like varnishing once in a while, I find it to be somewhat relaxing.

In reply to david_japp's original question:

and supplementary to Marmot's response to consider "strippable protective coatings" used in other industries and link:

For many years, I've supplied several large yacht customers departing from the Mediterranean at the end of our European summer and making their way across the Atlantic for the winter season in West Indies, with a 3M product which may be of interest. The aim was primarily to protect the varnished wooden (mainly teak, sometimes mahogony) cap-rails and other stainless-steel brightwork from the rigours (salt-accumulation in addition to exposure to UV) of such surfaces during the long voyage when there would not be any regular maintenance in terms of washing-down or rinsing off with fresh water etc. by the crew on a frequent or regular basis.

The 3M protective film concerned is sold in European markets under the reference 3M-8009RX (you can download the specification here. Presumably 3M offer the same product in other markets, perhaps under a different reference. A 30cm width x 175m roll of the 3M-8009RX sells here for about Euro 75.00 excluding VAT. So a single roll would probably cover all of the varnished cap-rails on david_japp's yacht. I've never had any complaints from the yachts that used this protective film - it removed cleanly and without any damage to underlying surfaces. However, I cannot really comment on the use of such film for greater periods than 4-6 weeks. In their documentation though, 3M do suggest that it should be suitable for upto 12 months' protection in certain situations...?

Whatever, there are certain practical precautions that you should respect before applying any protective film (including the 3M-8009RX):

1) The varnish or whatever coatings applied should be completely cured (ie. not recently applied etc.)

2) The surfaces (cap-rails or whatever) should be completely dry before applying the protective film. When applying the film, avoid trapping air bubbles under the film which may well lead to at least localised problem spots as a result of trapping humidity etc.

3) When using the film to protect brightwork structures (eg. stainless steel columns supporting upper-decks etc.) or other equipment with an important vertical dimension, always start wrapping the film from the bottom upwards...?! That way, the overlaps have a natural tendency to drain, as opposed to say moisture (or seawater) being trapped and possibly eventually seeping in to directly attack the stainless steel structure (stainless steel finishes can also heavily corrode under those circumstances).

Hope that's useful.

PS. Shouldn't this thread be in the "technical discussion" forum...?!

Well, yes and no, time on my hands, but hate varnishing..

Got my man Mr. Greene to do all the bright work. (He is known to some members of this board, been in the business for many years)

Never heard of such a product, will certainly look into it, thx.

two simple ways to keep your bright work up..unfortunate for me the first one was time tested for many years...

#1...2 coats Schooners on all flat and round surfaces that lay horizontal and are exposed to the sun every 6 months or sooner if failing..
2 coats of the same on all vertical surfaces that are partially shaded every year.

#2...call Mr. Greene

I maintained 2 different boats with teak cap rails. The key is to build min of 18-20 coats of varnish . Then add 6 coats of Awl Clear. Then twice a yr add 2 coats and you will never have to strip it down again. The key is rather it needs it or not do the 2 coats every 6 months. Both boats were in Costa Rica. So if it will hold up there it will hold up anywhere

What holds up? It might as well be inside a hand blown glass case. 18-20 coats plus another 6 of awlgrip plus another 4 per year, and every one of those coats coming with the risk of moisture or dust putting you back a few layers? Sounds like an obsession. I still think Marmot had the best idea back in post 11.

I think this is WAY too many layers and would cause the varnish/awl clear mixture to be too hard and not flexible enough since the wood underneath it swells and contracts depending on temperature and it would peel off too easy.

Wax and varnish

Capt. J,

The insulator wax sounds like it works good. How do you prep the waxed surface when it is time to apply annual varnish?
Thank you

Just wipe it down with denatured alcohol twice should remove any of the wax.

I use the insulator wax on my boat in many different places as you do and love the results.

God bless you Marmot. I've been looking for that stuff for years.

Ohhh geezzzz, I don't know how that stuff works. BUT, it reminds me of that blue rubbery/plasticky crap someone was painting on boats instead of heatshrinking them about 2 years ago, that was supposed to just peel off.......but after baking in the sun turned out it didn't and was stuck in every crack and crevice of non-skid and everywhere else.

Yup, have extensive experience trying to remove that stuff before the 2004 Boat Show:

It would take weeks to peel it off one boat, square 1/4" by square 1/4"

I remember that. There was a bunch of boats at the '07 lauderdale show with that stuff stuck in the nonskid. Hatteras used to paint their boats from the rubrail up with this stuff as well. Are they still doing it?