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tsl · 10-08-2011, 11:15

OK I have the results.
I did not test the WD40 since it was posted while I was testing but I did try a soy oil based engine degreaser. It works great cleaning up and engine . No good for teak oil.

I looked for two results:
1. turning the paper towel honey colored (a sign it's cutting the teak oil)
2. Bare teak wood after 20 rubs and however long it takes to dry. The best product left the wood like it was just sent through a plainer.

Failures:
Cabinet scraper/ice scraper. (the build-up was just not that thick)
odorless mineral spirits. Grime was unaffected (picked up some dirt)
I did find some pure gum turpentine. same result
Soy degreaser. Did nothing and never seamed to dry
Seawater. I tried fresh Wisconsin water. It did pick up some oil.
Acetone. This flashes of super fast but even when I soaked the towel and held it in place prior to rubbing it just did not pick anything up.

Semi successful:

TSP The paper towel immediately turned golden honey. It really cut the crud. However it did not leave the wood lumber yard perfect.
Borax Same result as TSP
So I think baking soda may work but I did not test it.
3M safety strip. It worked a little but very slow. It's really made for lifting coatings not dissolving them.

The winner MEK
Ranking strength of solvent. MEK is among the strongest and acetone among the weakest. Other solvents in the middle like Xylene and toluene may work but all require protection so I did not bother going up a ladder. Once the MEK dried (about a minute) it left the wood completely bare and looking like it just left the lumber yard. I won't need to use a strong two part teak brightener. One part may be all I need.

Conclusion.

USE TPS or Borax first to get the majority of the oil and gunk up. My guess it would take two or three passes on an old boat with lots of build-up.
Lots of rinsing of the rag. Then turn on the fan and make a final pass with MEK. I'm putting this on with a rag about 1 square foot at a time. At this rate the box fan is fine. I pushed air in did not pull air out. MEK vapors are heavier than air so I drilled a big hole in the bottom of the boat. Can never be too safe.

I'm not pretending to be a safety expert but being around this stuff for a long time we were always concerned about exposure limits not explosive limits since you will pass out before you will blow yourself up. The real danger is the fact that the vapors are heaver than air. The truly safe way to deal with MEK is to have an explosion proof fan sucking air out of the bilge. I prefer to work up wind with lots of air movement and forgo a respirator so I know if the vapors are building.

I'm heading back later today so I can follow-up with other ideas.

tsl · 10-08-2011, 11:27

I see Cheechako and S/Vfootloose posted while I was writing up the results. I'm happy to confirm their suggestion of TPS
By the way. TPS (Trisodium phosphate) is a powder and is very cheap. Buying it in a spray can is like buying seawater at West Marine.

**minaret** · 10-08-2011, 11:28

Not sure I'd use WD-40 if you plan on coating this later. Glad MEK worked for you. It's slow flash time makes it a great solvent for epoxy and gelcoat too. It has many uses. The guy who mentioned a cabinet scraper ment one of these.

Cabinet Scraper

A good carpenter can put an almost perfect finish on wood with one of these. Some of the great local wood boat builders were notorious for using these to fair a wood hull. Bent Jesperson comes to mind. I wonder if Tager is a CWC/Gompers grad?

tsl · 10-08-2011, 11:47

So TSP and a cabinet scraper would likely get the job done without the fumes. Since it looks like it requires skill, I'll avoid it.

**minaret** · 10-08-2011, 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsl

So TSP and a cabinet scraper would likely get the job done without the fumes. Since it looks like it requires skill, I'll avoid it.

Skill definitely required. Kind of an art form really, like many things. But in this case I think you are trying to remove the gunk and oil without removing teak, and a cabinet scraper would defeat that purpose. They work sort of like a super fine plane. If you wanted to go non-toxic I'd be looking at steam or something instead. But I think your probably fine using MEK with the hole in your boat and the fans and all...

zeehag · 10-08-2011, 13:35

salt water is freee easy and doesnt kill ye or the woood--goood luck. i have excellent results with salt water on mine, and i have much and lots of it. teak that it......also sea water.....pix when done, please.

tsl · 15-08-2011, 06:36

We can see that some bulkheads had been oiled much more often. They require 4 to 5 applications of TSP. We found this process the best for heavy applications.

soak with sponge
allow to soak for 5 to 10 min.
soak again with sponge and scrub with a stiff brush (this really got things loosened up).
soak up slurry with cheap paper towel. Using a rag and rinsing it just took too long. We spent more time rinsing off the rag.
Repeat
Repeat

I believe MEK may be more effective but much less pleasant to work with.
The cabinet scraper would work very well if we were experienced in using it.

It will take 5 rolls of paper towel to do the entire boat.

I'll do the last pass with MEK prior to brightening.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a teak brightener. I used a two part on the doors and drawers and found that it interfered with the cure of the varnish. (even with careful rinsing).

socasailor · 15-08-2011, 07:37

I tried a "miracle eraser" on my teak. It instantly took off years of darkness, grime etc. Really lighted up the teak. Very cheap, no smell and not caustic. Don't know if it's good on the wood, but it worked. Then I followed up with some lemon oil and the teak is beautiful once again.

**minaret** · 15-08-2011, 15:43

Best teak brightener gauranteed not to interfere with varnish cure or bond is sandpaper,IMHO. That's a tasty looking slurry in the pic. Gross! Good work and good luck...

tager · 15-08-2011, 15:54

I am a high school graduate. I just like cabinet scrapers. Skill is not a bad thing to wield. Your lungs and central nervous system will thank you, plus, skill with a cabinet scraper beats sanding all day or wearing hilarious chemical-masks.

Me-and-Boo · 15-08-2011, 15:58

A suggestion I have not seen, although it might be a little late here, is to go to a professional paint store; one that sells for the automotive and paint trade. They sell respirators to handle almost anything. And they sell solvents and covers to do about anything else you want to do.

**minaret** · 15-08-2011, 16:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by tager

I am a high school graduate. I just like cabinet scrapers. Skill is not a bad thing to wield. Your lungs and central nervous system will thank you, plus, skill with a cabinet scraper beats sanding all day or wearing hilarious chemical-masks.

Nice. I too, love a good cabinet scraper. Hardwick's rocks. Anyone else familiar with Bent Jespersen's amazing wood hulls? The schooner Magic is for sale one dock over from me right now. I keep going over and drooling over her...

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1993.../United-States

tsl · 19-08-2011, 13:58

The term is saponification!

The TSP and oil saponify making soap the same way lye and oil does. I had to go back and research why the TSP worked so well.

Someone asked for pictures. This is one of the locker doors. I used the TSP process followed by an MEK wipe down. One part brightener. Two coats of gloss varnish (flagship) and two coats of Epifanes rubbed effect finish.