One part synthetic finishes, like Sikkens Cetol, are some of the most popular finishes on boats today. Sikkens Cetol gained popularity in the 1980s as an easy-to-use, low maintenance finish. Once the old finish is stripped and sanded, it’s easy to apply three coats of Cetol. This finish will look good for about six months before yellow (breakthrough) marks start to appear – particularly in grainy portions of the wood. So, you sand it and put another coat of Cetol on the wood. Six months later you need to put another coat on. In two or three years you have a finish that closely resembles blotchy brown paint on your exterior wood. You convince yourself, “it doesn’t look too bad”, then let it go for another year or two. This process is a waste of your time and money. And, wouldn’t you rather be boating than working on the boat?

The most time consuming part of refinishing exterior wood on your boat is preparation – that is, stripping the old finish off the wood, then rough and finish sanding the bare wood, then vacuuming, prepping and taping – all in preparation to apply the new finish. Usually half the cost (and time) of refinishing is the prep work. So make sure you put a finish on that won’t require stripping again for about five years.