Dark Areas in Teak

[edbulmer]

I recently refinished a teak rail in my cockpit area and after applying
Epiphanes I noticed dark spots in the teak about an inch in diameter.
I did take the old varish off with a heat gun and I'm thinking I may have burnt the wood. But when I took the finish off and did a bleach and water treatment and then re applied the Epiphanes the dark spots grew larger. So I sanded again the dark spots are now huge and almost cover the entire area. What should I do to get the rail looking uniform?

[Ocean Girl]

Sometimes overheating teak will bring up the "green oil", could be that.. ? Though green oil is pretty darn obvious, not black at all.

It is strange that the spots get bigger as you sand, that implies a veneer. I might be worth the money to get a professional varnish person over to your boat to consult the situation.

Best way to tell if you have fixed the problem is before you lay a coat of varnish on, saturate wood with denatured alcohol, if the black spots don't appear then more than likely you have fixed the problem. In other words, the way it looks wet is pretty much how it will look varnished.

note: the wood will be a bit lighter with multiple coats of varnish, the varnish creates a prism effect ( I call it prism effect, not an official varnish term I think ). BUT varnish will not cover black spots, no matter how many coats you apply.

Another option is to leave it bare for a while to let the teak recover, it is amazing how teak will repair itself, though again, burnt is burnt, and veneer sand through is not fixable.

And finally, marks and such give teak character, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

Hope that helps,
Mrs. Rain Dog
aka Queen Varnisha

[edbulmer]

Thanks for your response. The areas that were black are no longer black. What has happened is it looks like a darker cloudy area spread out all over the teak. Almost like a two tone effect. I'm almost thinking the varnish is reacting to something in the wood.
However it still looks horrible. Almost like it has a disease spreading through.

[Ocean Girl]

Yep it does sound like a reaction. If you did bring up the green oil it might cause that. Another idea is that the two part bleaching system is still in the teak.

My 2 cents is to 1) leave it the way it is. or 2) strip it, douse it with the neutralizing part B of the bleaching system, rinse and let the teak rest and weather a while, it could be the teak was burnt by the two part cleaner.

Teak is constantly pushing up new oil via the soft grain. If your teak has a nice smooth grain, it will silver out nicely, a monthly salt water bath will help it recover from whatever has happened. And please please never use a bristle brush on your teak, no matter how soft the bristles may be. 3M abrasive pad ( white) is best, won't dig out the vital soft grain.

Thanks for letting me get on my soap box

Good luck, it sounds like it will be ok with a little time
Erika

[Ocean Girl]

PS
My husband and I hope to be out key west area late this year.
Can't wait :-)
E

[edbulmer]

I think you may be right. It seems like the areas I've sanded heavier are where the dark spots surfaced. It may be pulling something up out of the wood. I think I'll leave it alone for a while and see what happens. Key West is the most awesome place in the world. We are here from Nov. to mid March. PM me if you come by, we are in the Key West Harbor Yacht club, great place.