I Need A Shrink !

[wtenglish]

Everything is looking great!

Couple of questions:

1) In you restorations you wait to cut thru hull penetrations until after you paint. Is there a benefit by doing that instead of before you paint?

2) How many coats of Epifanes did you use? If multiple coats do you sand between applications? I've bought that product to use but they don't provide instructions.

[Bushwacker]

2) How many coats of Epifanes did you use? If multiple coats do you sand between applications? I've bought that product to use but they don't provide instructions.

The can of Epifanes I bought had some pretty detailed instructions on it. I used the gloss version but they also make a satin finish. As I remember it said to thin 1st coat 50%, 2nd coat 25% and 3rd coat 10%. I applied 7-8 coats total; between coats I just scuffed the surface with a red 3M pad or wet sanded w/180 grit any areas that weren't real smooth. Did more wet sanding between the first few coats and mostly scuffing between last few coats. I used foam brushes and it turned out well. Did most of it 4 years ago and it's still holding up well, although a few spots need touch up, especially on the door frame, which was done with Honey Teak. I do keep it covered, but the Epifanes is the most durable stuff I've found, and I've tried just about everything over the last 35 years, including Deks Olje No. 1 & 2, and various teak oils. Seems like the teak oils oxidize and turn dark, even if you keep them covered! The varnish is more work up front, but over the long haul it's a lot less work, and I think it looks better.

BTW, be carefull about using the aggressive 2-part teak cleaners, which soften the soft part of the grain. I sanded my teak cockpit boards with 60 grit to get them smooth because they were pretty "scalloped" in the soft areas from the many years of using aggressive cleaners. Probably would have been easier to have run them thru a planer!