Re: Teak
Yeah,I do love those old Willy boats myself,a bit of a pain to pole by todays standards,but a truly beautiful skiff.
The epoxy on the raw teak really seals the grain so that the wood doesn't soak up all of the Awlgrip.The epoxy itself really doesn't yellow,it's the clear AwlGrip that you have to maintain.It will require yearly attention here in S.Fl,but it's not that difficult to do.The key is the first time the teak is done that you take care to do it right. Be sure that the epoxy is put on in the shade,if the wood is hot the epoxy tends to bubble and fish eye.Also when mixing the epoxy do so in a slow non violent manner so as not to get any air in the epoxy.Be sure that you scrub the wood between coats of West with a lite soapy water and scotch bright pad to remove the amine blush that west will leave.There realy isn't any need to sand between coats of epoxy unless you have bubbles or runs to remove.After a few coats,enough so that you can not feel any grain through the epoxy,give it a few days or so before you apply the AwlGrip.I've done my share of brightwork on sport boats over the years and I can't say enough how important a good brush is when appling AwlGrip.A good and expensive badger hair brush is the way to go,unless you can spray,then by all means shoot it.Again do it in the shade,you can get a few coats on per day weather permitting and again no need to sand between coats unless you have a run or 24 hrs has passed between coats.
I would sand mine with 320 every 9 months or so and reapply a few more coats of clear.But after a couple times of that I would strip it down to the epoxy with a heat gun,sand,maybe some epoxy(if the grain has raised)and more Awlgrip.
It does require a little effort to keep it looking perfect,but I think it's worth it.
Now,I really will confuse you.Look at the Jenna Mae on my website at the bottom of the post.The toe rail,brow cap and helm pod are mahagony and they have about 6 coats of Bristle Finish on them.It looks really good,but lasts about 6 months down here.You can put AwlGrip over the Bristle after 30 days or so,but I sold the boat before I got to it.
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