Swim Platform Oil ??

Lawman · Post by **Lawman** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 12:05 pm

Hey guys
I'm going to strip and re-finish my swim platform hopefully soon (if the weather gets better). I'm lookin' for some feed back on Teak oil, Danish oil, Tung oil. I bought Sikkens Cetol to redo me brightwork but don't want to worry about the swim platform being slippery, Any feed back would be appreciated.

g36 · Post by **g36** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 12:25 pm

i use bristol finish on my platform thats what was on it when i purchased and it is very durable and holds up very well to the use of the swim platform on my boat. i also use the cetol on the other exterior wood and like it as far as the durablitiy and being able to scuff it and add new coats. the bristol finish when wet is slippery but i have a custom piece of marine carpet that i snap in place on the platform that matches my cockpit carpet so i dont have an issue. i very much like the look of the teak so this is only put out when we are actively swimming etc for the day . i do understand the slippy issue.

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 12:25 pm

The regular Cetol Marine is not (typically) slippery - just don't use Cetol Gloss over top of it. I have been using it on my platforms for (amost) 20 years now without incident. I haven't used oils for years, other than lemon oil for interior surfaces.

If you have fears about grip, you could also use some sand or silica for a bit of DIY 'non-skid' (apply one coat of your desired finish, sprinkle sand or silica over it while still wet, let it try, then apply additional top coats).

[*EDIT* I just saw the previous post (guess it appeared while I was writing my feedback)... I have never found the Cetol to be slippery, but I guess peoples' experiences may vary.]

jimbo36 · Post by **jimbo36** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 2:43 pm

lawman, I too have used cetol on swim platforms for years without slipping issues.

The key here is to strip and sand the teak thourghly and wipe it down with acetone just prior to your first coat.Teak is oily and the acetone wipe down removes the layer of natural oil from the surface grain which greatly helps with the adhesion of the first coat.

I hit it with a minimum of 3 coats, than every year I sand lightly with 320 and recoat once. If you do this you will never need to strip and recoat again and your swim platform will get continual oooh's and ahhh's

jimbo36

rbcool · Post by **rbcool** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:12 pm

Good advice Jim

Ron

wowzer52 · Post by **wowzer52** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:16 pm

Cetol

jimbo36 · Post by **jimbo36** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 9:10 am

wowzer, Lookin goooooood!

jimbo36

Lawman · Post by **Lawman** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 9:14 am

All great posts, thanks for the feedback guys. Now if I can get the wife to start sanding!!

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 9:53 am

I'm with wowzer on this one. My platform gets a fresh coat of Cetol every couple of years. And yes, my wife is the one who does it.

wowzer52 · Post by **wowzer52** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 11:19 am

I took my swim platform off and took it to a cabinet shop and they ran it through a drum sander. Was that cheating?

jimbo36 · Post by **jimbo36** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 11:36 am

Not in my book, just very clever