Varnished cap rail

[brian chalk]

I like the look of my Pearson 36 Cutter with varnished exterior teak. However, I've had trouble getting the varnish to last on the teak caprail. With the top of the caprail being made from two pieces of teak, there is vee where the two pieces are joined in the middle. Water seems to lie in this vee, penetrate the varnish, and lift it from the wood. I don't think the varnish adheres particularly well to whatever the sealent is between the two pieces of teak, either. Has anyone else experienced this, or dealt with it successfully? It doesn't help that we are in very sunny (and often wet) Fort Lauderdale.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Brian

[Dale Tanski]

Brian,
Seeing as the government has required the removal of all of the good things in teak oil that made teak oil last, varnish is one of your few choices.  It happens to be in your mind one of your best choices. 

Because teak is a waxy/oily wood, getting varnish to bond is an issue.  Another issue is without coating the wood on all six sides, water can work its way into the wood and eventually under the finish.  I have not had a problem with bonding to the black material between the wood.  I learned from a boat finishing pro that the secrete to a great varnish job is all in the prep. 

Prep would include cleaning and sanding, but most importantly the first coat of finish. Many will say you should wipe the bare wood down with acetone to remove the oil from the surface of the wood.    I have tried it both ways and could not detect a difference.  The old pro that I am referring to is a guy named Gus who last I know worked at Water Street Marina in Have de Grace in Maryland.  His varnish work looked absolutely fantastic and it looked like it was wet. Having spent years perfecting every little step along the way helps but he insisted that the number one key to perfect bright work is applying two coats of 1026 Interlux interprime wood sealer first.  1026 is a phenaulic based sealer with a nice amber color.  I have been told it was originally formulated to seal plywood back in WWII.  I also love the smell.  1026 is water thin and soaks into wood like water.  It soaks in and seals the surface. The directions recommend 2 or 3 coats which are quick and easy to apply.  A light sanding to remove any stubble and you are good to varnish.  It is hard to believe that it fills the grain so well being as thin as it is.

The first coat of varnish will look outstanding and subsequent coats will only get better. Force yourself to add enough coats of varnish even though it will look so good. I have used 1026 on teak for over 9 years now and wouldn't waste my time varnishing without it. I also use it on all my wood working projects that I finish naturally.  I use 1026 on furniture, trim and even floors.  I recommend it to our customers all the time and most come back and ask me why I hadn't told them about this product years ago. 

In the south varnish will not hold up like it does up here under snow so keep after your maintenance coats to maximize its life.

Dale Tanski
Maruska
Hull 40
Obersheimer Sailor Supply

[PeteW]

I have some remaining original  teak on my boat. Treating it with teak oil was not the best idea prior to varnishing it. However I did block plane a good 1/16" to get to fresh wood. But adhesion remains poor on that older teak.

My cap rail is a solid 3/4" mahogany. But there is a seam where the rub rail piece is connected and then there are the scarf joints. That's where the varnish curls up, delaminates and chips off.

If I had the opportunity for a do-over prior to applying varnish I would have sealed it all in 2 coats of west system 270 epoxy. And I would have used that same epoxy to glue the rub rail on along with the wood screws.

I am now working on a plan to rig up a router to cut a slot on all those seams. Then I will epoxy in a strip of purfling. ( its a term used by luthiers)  Rosewood if my preferred wood for patches, and for purfling. I have installed rosewood bowtie  patches into cracks and it still looks good. Mahogany when it sits in the desert to dry out will crack.

The biggest task is always removing all the old varnish and getting down to wood that's not dead. Oxalic acid can help out with that bit of prep work. I have some wood  that was sealed in epoxy ( new grab rails) and it remains low maintenance compared to the other areas.

The other issue is that epoxy can really darken wood. So a sealer as Dale prescribes might be something  I need to consider If and when I can get back to bare wood.

[Dale Tanski]

I am not a fan of applying epoxy as a base coat over exterior wood unless it is a spar or boom.  In the case of a spar, keeping water out is the first and foremost requirement.  On trim wood it has two big disadvantage and that would be getting it off when that time arrives, and applying it smooth enough as it sands very hard.  Varnish can be easily removed with a hot air gun. If you never have tried that method before you will be pleasantly surprised. You can remove all of the coats of varnish in one pass.

If you do decide to go the epoxy route, use the West System #207 special clear hardener (I think Pete meant to say #207 not #270) as it will not darken the wood as regular #205 (fast) or #206 (slow) hardeners will.  Both 205 & 206  have an orange hue to them.  Epoxy when left exposed to sunlight turns more and more orange as well as more and more opaque. West #207 cures at the same rate as #206, slow but it is a 2 to 1 ratio mix as opposed to the standard hardeners which are 3 to 1. Read the directions on the container and invest in the West dispenser pumps, it makes life so much easier.

Dale @ Obersheimers