Finishing Exterior Teak

[Bloodhound]

After removing paint from teak cap rails using a heat gun, I have tried several products and approaches to keeping the teak "nice". I've found nothing yet that works. Maybe I'm looking for the elixer of teak life, but I want something that will leave the teak a natural color (not grey) that is easy to apply and will withstandextreme heat without needing to be stripped off periodically

• Teak oil has been marginally OK but promotes growth of mold
• Painted type finishes (read varnish) don't adhere well - wood too oily, finish chips, cracks and peels requiring constant refinishing.
• A plastic pad scrubber and detergent are painful to use and give short lived results. Also can be hard on the wood.
• Salt water and gentle elbow grease might be good, but we're curently on fresh water. Scrubbing is a worry anyway because of the tendancy to remove the soft parts of the wood and ruin the surface.

Has anyone tried water sealers such as are used on patios? I've used one on a cedar pergola and it's lasted a year, seeming to need only recoating and wiping off of the excess.

What's worked best for you? And under what circumstances?

[MikeinLA]

[QUOTE=Bloodhound;826519]

• Painted type finishes (read varnish) don't adhere well - wood too oily, finish chips, cracks and peels requiring constant refinishing.

In my humble opinion, there is simply nothing like a good varnish finish for teak. If your varnish is not adhering, I would suggest you bleach it out first and use a good sealer before you proceed. As far as refinishing, it is not so bad as long as you stay ahead of it. Once it starts peeling at the edge, you're too late. Apply MANY coats to start and then just keep an eye on it. JMHO


Mike

[jzk]

How about Semco teak sealer?

[zeehag]

i have used teak oil for years and have zero mold. the trick is to completely wash all the teak with sea water then apply the oil. black is from dirt and only dirt. clean teak is a nice light reddish brown color.

[Tristan]

I have pretty good results with a coat of acetone-diluted epoxy followed by a few coats of Cetol.
Doesn't look as nice as varnish but stays on for over 2 years.
T.

[bchaps]

Bloodhound...My wife and i asked the same questions and have "tried" something other than Cetol or Epiphanes. We thoroughly scraped and sanded the old Cetol off and then using a relatively obscure product called "TeakGuard" Super Cleaner, (not to be confused with another product named "Teak-Guard"), scrubbed the sanded teak to remove all mold and decayed wood. Their claim to fame is "never sand teak again" which certainly grabbed our attention.

After thoroughly cleaning the teak, TeakGuard finish must be applied within a day or two at most to prevent the return of mold spores. But here is the easy part..applying TeakGuard Finish...no taping!!!...just wipe it on with a sponge brush! It is water thin and simply flows. If some drips onto the gelcoat, wipe it off with a paper towel before it can dry. We applied eight coats on the teak pictured below.

My experience with the company has been totally positive. The initial TeakGuard Shipment was shorted Super Cleaner. After calling, a corrected shipment was made the same day via Priority Mail at no cost to me. I again called the "factory" prior to beginning the job and my contact spoke with me for nearly 15 minutes to insure I was properly cleaning the wood before applying TeakGuard finish. He candidly explained certain environmental conditions were not optimal for TeakGuard; primarily heavily industrialized areas with significant chemical fallout. I explained my environmental hazards are heat and humidity to which he stated "not a problem"

Charbonneau's teak will be experiencing it's first North Carolina winter conditions very soon, so we're anxious to see how well TeakGuard lives up to their claims. At this point, we are delighted. If it looks nearly as good in the Spring I'll be ecstatic!

Bill
Before and after Photos:

[aquarian]

Cetol with a yearly touch up where it gets worn down. Never tried TeakGuard, but might be in the near future - nice finish!

[Bloodhound]

I tried a product called Teak Guard (two words, and see Welcome to the Teak Guard Website for information --- an Australian product). It was great --- for a week or two --- then immediately started to deteriorate and within a month had turned to a mottled, patchy mess. What didn't lift off was pure hell to remove and I still have patches left to sand. There is another product of a very similar name (perhaps Teak and Guard joined) that bchaps is referring to. Maybe bchaps can be more specific about which one he actually used.

[VirtualVagabond]

I've used Deks Olje in the past and found it easy to apply, a bit like the easy wipe on bchaps described.
It needs to be wiped over with another coat every 6 months or so, but it's easy. Unfortunately I let it go and had to start from scratch again. Should be ideal if you live aboard.

I'd also like to hear if anyone here has used Mas Epoxies epoxy base. There is a demo on their site that is impressive.
I also seem to remember claims of using a clear auto urathane over the epoxy and getting 10 years out of it. It seems like it should be possible given that cars get at least 10 years...

Here is their site Clear Coating Wood - MAS Epoxies - Easy Epoxy Resin & Adhesives. Marine Epoxy for Boat Repair & Boat Building; Automotive Epoxy; Epoxy for Woodworking, Signs, Surfboards, Other. New: Eco-Friendly Acetone Replacement, Non-Skid Repair

[minaret]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

I've used Deks Olje in the past and found it easy to apply, a bit like the easy wipe on bchaps described.
It needs to be wiped over with another coat every 6 months or so, but it's easy. Unfortunately I let it go and had to start from scratch again. Should be ideal if you live aboard.

I'd also like to hear if anyone here has used Mas Epoxies epoxy base. There is a demo on their site that is impressive.
I also seem to remember claims of using a clear auto urathane over the epoxy and getting 10 years out of it. It seems like it should be possible given that cars get at least 10 years...

Here is their site Clear Coating Wood - MAS Epoxies - Easy Epoxy Resin & Adhesives. Marine Epoxy for Boat Repair & Boat Building; Automotive Epoxy; Epoxy for Woodworking, Signs, Surfboards, Other. New: Eco-Friendly Acetone Replacement, Non-Skid Repair

The urethane is my chosen route. The maker's of awlgrip make a special varnish system designed to be finished with clear urethane. It is called Awlspar and the urethane you topcoat it with is called Awlbrite. It's a ton of work to do it right but it does last 5-10 yrs depending on conditions and level of maintenance. And you can wet sand and buff it which means you can blend repairs in it. I love it, it has a certain look you cant get any other way, very high gloss much like Awlgrip. Wears similar to Awlgrip as well, very hard to scratch...

[matauwhi]

G'day, mate. Good old varnish here in some of the toughest UV conditions around. The key is to get sufficient base coats down initially. Coming up on three years now, thinking about maybe putting a new coat or 2 down, but then again maybe not. Cheers.

[jzk]

Varnish, of course, looks the best, but I am just not cut out with the maintenance that it requires to keep up.

Semco teak sealer keeps the teak from graying but it not a coating. It is more like a penetrating stain. It goes on with a sponge applicator or even a rag, so it is really easy. And, there is nothing to keep up with. Every six months (or a year as they claim), just wipe another coat on and be done with it. There is also something nice about having the wood feel of the teak vs. a shiny coating over it. Especially great for teak decks.

[GordMay]

TeakGuard ➥ Allguard Products TeakGuard Teak Cleaners and Finish. Second To None!

All Guard Products TeakGuard Super Teak Cleaner
➥ Insturctions for All Guard Super Cleaner

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by matauwhi

G'day, mate. Good old varnish here in some of the toughest UV conditions around. The key is to get sufficient base coats down initially. Coming up on three years now, thinking about maybe putting a new coat or 2 down, but then again maybe not. Cheers.

Impressive. Just a couple of questions:
a) What brand of varnish do you use?
b) Is it 3 years since your last 'refresher' coat, or since you built it up from bare teak?

[matauwhi]

G'day, Mate. Altex Timbercote. 3 years since the base coats. All the best. Cheers