| Varnishing You Yacht's Brightwork; Let's Get Ready | | | | nor will it damage any bare wood. |
| Shopping List | | | | OK, let's varnish. |
| - Your choice of varnish | | | | Dampen the foam brush with Cetol and apply the |
| - Mineral spirits· | | | | varnish to the teak in about 6-10 inch stokes. Apply it |
| - Foam brushes (I like the ones from Wal-Mart) | | | | lightly to avoid runs always watching your work to |
| - Tack rags | | | | catch that run that does occur. Always keep a wet |
| - Bleach | | | | edge, meaning you brush into the previously wetted |
| If you are starting with bare teak you may wish to | | | | surfaces to avert drags from drying varnish. The |
| use the Cetol Marine which has some pigment in it. I | | | | process seems to be moving slow but it does go |
| prefer to use two coats of it on bare teak to give it | | | | fast. |
| a nice color to it. I follow this with 4 coats of gloss. | | | | Be sure to allow time to dry before reapplying |
| On previously finished wood rails, I use only gloss. | | | | another; perhaps two or even three can be applied in |
| Each year, the varnish builds up so you'll have to strip | | | | a single day if the weather permits. I use a tack rag |
| it down and start over every 5-6 years or so. | | | | to remove any dust before laying another coat. |
| This year I only used 3 coats of gloss as I stripped it | | | | There is no requirement to sand between coats |
| down to bare wood last year. | | | | when using Cetol. |
| Cetol advises not to thin their product with thinners. | | | | I find that six coats of Cetol will give you a gorgeous |
| Ignore that advise! I cut my Cetol with mineral spirits | | | | finish. |
| at least 30%; if it's in the 90 degree temperatures | | | | Time - 2 hours each coat |
| and up to 50%. The rational for doing this is that it | | | | Total application time - 6 hours |
| allows the Cetol to flow and level itself, reducing the | | | | Step 4- Time to Clean Up |
| irregular results you will get otherwise. Cetol directly | | | | Remember we put the tape on certain spots for |
| out of the can will flow more like honey than a paint. | | | | catching the overlooked brush strokes? It required |
| My choice of applicator is a 2 inch foam brush. No | | | | me about 5 minutes to remove it all. I spent nearly 4 |
| brush hairs to deal with and it glides on without brush | | | | hours with a Dremel tool and brush a while ago |
| marks. | | | | removing the varnish that the Patricia Ann's past |
| Let's Lay Some Varnish | | | | owner had "applied". |
| Ok, we are almost prepared but there's one more | | | | Not bad; it looks good to me. All said it took my wife |
| step you want to do. Bright work has a tendency to | | | | and I a total of 8.5 hours out of a 2 day weekend to |
| get mold under the varnish on the wood over time. | | | | put the bright work back into Bristol condition. |
| You'll need to kill any potential spores with a rag | | | | maintaining teak brightwork is not such a bid chore |
| dampened with bleach and wiped over the teak prior | | | | after all. |
| to the first coat. The bleach will not raise the grain | | | | |