Varnish!

[Nudge]

OK, we're talking about what will be vanished after we take delivery on our Ranger 29. We're trolling for advice and experience. Has anyone varnished the cabin sole? We definitely plan to varnish the exterieor lockers but what about the interior?

 

[The Bud's Tug]

Hello;
The walls of the R29 interior are sealed (as is the head) but all other interior teak is not. I suggest leaving the exterior lockers unfinished which will allow you to just oil them...much less maintenance! As you probably know, mother nature always wins when it comes to weathering a finished or sealed wood. However, in just minutes your can bring back the unsealed teak to a 'new' look with a little teak oil.

 

[bbrh842]

I agree with oiling the exterior teak.
For that matter, I oiled the interior teak also, on my R-25.
It is much easier to touch up.
Beware not to drip or spatter the oil on the upholstery!
It turns dark after a few years and is hard to clean off upholstery.
Cover the upholstery with an old towel while you are applying teak oil to the interior.

 

[knotflying]

There is a thread that goes back in March sometime regarding interior oil finishes on the non-sealed wood. Jim Favors has used the Pledge Revitalizing oil with great success on the interior wood. I originally used Daly's Sea Fin Teak Oil, which also worked very well and after a year applied the Pledge product. I am not sure how these products will hold up on the exterior. Daly's says it can be used on exteriors. On exterior woods I have used Epifanes and have found this to hold up very well, but as said in the previous post, once you apply a varnish type finish you will have scraping and sanding to look forward to in the future.

 

[Bruce Moore]

We've used nothing but oil on the interiors of our classic R-25 and current R-29. On the R-25 we replaced the varnished cockpit doors with unfinished teak which we oiled. We took delivery of our R-29 with unfinished doors, which we oiled.

We prefer a matte finish, and it has help up well inside and out.

 

[joempo]

I've been wondering about this, also.
When I was a firefighter in California, we treated the wood handles of our hand tools with thinned, boiled linseed oil. (1 part thinner to 1 part oil). This was done about twice per year and worked well to protect the wood. Granted, one must be careful regarding oil-soaked rags and discarding them safely, but that goes with any oil-based product. I'm sure this would be less expensive than "teak oil". Any thoughts?

 

[Nudge]

We've been there and done exactly that on boats. It's beautiful BUT requires constant maintenance in the maritime environment, i.e. monthly coatings and rubbings. On the interior, it gets sticky from heat. Any interior oil can darken and get sticky.

This is our preference: on the interior (fiddles and other edgings and coamings ) gloss varnish is the way to go because it seals the wood and is really easy to keep clean. Other vertical and horizontal services such as shelves etc look great in semi gloss. We did this on our sailboat and after eight years, it just needs a dusting.

Exterior oil is OK but we hate the frequent re-oiling. My guess is for the vertical cabinet doors will get minimal direct sun so a good varnishing job should hold up well. By that, I mean 3 coats of 50% varnish and 50% thinner and 2-3 coats at full strength. Takes a lot of time up front, but the varnish on the sailboat has held up for years.

 

[jroyle]

We had our tugs interior wood delivered with the teak oiled. We have since then had the entire interior wood varnished with semi-gloss finish. I will NEVER use teak oil again :cry: , the varnish gives a continuous fresh look and is virtually maintenance free. In hindsight I would have had the factory spray the finishes with varnish, it would have been much cleaner and probably cheaper.

 

[Just Dreamin']

We have been using Pledge Revitalizing Oil on our R25 (interior) for three years and find it to really do a nice job. We do all the interior wood just prior to putting her away for the winter and once around mid season. It gives the wood a nice rich appearance. As a side note, I am certainly glad Just Dreamin' is tucked away in her heated storage building as Hurricane Sandy is really kicking Lake Erie up; however, not to the extent of the Eastern Seaboard. I truly hope all Tugnuts up and down the East Coast are fairing well.

 

[Ainokea]

We use Captains Varnish on the exterior wood and the cabin sole and overhead teak trim pieces. For the first few coats this was thinned out so the wood would absorb it and build bulk so the last 2 coats of unthinned varnish gives a deep rich look. This was also done to the wood walls and head.