Treating Timber Cockpit Seat

[alanfw]

The timber trim on my rope locker lids (that double as seats) is looking tired (see photo). I'm guessing it's teak, but I have no idea what the black is - I imagine in old days it would be pitch. I don't want to varnish. I have natural decking oil for my deck at home... can anyone see issues with using that? Any other recommendations?



Cheers
Alan

[PaulCrawhorn]

Old school is natural Tung Oil, will darken it

Deks Olje more modern version, D1 oil saturates the wood, gives a matte finish if you stop there, regularly touch up like with tung oil.

D2 on top gives a flexible gloss coating that is more long-lasting between touch-ups, yes it weathers, but does not chip or peel like a varnish.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post2906913

[alanfw]

Originally Posted by PaulCrawhorn

Old school is natural Tung Oil, will darken it

Deks Olje more modern version, D1 oil saturates the wood, gives a matte finish if you stop there, regularly touch up like with tung oil.

D2 on top gives a flexible gloss coating that is more long-lasting between touch-ups, yes it weathers, but does not chip or peel like a varnish.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post2906913

Thanks Paul. That sounds perfect! Exactly the sort of solution I was looking for.

[GordMay]

The black caulking is likely a polysulfide [Thiokol] product, like 'Life-Caulk', or 3M’s ‘101' [now off the market].

[alanfw]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The black caulking is likely a polysulfide [Thiokol] product, like 'Life-Caulk', or 3M’s ‘101' [now off the market].

I'm assuming it won't be affected by timber oil? Also, there are a couple of places it has pulled out - would black Sikaflex be a good replacement?

[JPA Cate]

@alanfw:

At the moment, that teak looks properly silvered. Bucket it down with salt water and let it dry, before you take the boat out for a sail, and keep it weathered. The reason is that when the boat is heeled, that teak is great non-skid for when you're leaving and re-entering the cockpit. Varnish, DekOlje, or Ceetol will seal and protect the wood, but become VERY slippery when wet, making in- and egress for the cockpit less safe.


Ann

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by alanfw

I'm assuming it won't be affected by timber oil? Also, there are a couple of places it has pulled out - would black Sikaflex be a good replacement?

Polysulfide adhesive/sealant systems have long-term resistance to gasoline, diesel, natural gas, gaseous fuels, kerosene, alcohol, crude oils and its derivatives.

IDK about black Sikaflex.

[stevead]

Re: Sikaflex, for caulking teak decks you will want to use 290 DC PRO, which is not to be confused with their adhesives such as 292i or sealants such as 295 UV.

For small caulking repairs, a small tube of BoatLife Life-Caulk (which is a polysulfide) will do the trick.

[Marathon1150]

I'm a big fan of Semco "Natural". It protects without the risk of being slippery when wet. Also, IMHO, the finish is attractive - showing the wood grain and original colouring. A single application seems to last about 2 years in either the blazing sun of Mexico or the hot and humid conditions of French Polynesia.

Note that Semco "natural" will initially change the colour of the caulking depending on whether it is flush with the wood or slightly concave. I viewed this as a trade-off for the preservation qualities of the product.

I agree that the "silvered" look of teak is also attractive and traditional. We have two boats, and the teak on the second boat is aging naturally and is nicely silvered. It lives in a UV poor environment so I have no intentions of doing anything with it except as noted above, giving a salt water bath from time to time.

I would not use varnish of any kind for the application that you have in mind. It requires constant upkeep because of UV degradation and it is very slippery when wet.

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by PaulCrawhorn

Old school is natural Tung Oil, will darken it

Deks Olje more modern version, D1 oil saturates the wood, gives a matte finish if you stop there, regularly touch up like with tung oil.

D2 on top gives a flexible gloss coating that is more long-lasting between touch-ups, yes it weathers, but does not chip or peel like a varnish.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post2906913

What Paul said. I've been using Deks Olje since 1979 on my 20' Celebrity daysailer (just enough teak to be a headache) and swear by it.

I will (respectfully) disagree with JPA Cate. The 'Celeb' has teak floor boards and I have treated them with D1 since day one. That said, they are not sanded smooth. I initially cleaned them in '79 with a 2-part teak cleaner (strong stuff as I recall) and lightly wire brushed with the grain. That had the effect of raising the grain and creating a non-skid surface. I then treated with D1. In 40 years the only thing i've done is touch up when needed and a recoat about every 5 years. Full disclosure: It's a daysailer, stored covered - on a trailer, in a northern climate, so only used during the summer.

[alanfw]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

@alanfw:

At the moment, that teak looks properly silvered. Bucket it down with salt water and let it dry, before you take the boat out for a sail, and keep it weathered. The reason is that when the boat is heeled, that teak is great non-skid for when you're leaving and re-entering the cockpit. Varnish, DekOlje, or Ceetol will seal and protect the wood, but become VERY slippery when wet, making in- and egress for the cockpit less safe.


Ann

Thankyou Ann. You have pretty well described my initial thoughts. But in the 6 months I've had the boat the trim seems to have cracked considerably. So my goal is to conserve the timber while retaining its non-slip qualities - so a gloss finish is the last thing I want. I think the Tung oil will work well - the first coat applied today looks very positive!

[JPA Cate]

Good luck with it, then. I definitely get it that you are concerned to preserve the wood.

Ann