To protect marine woods (boat decks, boat hulls, shutters, cladding close to a marine environment), various products exist on the market such as marine varnishes and saturators. But then what are the differences between marine varnishes and saturators and how to choose the product best suited to your needs.
THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A MARINE VARNISH
To protect boat decks and other marine wood surfaces, marine varnishes create a film on the surface of the wood to waterproof it. The wood is then resistant to stagnant water, moisture and impact.
The film created by the varnish is normally relatively soft. However, under the effect of maritime constraints (humidity, sea air, repeated exposure to UV rays), this film tends to crack quickly, which leads to more regular maintenance. We recommend varnishes for indoor application on furniture. Outdoors, the natural aggressions seem to us to be too important for the varnish to last over time.
The maintenance of varnished marine woods can be difficult as it often requires sanding.
Marine varnishes (or boat varnishes) are often used in extreme environments (sea, mountains, swimming pool surrounds). To provide high resistance, some of them are formulated in solvent phase and release volatile organic compounds during drying. We advise you to favour products in aqueous phase in order to have an approach that respects the environment and the applicator.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MARINE SATURATORS
Unlike marine varnishes, saturators such as Marine Wood Saturator SBM600 do not form a film to protect marine woods. Marine wood saturators do not flake over time. With a stain version, you can offer protection to boat wood and other marine woods while restoring the wood's original colour.
To protect seaside cladding, shutters or garden furniture, saturators soak into the wood and nourish it. The saturator, like the Marine Wood Saturator SBM600, is applied to clean, dust-free, non-grey and non-blackened wood. To learn more about the application conditions of this saturator, you can read our article on the application of a marine wood saturator.
Afterwards, the maintenance of marine woods is very simple (unlike marine varnish), just apply a new coat of saturator (such as Marine Wood Saturator SBM600) when you find that your marine wood becomes dull.
For more information on the treatment of ship wood, you can read our article on the protection of boat decks with a saturator.
