Teak shower base treatment

[ancor]

Been fixing up numerous little jobs for the boat. Have a shower/head floor grid out of teak and the varnish was flaking off. Sanded the exposed surfaces and now looking to either use an oil, or re-varnish to seal the wood. This sits in the base of the shower, so will have plenty of moisture over it. Think I prefer to seal it completely just to keep it cleaner easier. Any recommendations as to what varnish would be best for this use? Most treatments are for decks, this is inside without much UV. Don't need a 'bristol' job, just something that works. Any help appreciated. Cheers!

[Malabarista]

Hi Ancor
I am no expert but have been led to believe that teak should be left to be teak. As it contains oils it will not rot and it’s natural fibres become slightly ‘non slip’ as it wears naturally.

[Pete7]

I have tied a piece of rope to ours and dunked it in saltwater for a few hours before now. Left to dry before replacing in the shower seems to do the trick.

Problem with varnish is you are bound to miss a bit or scratch it and then freshwater gets underneath and it goes black.

Pete

[Emmalina]

Good one Pete I usually take a bucket below to do that ! Varnish on the floor in the heads nooooo

[zeehag]

leave it plain but wash with salt water to clean then re install. natural teak is the best nonskid known. to cover it is to ruin that feature of the wood. of course if you dislike your s.o., by all means cover the teak with some slick killer junk. is best to leave it natural for best nonskid effect.
if you wish to pay for new hips for crew, varnish it

[ancor]

Thanks all for the info. I do like the look of it being natural and think the idea of throwing it overboard (with a painter attached) is an easy and elegant affair.
There are a couple of things that made me look to sealing the timber however. One is to seal it as it is in the combined head and shower area and I wouldn't want to have unwanted dirt and human excretions etc. soak into the grid. Anywhere else wouldn't be an issue.
Another reason is because there are small brad nails in there as well as the stainless screws, which are not so much of an issue. The nails are prone to rust as can be seen in the picture already.
The sanding I did was only on the exposed surfaces and hopefully the pictures show this better.
It was an easy job with a sander and it wouldn't worry me if I had to repeat the process every few years.
At this stage I'm looking to go to our local hardware store and look at some water or oil based polyurethane floor or trim varnish/paint and see whether it can be sprayed or not.
Anyway, please let me know if my reasoning has merit or not. Cheers

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by ancor

Thanks all for the info. I do like the look of it being natural and think the idea of throwing it overboard (with a painter attached) is an easy and elegant affair.
There are a couple of things that made me look to sealing the timber however. One is to seal it as it is in the combined head and shower area and I wouldn't want to have unwanted dirt and human excretions etc. soak into the grid. Anywhere else wouldn't be an issue.
Another reason is because there are small brad nails in there as well as the stainless screws, which are not so much of an issue. The nails are prone to rust as can be seen in the picture already.
The sanding I did was only on the exposed surfaces and hopefully the pictures show this better.
It was an easy job with a sander and it wouldn't worry me if I had to repeat the process every few years.
At this stage I'm looking to go to our local hardware store and look at some water or oil based polyurethane floor or trim varnish/paint and see whether it can be sprayed or not.
Anyway, please let me know if my reasoning has merit or not. Cheers

i tried minwax sealer---fts. but itis quick to come off and rain washed much of fmy caprails in our 18.667 inches rainfall over 24 hours. all boats even plastic got leaky in that... but it did a great job of removing the minwax sealer. i will next try another sealer to see if that works.
semco teak sealer did great for 5 yrs then wore out. dangit..cannot find that here

[billknny]

Our teak shower grates have survived 25 years of full time liveaboard use and look like new. No finish ever. No sanding ever. You do have to be sure they don't sit in water and can dry out between showers.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by ancor

Been fixing up numerous little jobs for the boat. Have a shower/head floor grid out of teak and the varnish was flaking off. Sanded the exposed surfaces and now looking to either use an oil, or re-varnish to seal the wood. This sits in the base of the shower, so will have plenty of moisture over it. Think I prefer to seal it completely just to keep it cleaner easier. Any recommendations as to what varnish would be best for this use? Most treatments are for decks, this is inside without much UV. Don't need a 'bristol' job, just something that works. Any help appreciated. Cheers!

ITS TEAK...just clean it and leave it in its natural state. I have a teak grate in the cockpit and "lightly" pressure wash it every year....cleans up well.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[FabioC]

Teak Oil on teak on a boat is a no-no, in my opinion. Teak cleaner and a sealer (there are many good products out there, just do a google search) is the way to go.

[Blaine]

+ 1 for Semco Teak Sealer.

[sailone3032]

when you throw the teak overboard, don't forget to tie a knot in the painter line!

[tarian]

I have varnished mine x"2 after 30 years of been untouched , sanded clean and polyurethane varnish matt clear , 3 coats this has held up with ABSOLUTELY no issues or signs of wear and flaking, (2 years in. )and I have a kid and dogs and sail in Scotland which one could say is pretty wet and Damp .

[bcboomer]

Mine has been unfinished for 35 years and is still in good shape.
If you must finish it, although I can't imagine why, then tung oil should work well.
It will leave a non-slippery surface. The only down side is that it takes a few weeks to get enough coats to be really durable.

[tarian]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

Mine has been unfinished for 35 years and is still in good shape.
If you must finish it, although I can't imagine why, then tung oil should work well.
It will leave a non-slippery surface. The only down side is that it takes a few weeks to get enough coats to be really durable.

open wood in a toilet area were men are trying to pee in a gale and women are trying to sit, and wee ones just pee every where , along with all that skin that comes off, if your ever in a swimming pool look at the shower walls if there pink it is skin deposits , all that grime get ingrained into the wood and gives it a rather grey ground in dirty look, with a sealing coat you wipe it clean easily it looks good and clean when you have guests , it does not start to smell , and any nasties living on the wood are wiped off.
I like my toilets clean and healthy , I had an instructor on once and he has never seen such a nice toilet
Never think all those nasties you pick up through your life come from public toilets !!