Lonseal Information

[Starman]

I had been asked , and was also curious myself, about Lonseal. So I contacted the company today and spoke in detail to a factory rep about this product.

I was told a few things that I do not remember being discussed here before and thought I would pass on this information.

Lonseal is a vinyl product. It has what is referred to as a " Photo-finish" . In a nut shell, a picture is taken of the real Teak and Holly and is laminated to the vinyl in the same manner that a picture is laminated to a coffee cup.

Lonseal has absolutely no UV protection. It will fade when introduced to sunlight, such as a dash board area. They expect the life range to be 2-3 years max in such areas where it comes under direct sunlight, and this includes any where the sun hits the product.

Although I was told it would be OK to use it in places such as a head and galley, they said the epoxy based adhesive is the preferred in any areas where water is expected . Such as an overflowing head, water spills, constant wet clean-up. The regular adhesive sells for about 60.00 a gallon. I did not ask the cost of the epoxy based adhesive.

They are working on some new products with UV protection, and with a raised grain ( textured ) finish, and something that may be used outside. But one person I spoke with today was very skeptical about using this outside ( the possible new stuff being experimented with ) because of the slick nature of vinyl textured or not.

So bottom line, If using Lonseal, make sure it does not get direct sunlight, IT WILL FADE. In water prone areas ( head/galley ) use the epoxy based adhesive.

And just to make sure I am not misunderstood: I was told these things by the factory, the factory rep in NC and a distributor in NC. All 3 said the same thing.

 

[luckydave215]

I guess that Lonseal teak and holly I put on top of the hardtop on the tower with Wilhold glue isn't going to last then?
I guess it's a good thing I didn't get around to installing the "Griswald Edition" wood panels on the hull.

 

[Starman]

LOL


Like the old station wagons with the wood grain panels

 

[Salty Dame]

The Londeck product I just ordered claims to be UV protected for the marine environment. I am putting the gray Londeck coin in the cockpit.This stuff comes 8' wide so I will only have one 36" seam in my 41C cockpit. I will get back in 5 or 6 years and give you an update.We have been putting Lonseal in work boats for years and everyone seems to like it.

 

[Starman]

The Londeck product I just ordered claims to be UV protected for the marine environment. I am putting the gray Londeck coin in the cockpit.This stuff comes 8' wide so I will only have one 36" seam in my 41C cockpit. I will get back in 5 or 6 years and give you an update.We have been putting Lonseal in work boats for years and everyone seems to like it.

Lets make something clear. I am not here to argue. I decided to look into this product because even though I am not a fan of putting linoleum on boats, especially yachts, I thought there could be an opportunity to sell the product.

With that said;

Apparantly Londeck is different from Lonseal. Lonseal only comes in 6' wide rolls. Londeck was not mentioned by the people I spoke with. Al Jerganson of World Panel products here in NC spoke about his wood products for use outside. Maybe he was not aware of the Londeck product.

Strange that neither the nice lady ( I do not have her name ) at Lonseal, nor the factory rep for NC ( Shay ), spoke of the exterior product but did mention they were working on products for the exterior, and products with UV protection.

Maybe it was because I only asked about the Lonseal, and they focused on just that product instead of informing me of other products.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Plas-Teak makes an indoor and outdoor version. There's is not a photo and actually has a grain. We have it in both our head and galley. My only complaint is that the grain makes it hard to wipe spills up. Other than that, we love both the look and durability of this stuff.

 

[egaito]

Plas-Teak makes an indoor and outdoor version. There's is not a photo and actually has a grain. We have it in both our head and galley. My only complaint is that the grain makes it hard to wipe spills up. Other than that, we love both the look and durability of this stuff.

Maynard's boat was our inspiration to use Plas-Teak in all of the heads on Sanctuary as well. Like Starman, I'm not a fan of vinyl on a yacht over wood, but in the head, it makes a lot of sense. It's an easy product to work with, cleans up well, and looks good.

Amtico is similar to Lonseal, in that it is a photographic product, but many don't like their teak product (me included). The grain looks quarter-sawn, and the color isn't right. Maybe the photographer didn't know wood well enough to catch that when he shot it.

I haven't seen Lonseal up close, but Amtico looked more natural to me from the shots on the web, though somone commented to the opposite in another thread, so beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

When I looked into Amtico, there was no UV protection there either, but that may have changed as they too claimed to be working on it.

 

[Starman]

Thanx for that clarification ED.

The more information each of us discovers and disiminates gives those who are in the decision process more knowledge based on those experiences, preferences and product performance history.

 

[Dave Phipps]

I've just finished an extensive galley remodeling project in my 53 Classic, in which one job was replacing the old flooring. I had to remove two old layers of flooring, including 12x12 vinyl tiles (PO) over the original Hatteras vinyl. I took the floor down to the original subfloor, patched the plywood where necessary, and then applied the Lonseal Teak and Holly flooring using the specified adhesive. The material only comes in 6' rolls, which necessitated two seams. I cut the seems very carefully along the border between teak and holly, and they are indistinguishable. All hatch covers were done in single pieces. I trimmed the hatches with aluminum edging to match new stainless steel appliances.

I found the Lonseal flooring to be much thicker than traditional vinyl flooring, and subsequently more difficult to work with. I first removed all of the wood trim from around cabinetry and furniture and then made cardboard templates for each of the three main pieces, each of which I cut to overlap about 2" to account for the pattern repeat, then fit and cut as described above. The material was not easy to cut without new utility knife blades, and often took repeated scoring to cut through, particularly around curves or corners. I also used a long metal rule to make strait cuts by taping the ruler to the surface with duct tape so that it wouldn't move while cutting.

In addition, the contact cement is an instant bonding cement, so it was imparative to cut, fit, and plan the gluing process carefully, as it was impossible to adjust a piece once contact has been made. All in all, I believe the project required about 100 hours of my time....far more than I had estimated!

The result is stunning and beautiful! As for durability...the gloss finish might tend to show scratches, but I didn't like the look of the satin version. I think an acrylic floor wax will hide minor scratches should it become necessary.

Bottom line; materials about $850, my time...priceless...result; beautiful, but boy am I glad it's done!

 

[Starman]

Dave,

With the detail you have given, there is no doubt in my mind you took the time to plan and execute the job the way it should be done.

I know the satisfaction you are feeling when a job such as this turns out the way you described. it is a good feeling for sure.

It does not matter if I or anyone else do not care for this product. What matters is , as an owner, how you feel about the product.

Nice job Dave

 

[Walter P]

Ed (an others),

Amtico is not a photograph.... It is real teak which has been laminated between a clear top material and a rubber-like bottom. If you examine a piece carefully it's actually pretty obvious. I think the Amtico appearance is superior since it is not a picture and therefore each piece is actually different grain from the others. The actual teak is probably no more than a thin veneer, but natural wood never the less.

The above information was from Amtico about 3 years ago and I would be surprised if it has changed.

Walt