clear finish on cypress

[seapearl154]

I'm building clear cypress floor slats/boards for my open sharpie, and would like to leave them unpainted. What kind of oil/finish should I put on them to keep them as natural as possible?

Thanks, Dave, TN

[JimD]

Don't know about oil but there are a number of clear polyurethanes and clear varnishes out there although it may not be quite accurate to call them varnishes. I like Sikkens Cetol Marine brand topcoat. Comes in regular, light (both have an amber tint) and clear.

[seapearl154]

I guess I should clarify more. I want to use an oil type of finish, not something that will buildup, chip off, have to be refinished per se (varnish, poly, paint, etc). I have enough of that to do! I'd like to have something that would absorb, seal, protect the wood, and leave it looking as natural as possible. The only maintenance I want is to reapply. I have no experience with oils (such as teak oil). The cypress will not sit in the sun.
Thanks, Dave, TN

[NormMessinger]

Cetol would do that if you don't mind the orange cast. So would Deks Ojle. A friend finished the bright work on his Caladonia Yawl with Deks and it really looks nice.

I finished two chairs that sit out, un protected by shade, on the back porch with Cetol, CPES on one under one coat of Cetol, two coats of Cetol on the other. Now after several years I can't remember which is which nor tell the difference in appearance. Both need recoating.

[Nicholas Carey]

I've heard rather good things about Penofin (http://www.penofin.com/) marine finishes. Penofin is a penetrating, polymerising oil finish with a lot of UV protection in the form of metallic oxides in it.

The finished pieces I've seen look really good.

[ 01-21-2004, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: Nicholas Carey ]

[Paul Scheuer]

My experience with unfinished cypress is that it splinters. Maybe it's just an up north thing. Don't know if an oil would hold it together.

[seapearl154]

Thanks guys. Looking at the grain of cypress, I had wondered if it might splinter. I took the router to all the sharp edges thinking that might help. I think I'll just sand it real well, put on Deks Olje (which I had been wanting to try anyway), and see what happens.

Thanks, Dave

[ahp]

Once upon a time I made a pair of leeboards for a sailing canoe. It was my first boat. They were cypress, and I shaped them with a hand plane (this was back in BC), then finished them with several coats of boiled linseed oil and turpentine. It darkened the cypress but it looked good and worked good as far as I can remember.

[Pernicious Atavist]

dave, i've been wanting to use cypress for a sharpie, too. what style are you building? got pics? feel free to email them if you can't post them.
cheers!
ed

[seapearl154]

Ed, my New Haven style sharpie is not cypress, I'm just building new cypress floor boards as part of a total refurb. project. Kingfisher is 18ft, and is marine ply/epoxy/fiberglas cloth with a superstructure of sassafras. We built her in 1986 and she has served us very well. I noticed you live in Melbourne. This boat has sailed the you know what out of the Indian River there, mostly from Rockledge. We will be there in April for a wedding, if not before. Anyway, I'll send you a pic via email. We have been sailing a Sea Pearl for a while now, and I guess the sharpie is going for sale when I get her finished. She is an eye catcher and a screaming sweet sailer.

Dave

[High C]

Tung oil?

I've never tried it outdoors or on a boat, but I have finished a number of cypress furnishings with it. Lots of coats, rubbed in. It changes the look of the wood very little, and since it is a natural oil, maybe it would protect as well as linseed oil, without the darkening?