signature finish?

[hedgewave]

Anyone ever heard of "Signature Finish" marine coating/varnish out of Florida, or use this product? Sounds similar to sikkens finish. They boast you can add up to 4-5 coats in one day even in 15 degree weather and that it is superior to most marine "finishes" out there. Huh? Here is the link. I was considering varnishing my mast on my 1925 sound interclub with this over the winter.

http://www.signaturefinish.com/

Jay

[Concordia...41]

Every product says or implies it is superior. What are they going to say, that they're crap? ;)

Seriously, Honey Teak (and many other products) have a particular use. Four or five years ago I had the components on hand because I planned to do a test on my own boat when a "varnish emergency" occurred.

Varnish emergency being defined as I had a linear mile of bare teak and something like 72 hours to produce a boat-show finish on a high-end boat headed to a photo shoot, boat show, or both. The pictures don't begin to convey the scope of the job. If memory serves, it took something like 10 man hours just to tape it all off.

At any rate, the Honey Teak / Signature Finish applied as advertised, kicked off, and built quickly. I don't remember the problem (whatever it was, it was probably self induced), but I called the company about something and I'm pretty sure it was one of the owners that talked me through whatever crisis I was having.

Down sides: It has the orangish Cetol color and fast-build coatings like this tend to be brittle and thus ding easily and I don't know about using it on a mast. These cockpit seats have held well and just this year really started needing work. Basically, the owner has had zero maintenance done and a couple of spots just wore down. Also, the finish is starting to give up and moisture is wicking up from the spots where the teak meets the gelcoat.

On one hand, 4-5 years in Florida with zero maintenance is pretty amazing. On the other, because Signature recommends recoating at intervals, which hasn't been done, this owner is now in a position where he could have the wood replaced for what it is going to cost him to have the Signature Finish, which is now chipping off in places, removed to bare wood and redone.

Nutshell version: If you need quick coating - i.e. you've got one week to get something done, Signature's products would be good. Also, if you're like most of us and have cycles of activity followed by several years of inactivity, it'd be good.

Practical Sailor has done several in depth pieces on these coatings and traditional varnish. If you don't have the info, go to their website. A few bucks downloads any article they've done. Their reports will give you more info than the average person needs, and you can absorb and make an informed decision on what is right for your and your boat's needs.

As for me, any time I have time to do something right, I brush on Epifanes.

Picture 1 - Bare wood taped off (deepest darkest curses of Hell on the designer who thought this was a good idea.... :()

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid220/p552b282aff3fa8c9a0f2855b3c311161/ebce9d52.jpg

Picture 2 - Two days later, however many coats applied and tape pulled

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid220/p3b067487183b641d98db65b5d5a08529/ebce9d2e.jpg

Picture 3 - A shot of the cockpit showing about 40% of the "emergency job from hell"

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid220/p188bb057d63b8d994941f21ee4565640/ebce9d01.jpg

[hedgewave]

Thanks for your reply. Yea I guess I will stick with my Epiphanes. My boat is afterall 80 years old, but I'm always open to new technologies. Thanks for the tips.

Jay