Interior, Teak Oil or Wax?

[ArteLauri]

I'm cleaning all of the interior teak and have WATCO Satin Finishing Wax and WATCO Teak Oil Finish. Unfortunately I am not able to read all of the back labels directions and the WATCO website isn't much help.
I have one bulkhead and the ladder clean, dry and ready to go. (I do not want to varnish).
So just the Teak Oil finish, maybe a few coats? or
Teak Oil and then the next day add a coat of the Satin Finishing Wax?
Thanks

[angelfish2]

ArteLauri, I'm not sure, but I would think you would use the oil OR the wax and not use them in tandem. You might try using both in one small area and see what happens, but I don't think the wax would be successful over the top of the oil.

Perhaps someone around here has done that and can give you more advice.

[Tropic Cat]

Why? I mean why no varnish?

The teak bulkhead isn't really teak. It's teak only on the finish layer of marine ply. Protect it like crazy. When I did mine I hand sanded as I didn't trust a power sander on it and then coated with 5 coats of minwax spar varnish overlapping the fiberglass tab to both the floor and cabin top. It's as pretty now as it was when I refinished it 10 years ago.

[ArteLauri]

What I can read on the WATCO Teak Oil, is to use on clean, dry, bare wood.
On the WATCO Wax can, is that is can be used on oiled wood.

So I have the teak oiled, will give it one more coat of the oil and then tomorrow, when dry, try a small test area with Wax finish on top.

Maybe just the teak oil will be fine, but will see the results and choose a winner.

If anyone has other advise, would love to hear. Have the rest of the boat to do!
Thanks

[stevewrye]

We use Murphys Wood Soap to clean our interior wood. It is mild does a nice job and smells pretty good also. I think if you use a teak oil you will have a lot of dust and dirt collecting on wood maybe fingerprints also. It's OK for outside of boat where it can be washed down with the hose or the rain.

cheers

[Krogensailor]

Sometimes what we want doesn't matter. There's the best way, time and experience dictate, and that is varnish,, I like satin/rubbed. But do what serves you. Maybe it will work fine.

[RTB]

When we used oil on the inside, we got mildew on the surfaces. It looked like dust, but when wiped off the white cloth was green. It seems that stuff just needs something to eat, and teak oil is on the menu. At that time our boat was left closed up for a couple of weeks at a time, and was during winter months. Maybe not a problem if you are on board full time and the boat is mostly open....not sure?

Ralph
Enjoying Texas | sailing away with R & B

[JPA Cate]

ArteLauri,

On our first one year trip, we had oiled teak. All of it collected dirt and much of it grew green mold in the tropics. So when we got back, I, personally sanded down every bit of oiled teak we had on the boat, and varnished it. Never regretted it. To my eyes varnish appears fresher than oil, anyhow. If you don't like it shiny, do the last coat with matte. With varnish, the high gloss is harder and protects the timber against little dings, a bit, and this is less so with the matte. Lots of folks do the larger surfaces (like bulkheads) in matte, and then the rails, etc., bright (high gloss). It is a nice "shippy" look.

If you're up for an experiment, do one side of the bulkhead with each product that you already have, and see which you like better. Also, maybe you need some reading glasses or a magnifier so you can decipher the fine print on the cans.

Good luck with it.

Ann

[jwing]

I use teak oil on indoor furniture, outdoor furniture and the little bits of wood on my boat. I love it because I like the look, the feel, and most of all, the high ratio of protection-to-application/maintenance.

Teak oil is a penetrating oil; it goes into the wood rather than coat the surface. So if your suface is already waxed or varnished, the teak oil won't work unless you remove the other stuff first. For teak oil, you simply spread it onto the wood, wait a few minutes and then wipe off any excess. The oil hardens in the wood. Oil finishes will require reapplication once or twice a year for a few years (no sanding required), then maybe once every one or two years and then maybe never again, depending on how much sun exposure the wood gets. You can tell it's time for another oil application when the wood starts looking dry enough to absorb some oil. It doesn't chip, crack, or peel. Scratches are easy to repair, simply apply a little more teak oil. It is very easy to keep clean, but it does not give a high gloss finish. Teak oil is not subject to water-marking like some other finishes.

I have seen some mildew growth on outdoor teak oiled wood, but no more than any other wood. The teak oiled wood is easier to clean. Lightly scrub and rinse off with a garden hose.

I don't understand the comments about collecting dust or fingerprints. I've never seen a fingerprint on my oiled wood and the surfaces do not hold dust or dirt any more than a piece of glass holds dirt. It may have something to do with applying it properly? Like I said, the key for teak oil is that it has to be able to soak into the wood.

I use food-grade mineral oil on my maple cutting board and the wooden bowls and plates I've made out of various woods. It works great, too, at least for those applications.

Here's a short article for you:
Teak Oil vs Spar Varnish

There is no way I would put wax on teak oiled wood. Wax would add no benefit, except maybe a shine. Wax would negate all the benefits of an oil finish and add its own detriments.

[angelfish2]

I use a glossy Epifanes on our outside teak and Starbrite Teak Oil down below. The teak down below looks beautiful even after 20 years.

ArteLauri, please let us know how your oiling and waxing goes. I really would like to hear about it.

[ArteLauri]

Thanks for all of the great information.
The boat was built in 88 and there is a lot of teak below! It's in amazing condition, just needed to be cleaned and given a little TLC. From what I can tell it has not been varnished, but I'm certainly not an expert.
So far I have done two bulkheads and the ladder, cleaned, let dry and then put on the WATCO Teak oil. I did read that several coats (over time) will give a very durable finish. I just love how it looks and truly enjoy doing it. We live aboard full time, so will not mind giving it a coat of oil as needed.
(Have not noticed finger prints either)
I did try an area with the WATCO Teak finishing wax, which did not look, feel or smell like wax! It did make it look great, a little richer, but not enough of a difference to make it worth it. Plus, if I want to continue to add coats of Teak Oil over time in order to get the hardened finish, better to just use the teak oil.
Thanks again for the input!
Now on to the next bit of teak!

[Scot McPherson]

Anyone every try tung oil?


Scot McPherson
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Scot McPherson

Anyone every try tung oil?


Scot McPherson
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

The makers of Cabo Rico used a french finishing technique on the interior but I've started to work on our interior teak using a combination of methods to see what works best.

No doubt that the Behlen Teak Oil looks best to me, without having to varnish. You do need to sand down the wood to get out some light scratches or use a filler stick. Its also a breeze to use and after 24 hours leaves a varnished look. The trick is the selection of a high quality teak oil like Behlen.

I am also playing with a french padding finish which has the advantage of being able to perform touch ups on a regular basis without having to remove any of the teak for sanding. It also looks very good and does not stain the wood like the teak oil does.

QUALASOLE (FRENCH POLISH) | Shellac.Net - Wood Finish Supply

However, Cabo Rico used varnish on the trim woods as Anne pointed out in an earlier post, so I may end up doing just that.

[Tia Bu]

We used teak oil to spiff up the interior of an old boat. For damaged or dirty wood, I used the teak oil on 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. For most of the interior, we just wiped on teak oil with a clean cloth. It looks great, and we've had no trouble with mildew, fingerprints, or dust. Some people may be overthinking this.

[sailcruiser]

I clean with Murphy's Oil Soap and follow up with Lemon Oil per a tip from Don Casey's This Old Boat.

Smells good too!
SC