Martin,

The best sealer for teak or any other wood, prior to painting or varnishing
is CPES (clear penetrating epoxy sealer) from Smith and Company.  When
varnishing, apply 3 coats CPES and a coat of varnish, all in one day.  Then
apply more coats varnish as desired.

When painting, seal the bare wood with CPES, 1 to 3 coats, then apply
undercoats etc as normal.

Teak doesn't leach oil, rather it contains oil and finishes don't like to
stick to it.  CPES cures after the finish is applied thereby gluing the
finish to the teak.

When painting out teak trim, I suggest varnishing first, then painting.
This method provides for returning the trim back to varnish without having
to deal with scraping the wood down to remove the paint in the open grain.

I suggest you try the finish coat on a small area first to test any reaction
with the undercoat.  There are barrier coats that can be applied before the
LP that prevent lifting the undercoat.  Another alternative is to use
Toplac, which is a very good one-part by Interlux that is very close to
two-part LP.  Using the recommended undercoating is always preferable to
assure compatibility.

Good luck,

Bob Lowe

sealing most of the teak.

All of the old varnish has been removed. I started the undercoating
process by applying two coats of Kilz, for exterior surfaces, but water
based, as a result of a recommendation from my local Sherwin Williams
paint store. Kilz dries so quickly that you can apply a second coat about
an hour later, and tell if the coating is sufficient when all staining
from the teak oil is gone. It is also convenient as cleanup is as simple
as rinsing the brush out in a stream of water.

I intend to paint the boat with a two part urethane, but I'm concerned
that it will lift off the primer and lead to a messy job of sanding off
all of my hard work. I had a similar experience to this when I applied
SW's two part epoxy paint to a well sanded surface, but one that, I
think, the PO had applied a single part urethane. It attacked and lifted
the old paint off, and looked real bad. It is exactly this reason that I
stayed away from an oil-based primer as I thought the urethane might lift
it off.

So, for those of you who have had the experience of sealing and then
painting teak, which continuously leaches oil forever, and then have
painted it with a urethane successfully, how should this process be done?
What is the best primer? How many coats? Is there a particular brand of
two-part urethane that will not attack the primer? Do I have to apply the
specific primer that is recommended for the paint I intend to use?<<<

3M makes a teak primer that I use when re-doing deck seams. Seems like it
would work for painting as well.

Keith
__
If electricity comes from electrons, does that mean that morality comes from
morons?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin I Veiner" veiner@juno.com
I am in the process of undercoating and

On a previous boat, after sanding we applied 4 coats of West System epoxy to
the teak seats in our cockpit then painted with awlgrip.  It held up very
well, no lifting of the paint or epoxy at all.  Take a look at the
application guide, preparation of previously painted surfaces at
www.alwgrip.com for a procedure to test compatibility between your primer
and your topcoat paint.

Ray B.
m/v MOJO
Bebe Passagemaker 49-19 in steel
www.mvmojo.com