# Epoxy on teak?



## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Has anyone here ever tried using epoxy to seal their teak. What were the results? I have heard this will last for a long time depending on your location.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Epoxy has very low UV resistance and needs to be protected from UV exposure, either by a varnish or other protective coating... I wouldn't recommend doing this.


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## redcorvette1995 (Jun 16, 2005)

The other challenge is getting the epoxy to flow out properly.
Epoxy is a rather thick liquid.

If you heat the epoxy and the SLOW hardener using a small hot air heater to around 95F to 100F you will find it will flow better (though it will cure faster).

For sealing screw bungs in teak or gaps or teak repair, I can think of nothing better, but as a coating for teak I would not recommend it.

As has already been pointed out it has bad UV characteristics and yellows in the sunlight as I can personally asure you.

West System does make a special purpose hardener that is closer to clear as do other epoxy vendors. Still you have to coat it with varnish or another UV protectant.

Prior to coating it you have to remove the animine blush as well. Unlike varnish which is realatively easy to remove if you make a mistake (sandpaper) epoxy is a hard substance.

My personal feeling is that you would be unhappy with the end results.

Before doing anything with your boat might I suggest buying a four by four foot piece of teak plywood and trying your epoxy/varnish coat on that?
If you are happy with the results then you might consider the larger project, keeping in mind that teak boards are much courser and more challenging than a piece of flat teak plywood.

Good luck on your project!


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## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

Teak is very oily. Suggested prep includes washing it down with acetone after sanding, prior to epoxy. As sailingdog suggests, epoxy should be followed by varnish or other UV inhibiting coating. This is why most cold-molded epoxy hulls end up being painted. The epoxy turns opaque brown in sunlight. This spring I epoxied and varnished new teak & holly plywood floorboards for our boat. The epoxy was to keep water from soaking into the end-grain, causing delamination. The varnish was to protect the epoxy from UV rays, even down below. Two coats of epoxy, and three of varnish.


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## mikehoyt (Nov 27, 2000)

A friend at our marina swears by this method. He applied epoxy on handrails and then overcoated with several coats of varnish. Held up extremely well over three seasons despite him not reapplying varnish annually which is supposed to be done.

Alternatively you can use something like Interlux Perfection Varnish which is actually a two part clear polyurethane paint and was fomerly called Interthane Plus with the colour shown as CLEAR. I tried this on tiller and hatchboards 3 yrs ago. Held up reasonably well but at $80/qt is a very pricey alternative and you have to use what you mix due to the two part nature of the coating. 

In our experiment of Perfection Varnish on one boat vs Varnish over epoxy on the other I would say the epoxy lasted better.

My next plan for my handrails is expoxy overcoated with perfection varnish ....

Mike

Full Tilt 2


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## IslandRaider (Oct 6, 2006)

Teak work and long lasting finishes are 2 statments that were as synonomus as mixing oil and water until recently. There is an excelent finish out there called "BRISTOL" and is made by C-Tech marine, Bristol is a 2 part polyurithane finish with excellent UV inibitors but it is expensive an adhears well to epoxy. Strip your teak wash it with a good cleaner, let it dry and apply 2 thinned coats of epoxy resin let it harden and sand off any burs or hairs til smooth then re coat with 2+ coats for a smooth build then coat with Bristol, min 4 coats. depending on your loca you can get 1- 4 yrs before recoat. 
Will post some pics of my cabin and trim in near future.


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## Gene T (May 23, 2006)

I have personal experience with epoxy over a 6 year period. The PO had done one hand rail with epoxy and the other with spar varnish. The epoxy was over-coated with Poly. The epoxy held up very good for the first 2 years but has issues with repair and touch-up. It would peal away near edges which could not be sealed. And any nick or scratch would quickly cause pealing around it. Repair was more difficult as epoxy is difficult to sand because it is so hard. But I eventually over-coated it with spar varnish and it fell into the same re-coat as all other teak parts on the boat. I would only do it if the teak could be removed and coated on all sides to encase the part which would prevent edge penetration of water. Any spar varnish works for over-coating, but will still look dull in 8 months in the sun and will need a refresher coat. You need to touch up any way as things get chipped. 

I think Smith's make an epoxy teak coating product.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I'd definitely agree with GeneT about only using epoxy on pieces that can be completely coated, otherwise moisture penetration and the epoxy lifting is definitely a problem. Don't forget to drill and coat any fastener holes that are needed to mount the piece as well, otherwise you're pretty much wasting your time.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Thanks everyone...I love the look of teak and on my Tartan there is enough to keep me busy. Always looking for a better way to do something. Looks like I'll try epoxy coating companion way boards first.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Companionway drop boards are good first project, as they're completely removable, and the durability of a solid epoxy finish is usually very useful on them, since they take a fair amount of abuse.


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## bhhewett (Nov 28, 2000)

West System 105 with 207 catalyst hardener, one/2 coats after good prep and wipe-down with acetone. Overcoat with good spar varnish, 3-4 coats. The epoxy scuffs easily, using scotchbrite pads or 220 paper. One caution - mix small batches, and remix when brush begins to drag thickly. Use inexpensive 'chip' brushes, discard when through. I have used this system on all my teak for the past 12 years and have had beautiful and long-lasting results, with only a once a year refresher coat. It's a solid and strong base for varnish, especially for hard service teak, like toe-rails, tiller, etc.


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## alanl (Mar 13, 2006)

I have to agree with GeneT - I used epoxy extensively to seal the teak before applying clear polyurethane "varnish" and sincerely wish I had not done so. It looked great for a couple of years, but all attempts to sand and recoat have been less than successful, because the epoxy has degraded unevenly. I have just recently removed all grab rails and stripped them back to bare timber - then a coat of Feast Watson "Proofseal" before several coats of polyurethane tinted with Feast Watson "golden teak" (I have no connection with the company - I just found that the brand works for me. The result looks good. Now I have the problem dealing with all the other teak that was treated with epoxy - getting that stripped will not be a lot of fun.

Cheers, Alan


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## IslandRaider (Oct 6, 2006)

IslandRaider said:


> Teak work and long lasting finishes are 2 statments that were as synonomus as mixing oil and water until recently. There is an excelent finish out there called "BRISTOL" and is made by C-Tech marine, Bristol is a 2 part polyurithane finish with excellent UV inibitors but it is expensive an adhears well to epoxy. Strip your teak wash it with a good cleaner, let it dry and apply 2 thinned coats of epoxy resin let it harden and sand off any burs or hairs til smooth then re coat with 2+ coats for a smooth build then coat with Bristol, min 4 coats. depending on your loca you can get 1- 4 yrs before recoat.
> Will post some pics of my cabin and trim in near future.


Back up the truck........................... 
Big mistake-------- although the stern toe rail still looks great one year later, I never took into consideration that teak cabin sides would flex enough to crack the finish and let the water in. Needless to say I am now having to strip it all back down and start over   No I am not impressed. 
Have decided to use Rapid coat by Epifanes as my replacement choice, it looks good and is easy to apply. With all the woodwork this love of mine has I will never consider using a 2 part finish again let alone epoxy!!!!!!!!!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

If the cabin sides are flexing that much, it might well be worth looking at reinforcing the cabin sides a bit to stop the flexing.


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

I would recommend the use of epoxy, overlaid with varnish, for only the interior. The UV protection when used on the exterior is only going to be as good as the condition of the overcoat. As mentioned, UV degraded epoxy is going to be nothing but a p.i.t.a.. I use strictly spar varnish on my exterior teak. I've never tried Cetol although I've seen some great results here on sailnet, specifically Cam's boat. I strongly recommend against any of the polyurethane varnish products for exterior use. Their UV inhibitors are inadequate and you'll end up with a bigger project removing it when it starts to flake like celophane than if you'd just used spar varnish.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Island...I had friends use it on the toe rail of a Beneteau. Looked great for a year...then he problems started and it began to lift. What a pain to re-do. They are now back to Cetol+Cetol Gloss.


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## IslandRaider (Oct 6, 2006)

sailingdog said:


> If the cabin sides are flexing that much, it might well be worth looking at reinforcing the cabin sides a bit to stop the flexing.


The old girl is 43yrs this year an although her hull is fiber glass her deck and coach roof are GRP covered plywood with solid teak cabin sides, If she did'nt flex I'd be worried. most of the cracking and lifting started in the joints and then spread as the water lifted the epoxy covered bristol away from the teak.

I have re done most of the teak window framing as well as the section around the vee berth with single part epifanes rapid coat which is soft enough to flex with the boat without cracking at the joints, but I still have the rest of the cabin sides to strip . I have also noticed a big differance in color between the bristol covered epoxy an the rapid coat, the rapid coat has a far richer look where as the other seems to have dulled rapidly over the last 10+ months. Will post new pics soon in my gallery.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Ahhh.. I was thinking it was a GRP cabin with teak overlaid on it.


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## US27inKS (Feb 6, 2005)

I used epoxy on my cabin sole before installing it. I coated all 4 sides of every piece. Now 2 years after installing and 1 year after first launch, I have some lifting of the epoxy. I will have to remove the epoxy and try something else. I'm not looking forward to that party. I also had to make a new bilge cover at the end of last season, and I installed it this past weekend. The color difference is amazing.


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