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I'm refinishing boards to my 15 ft SS, and wondering what is more durable, polyurethane or varnish. Also, what finish did Boston Whaler originally apply? (I think I read it was polyurethane). Type, how many coats?
I'm halfway through putting 6 coats of varnish on the teak on my 17' montauk. It looks awesome. I'd recomend petit flagship varnish. Its about 38 bucks a can, but it goes a real long way. If you choose to go with varnish, that stuff stands up well to prolonged exposure to the sun and elements. Also, be sure to thin the varnish with turpentine, moreso for the first coat or two and then a little less for the following 4 coats. I'll post pics on my page soon, I still have 2 more coats to go, but it already looks spectacular.
I use "ZAR" mahogany stain & "ZAR" Polyurethane (both are Marine Rated). I like the darker look, and the extra protection of the "stain", the "Poly" is easy to work with, I don't know if it's more durable than "Varnish" as I've never used varnish. I apply about 7 coats of "Poly", sanding with very fine sandpaper between coats, sometimes I only apply 5 coats if I'm gettin "Itchy" to splash in early. My boat is outside all season, I get a few years out of it then get to do it all over again, it stand's up well against the Sun & Rain, this year was just a quick touch up of "Poly" on the bow locker, looked almost "New" until 4 little sand cover "light up" sneaker's trashed it yesterday after "Island Hopping" by 2 "Whaler" Brats. They're livin the childhood I always wanted.
I just did the mahogany on my 13ft sport. I also used Petit flagship and the wood came out beautifly and as close to original as I had hoped. Photos are clickable
If you end up going with the flagship varnish, be sure to do about 40% turpentine for the 1st couple coats then reduce the cut until you can apply it thinly without having to overwork the varnish. From what I've been told by a guy who has been varnishing teak for 50+yrs, this is the way to do it so that it lasts a long time. Good luck with whatever you go with.
When I redid my 13 mahogany over I used Helsman Spar Urethane. 7 coats. Dry sand with 320 after 3 coats. Wet sand with 600 after next 2 or 3 coats. Wet sand with 2000-3000 on last coat, buff, wax. Take a look at my personal page and the 13 which is the original wood. I am using this same method on my current project 18. Not the quikest but if you like the bartop gloss finish this looks awesome. If you are going with the satin finish instead there is no need to buff or finish sand on last coat but you always could if you wanted.
by 2 "Whaler" Brats. They're livin the childhood I always wanted.
