Scotch-Brite Pads on Teak Deck

[Dockhead]

This is something I would never have done, having spent my whole life with teak decks living according to the rule that you don't need anything but buckets of sea water.

But after my collision in October, my boat didn't go to sea for more than half a year, and during that time a horrible hard green-black layer formed on the deck which I have been unable to eradicate. I've tried normal scrubbing with a soft sponge and dish liquid, I've been to sea since then, I've poured buckets of brine over it, I did one Boracol treatment, and nothing has worked.

Those parts of the deck you walk on eventually returned to normal, but other parts still have this horrible coating which you can scratch with your fingernail, but otherwise doesn't come off.

So in despair I tried Scotch Brite pads on a couple of test areas, and the results look good. Does not get all the green off -- some is left in the low areas, but looks vastly better. The Scotch Brite pads do not appear to harm the soft layers (I'm being very careful to scrub gently and strictly across the grain). They obviously remove a thin layer of teak because some tan color appears out of the gray. But does not seem to cause any grooving or any other obvious harm.

Am I ruining my decks? Anyone else try this?