[C320-list] Refinishing companionway steps

[Scott Thompson]

I'm resurrecting a topic that has been covered more than once to see 
what current opinions are, since some initial opinions may have changed 
over time. Searching my personal email archives as well as those on the 
website came up with the following options. Looking for more info on 
these and/or others. And I'm specifically interested in recommendations 
for a 1999 boat since finishes varied over time.

1. A 2006 discussion included several recommendations for "Ultimate 
Sole." However the website causes my virus software to warn about 
dangerous content on the website, and a search indicates that perhaps 
they are not in business any more.

2. 2006 Jeff Church said he had used Minwax Satin Polyurethane with good 
results.

3. 2009 Karl M. said he had stripped to bare teak and is using teak oil. 
Has a photo on the website.

4. 2013 Warren Updike recommending Waterlox. Says its the original 
product used on his older boat.

5. 2015 Detailed email from Bev Wright about using Epifanes High Gloss 
Finish.

6. 2015 email from Graeme Clark says that water based varnish on teak 
will produce a lighter color than solvent based varnishes.

BTW, I can't find any mention specifically of finishes for the steps on 
the Catalina Direct website.  Personally, I've been happy with the 
original finish, but I don't know what it is. Catalina Direct seems to 
suggest that everything in the cabin on a 1999 boat used one of two 
finishes that they sell -- either satin or gloss.

Also, as an aside, I'm finding the search function on the new website is 
kind of funky at times, so I may have missed some of the past 
discussions. For example, the number of results seems to vary whether I 
sort by date or sort by relevance. And searches conducted seconds apart 
sometimes turn up radically different number of results. Also, I was 
sometimes in a situation where the search engine told me I was looking 
at message 19 of 32, but the arrow to view the next result was greyed out.

Scott Thompson
Surprise, #653 (1999)