Good news! We can do our door panels together
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My teak method isn't for everyone, as all told ... I've ~40 pieces of brightwork on the ol' Miss Teak :shock: ! And you ain't seen nothing yet, 2 major projects in the planning ... yup, all teak.
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Teak Finishing on Exterior wood:
To me it really depends on "how often" do you want to refinish the wood? I don't want to ever have to again, less putting on a periodic top coat of varnish. So here's what I did ...
1) Clean and sand: I did not use any chemical cleaner, nothing but acetone and sandpaper, always with the grain and wetsand to clean if you need to remove any dirt. Always, always, always use a sanding block on teak. The pieces are best done if you can completely remove the piece ... but I understand this is impractical if not impossible with the door frame.
2) Wash: Solvent wash with acetone and wipe with paper towels. Do this twice, or more, on pieces showing lots of oil in the wood.
3) Base Finish: I use 3 very light coats of Sikkens Cetol Marine Light", not the regular Cetol which has waaaaaaaaay too much orange tint. Each coat is dried (read the can, no more than 2 weeks between coats) and then lightly buffed with the grain using a fine scotchbrite pad and blocker backing.
4) Epoxy Finish: I use 3 thin coats of Raka epoxy with a foam brush, see
www.raka.com . It is an awesome epoxy, uses a simple 2 to 1 mix (no pumps) and is 1/3rd to 1/2 the cost of West Systems. Each coat is dried 2 days and lightly buffed with the grain using a fine scotchbrite pad and blocker backing. I even drill out fastener holes 1/16" over the bolt diameter and fill with epoxy. Re-drill for the clearance drill before the varnish coats.
5) Varnish Topcoat: I am using 3 coats of clear poly-based marine varnish, called Goldspar by Interlux. Also using a foam brush and I can tell you where to buy these really cheap, i.e., <0> $1.40 each :shock: ! Each coat is also dried 2 days and VERY lightly buffed with the grain using a fine scotchbrite pad and blocker backing.
Reasoning: The intent of this "system" is to totally encapsulate the teak in the epoxy. The Cetol merely gives it a 12-coat traditional varnish golden hue, but allows the grain to show through. The varnish protects the epoxy as it has no UV inhibitors in it. If/when I see the varnish topcoat crack or start to peel, I will immediately lightly buff with a scotch pad and apply a varnish coat, or 2, or 3, without removing the piece of wood. I expect to get 3-4 seasons, maybe more, out of each piece before they may even need a varnish topcoat re-do ... because with the method below, I got 2 seasons out of them.
This summer I was at a fuel dock in Newburyport, MA and a visitor to the area commented that he loved the gloss and look of my brightwork ... and it turns out he works for Hinckley Yachts
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SIMPLER Teak Finishing on Exterior wood:
1) Clean and sand: As per above.
2) Wash: As per above.
3) Base Finish: As per above.
4) Varnish Topcoat: Use 3 coats of Sikkens' Cetol Marine Gloss overcoat "varnish" made to gloss finish over Cetol, biffed between coats as per above.
Keep an eye on this ... as you never want the wood finish to crack. If you see gray, that means water has gotten into the wood, which it can do from the backside, so that's why I always try to do the entire piece. You can "spot repair" any areas if you catch it before the gray goes too deep. Just lightly sand with blocker, wash, apply Cetol to tint, then topcoat.
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Door Panel: I intend to cut mine out by using a Zip Tool to cut out the bead, then I will finish with a sharp chisel as needed. I am looking into replacement panels right now, so we can work on this together. I am considering a laminate of 2.25" wide pieces of teak with 1/4" black stripe between them, running vertical up the door.
To replace it, I will add a nice new bead of mahogany (1/3rd the price of teak) on the outside edge to form the lip, install the new panel, and then install a new bead on the inside of the door. This way ... the best side (bead) should be the outside one.
More on this later ... as this project won't start until January.
Whew ...
