Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
I use Howard's Restore-A-Finish and then for infrequent periodic maintenance (ie. after 2yrs), I use Howard's Feed-N-Wax.The Restore-A-Finish is a simple wipe on, wipe off action. Same goes for the Feed-N-Wax.
It's Howard's for me also but I use tung oil on the steps that holds up very well and is as easy to apply as Howard's. I recommend the 1inch traction strips also. Peel and stick easy.
Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688 Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound
I use Cetol for trim, hand rails, etc., but consider it to be too soft for something like steps. I'd stick with oil (which penetrates and brings out some color), or if you want a surface finish that will take some abuse, a satin polyurethane or varnish. Non-skid tape or treads are also good ideas--you can't be too safe with steps on a boat.
Howard's gives a nice natural look, while tung oil, with a few coats, will build up to a satin finish.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
For now, I have been using the teak oil on the steps.
I use to use Cetol on exterior trim. However, a year or so ago, I started on the companionway boards and adjacent exterior trim, stripping all varnish off, applying teak oil and then utilizing a Sunbrella cover I made up snapping it onto the existing snaps that are on perimeter of the companionway exterior trim. It's now been over a year and I have re-applied teak oil a few times (with no cleanup or real prep required and so a quick 1/2 hr application) and have been satisfied with the results. With my sister's sewing assistance, I finished covers for the rest of the exterior trim this past Spring but have not started stripping varnish off yet...will wait till the fall/winter to continue that project.
I like the teak oil finish but without covers, I found years ago that the teak finish would eventually have to be bleached out before reapplying teak oil - The sun UVs were just too much for the teak oil to last a season. Now with the covers, the teak oil holds up fine and any re-applications do not have to have any prep work beforehand. A companionway cover is no big deal to remove and button up each time but.....covering the rest of the exterior wood is a semi-pain and so I have mixed feeling regarding staying with Cetol versus going with the teak oil...but I am going to give the teak oil a try. I probably will replace the long thin exterior wood trim piece, believe it over 100" long) with plastic. I think Catalina Direct sells the replacement.
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.