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USFREIGHT · 21-04-2009, 13:49

I have a Egg Harbor that has the outside wood sunbleached. Other than the bleaching it is in great shape.....What would you use to bring back the dark luster? Would you remove the wood to do the sanding and varnish or do it on the boat, I'm concerned with screws rounding off and breaking for it is a 1977 36 sedan/sportfisherman. Thanks....

**Pblais** · 21-04-2009, 14:46

I you wanted so sand I would do it in place. Teak bleaches easily but not deeply depending on the type of teak. You really should be able to get it looking pretty good. You can't sand too deep and if you have to it won't work. You may have a few stains that go deep but it's the aging character you get with a boat that is 1977. If you try to apply chemicals and bleach and / or stain you'll destroy the natural character it has.

DO NOT remove any wood. You'll make no worse mistake. You won't get it off easily and after that I'm sure it will never go back on right.

It's OK to have an old boat. You can make it look as good as you can and people will still marvel at this great looking old boat. I think I've only seen one from this age but if you clean it by stripping the old varnish (heat gun works) and follow up with light sanding. You will see what you have. The warts and stains left are well earned. If you try to fix them up it will look bad.

There are a lot of choices for finish. My own personal opinion is the harder it is the get off once it goes bad (they all do go bad) the bigger the mistake. There is no forever finish unless you keel it in a shed and don't go out much.

Post some pictures to the gallery so we can see it!

tager · 21-04-2009, 16:31

Just oil it and get on to bigger things.

USFREIGHT · 21-04-2009, 18:11

There doesnt seem to be any old varnish or anything,just looks like old teak....not splintered or anything...I'll try the oil route....What brand or type works best?

tager · 21-04-2009, 19:02

I have used Meguiars, Boiled linseed oil mixed with mineral spirits, west marine, and Amazon gold teak oil... they all produce similar results.

**Pblais** · 21-04-2009, 19:05

Quote:

I'll try the oil route....What brand or type works best?

Teak oil is almost all the same. It is easy to apply yet does not last long. The longer anything lasts the harder it is to apply and even harder to get off when it fails. If you clean it with a mild soap and do any light sanding to get the finish you want you should be ready to go for whatever you find you like. Starting with an oil finish is easy to get into and if you don't like it in a couple months you can wash it and start over.

If has no cracks in it then it is probably a decent grade of teak and being gentle will probably yield good results. Try something that looks the worst to see how much better it looks. Light hand sanding with a foam backed sanding pad may be all you really need to clean off that very thin layer that won't wash away but has been stained by all the stuff in the air and sea. Under the silver should be the natural teak oil in the wood that gives the red color. The deeper the red color the better the teak. The best Asian teak when sanded looks almost like it is bleeding. The dust comes off bright red. It's hard to find on newer boats.

Celestialsailor · 22-04-2009, 09:20

The funny thing is that there really is no such thing as "Teak Oil". It probably should be labeled distillate for teak. It is usually a little mineral oil with a couple of cheap additives.

tager · 22-04-2009, 12:41

Teak Care by Don Casey

Some good stuff about teak here, by Don Casey. It is NOT mineral oil... mineral oil would not come to a hard finish. It is usually linseed oil mixed with various petroleum products. I would describe a teak oil finish as "Wet Teak" it's nothing impressive!

The upside is ease of maintenance. Put on your gloves, grab a rag, squirt, splash, or dip the rag in oil, and go wild. It could be wet and raining, burning sun, cold as the dickens... it is a very forgiving finish. You can put it on dirty teak and it will look fine.

If you mess up varnish, you are in trouble. Oh, and varnish can always go on top of oil, in fact, it makes the varnish look better!

Cheechako · 22-04-2009, 13:06

Although I've found any oiling short of doing it almost monthly is useless, the best I've tried is called Sea Fin. If I ever have a need to go there again I will try a product I put on the Cedar shingles on my workshop. It's the 5 year Olympic oil based Deck stain. Available without tint. On new shingles exposed to a western (sun exposed) wall it has shown no deterioration in 6 years. I simply sprayed it on with a garden sprayer! brushed on teak, it looks great. It takes days to dry though and will be sticky until then. It may be a little oily to the touch for a long time, but so will oil until it's gone away and useless... Salt water is my real pick for teak

Celestialsailor · 22-04-2009, 16:07

Do NOT put oil on dirty teak. It does NOT look fine. It mearly seals dirt into the grain making it look a littl MUDDY...

redcobra · 22-04-2009, 19:10

On my 1975 teak, I used a 3M abrasive pad (red) to knock off the old finish without removing wood (well hardly any), then coated with Sikkens Cetol (4 coats). Did not bleach. The Cetol "teak" finish (as opposed to clear) covers minor stains and imperfections. Now every year in the spring, I wipe it down with solvent, lightly scratch with a 3M pad (white) and lay on another 2 coats of Cetol. Holds up well in the Chesapeake weather.
As a wood worker I am a dedicated believer in a product called Waterlox for my furniture projects. I have decided to use Waterlox Marine Finish on the inside wood this year and also try it on one handrail outside. I'll let the forum know how it works out.

Ps. the 3M pads are red, gray green, and white and correspond approx to 1, 0, 00, 000 steel wool without leaving metal that can rust.

Roy M · 22-04-2009, 19:14

I've had success refinishing my thirty year old teak handrails using West System Epoxy resin WITH 207 HARDENER (EMPHASIS TO CLARIFY THIS SPECIFIC HARDENER). I tried it when building a wooden body (designed by Olin Stephens) on a 1922 Rolls-Royce. It held up to a tour of Scotland in horrific summer rains. I then played with it on my own boat, leaving it for six months with no topcoat of varnish. It finally began to get a little dull, so I'll put one more coat on it, then topcoat with either Z-Spar Captain's Varnish, or go for a couple coats of clear LPU. My plan, when I take off for the tropics, is to give them one coat of deck color LPU, which can be simply sanded and revarnished (or LPU'd) when I want to show off the teak. I've been using this combination on some customer's boats with great success.

Maren · 22-04-2009, 23:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy M

I've had success refinishing my thirty year old teak handrails using West System Epoxy resin WITH 207 HARDENER (EMPHASIS TO CLARIFY THIS SPECIFIC HARDENER). I tried it when building a wooden body (designed by Olin Stephens) on a 1922 Rolls-Royce. It held up to a tour of Scotland in horrific summer rains. I then played with it on my own boat, leaving it for six months with no topcoat of varnish...

Could you post that photo again? That's a really interesting looking car.