Robbin, On our M15 we used Teak Oil (13 years) and on our M17 we used Cetol Light (3 years and counting). Between the two I prefer Cetol. From my experience Cetol has the following Pro's and Con's. Pro's: - if you careful prep the teak before applying Cetol the first time 90% of your wood up keep is done for each successive season. - for each successive season you lightly sand with a fine grit sandpaper and apply a thin touch-up coat. - Cetol adds a durable finish to the teak, and better protects the wood. Our hatch boards are marine plywood and Cetol does a better job of protecting the plywood from moisture penetration and ply delimitation. Con's: - Cetol (even Cetol Light) had an odd orangish color/tint. I recently read Cetol has a new version of Cetol Light, that is said to have a more natural color. - If you ever wanted to go back to natural oiled wood you would need to remove all the Cetol. - Cetol is pretty tough to remove from Fiberglass once dried. We used a good quality teak oil for the wood on our M15. The teak oil does a nice job and has a better initial look to it. We found we needed to re-oil our teak every several weeks, as the sun would dry it out. The teak oil was easy to apply, we just had to remember to keep after it. When handling oiled teak I found I would occasionally catch a splinter. With Cetol the wood has a finish over it and no splinters. Overall I prefer Cetol. I believe it does a better job of protecting the wood, and I like the once per season touch. You just have to like, or accept, the odd tint it adds to the wood. Randy Graves M17 #410 ________________________________________ From: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Robbin Roddewig [robbin.roddewig@verizon.net] Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 1:29 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: M_Boats: teak Hello all, after putting in a line organizer and repairing the part of the deck that came with the tabernacle I am removing and refinishing the teak loop handles and other removable teak parts. Two questions, should I be using teak oil on these parts or Cetol? What would hold up better and what would be the differences? Also, should I use some 3M 4200 sealant when putting these back or 3M silicone or nothing, as was done previously? Thanks in advance! Robbin
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