Last time I checked, Cetol was winning the durability test at PS. When it "wears" you just add a coat or two to the offending area. No fuss, no muss. Great for us lazy skippers :p
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Last time I checked, Cetol was winning the durability test at PS. When it "wears" you just add a coat or two to the offending area. No fuss, no muss. Great for us lazy skippers :p
My suggestion is that you specifically avoid polyurethane or any of the polys. I don't care how new they claim it is, or the UV protection or whatever excuse is used. Consider it a high risk finish, and look elsewhere, in my opinion.
What happens with poly in about two to three years is that the poly will crack. That lets in moisture. The moisture will spread and the poly will peel or seemingly disappear leaving discolored wood. I have been told this by guys in the business. This problem has nothing to do with the undercoating or UV as I understand it. As the poly peels, cracks, whatever, you are getting set up for another "take it down to the wood and start again". I've been there, done it, seen it. And I've heard a plethora of "this is a new type of poly that doesn't do that". Redoing poly that has started to peel, crack, whatever is a bear - a grizzly bear!
The reason spar varnish is called spar varnish is that it was used on spars, and spars bend. The varnish, although softer and less wear resistant, remains flexible and will not crack as the spar bends - even in freezing weather. A key in spar varnish, I am told by Epifanes, is the percent of solid matter in the can. The way varnish is cheapened is to reduce the solid matter and replace it with solvent, and secondly to use an inferior solvent (tung oil, as I recall, is the key). Epifanes also has UV filters - and I can't recall the details about the effectiveness of UV filters, or how they work - but my recollection is that the more coats, the more effective the UV filter is. I may be wrong in this regard
Incidentally, when I redid all my brightwork down to the wood, I followed the Epifanes instructions which I recall were the first coat is 25% varnish, the second 50% and the third coat 75%, or something like that - no other primers other than stain (do not use anything that is also a sealer), and I have used both oil and water based stains. Over that I targeted an additional 9 coats of full strength varnish, but because of imperfections (sailors, and that includes myself, tend towards the perfectionist end of the spectrum) there might be anywhere up to 15 coats. If you're going to go to the trouble of doing it, do it right. Epifanes has detailed instructions and follow the regimen they suggest.
Pete,
My pal and some time crew Ed Cobb carves those things , I think he gets $250 & up for them gilded and painted , depends on how many letters he carves and how fancy the ends are .
Of the Cetol like products I like and use when needed is West Marine's Wood Pro Gloss , it is not orange but more brown . I prefer Epifanes and an old varnish by Davis Instruments ( that I can no longer find ) called Callahan's Chiltered Varnish .
Practical Sailor releases its rankings of exterior varnishes in the Oct 15 issue. Those they think best are: Epifanes Wood Finish, Pettit's Hi-Build 2056 and West Marine's Skipper.
Bill - thanks for the tip. I see Practical Sailor referred to often. Do you subscribe and use the web service, or just pick up your copy at the local news stand?
PS is only available by subscription and on the Web. If you are a subscriber, you can look at the complete magazine, otherwise you only have access to limited information.
Subscriptions are expensive, but there is no advertising so the discussions and ratings of products tend to be more objective.
You can view PS at: www.practical-sailor.com