Subject: (teak toerail treatment)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 2004

Hello,

What would you recommend for the toerail on a teak decked sailboat? We will be allowing the deck to silver but would like the toerail to be bright.

BTW We have refastened every deck screw after filling the holes with CPES and then L&L and have been very happy with the products. It's a bit late now...but do you have any thoughts on Maritime's oxime silicone caulk?

Andrew

Andrew,

CPES as a primer under any traditional varnish, or normal polyurethane varnish would be fine for the toerail. Some people like Sikken's Cetol, and although I have not used it much, it seems to be a quality product. But you do NOT want to use CPES under the Cetol. If you want to use this product, follow the directions precisely for best results.

Glad you are happy with the previous use of our products. As far as silicone is concerned, I try to avoid it like the plague. Silicones tend to contaminate surfaces. So if you use a silicone spray and then try to get something to stick to the surface, you will have problems. You have to grind away as much material as it takes to remove all silicone from the material. There is no cleaning. Silicone caulks are thicker, and so would tend to contaminate only the surface, but you would still have to scrape away any trace of silicone before you could get anything else to stick in its place. Also, while silicone is durable itself, I have never had much luck getting it to stay stuck to things. After 6 months to a year, it starts to debond. Generally around boats it is only used to bed plastic through hull fittings that are attacked by other types of caulk. Polyurethanes and polysulfides are just as durable as silicones, but are much more adhesive, especially over the long haul. Polysulfides are normally used on teak decks as polysulfides are very resistant to fuel spills, while polyurethane tends to be degraded by fuel.

Come back if you have further questions.

Doc