Dark patches on teak. Cleaning teak.

[Mabel Page]

I know there are different approaches to taking care of teak. I have been basically just been lightly scrubbing with boat soap and used teak oil. I have used a cleaner and brighter from West Marine once, but have avoided using a lot of product.

What can I do differently to improve the appearance of the teak? Specifically, what are the dark patches (mold?) and how do I get get rid of it?

Thank you in advance

Russell

[Mabel Page]

Dark patches are most noticeable on the bench seats. Ignore thre cute baby.

[chowdan]

I use a starbright red scrub brush and cascade dish soap on my teak decks. Run across the grain.

[barnakiel]

It is all natural wood. First you opt for teak than you do not like its silver shine. ;-)



The way to get rid of rotten teak is to replace it.


Also, avoid making it darker. Dark brings contrast up. AVOID teak oils and other such stuff.


In NZ you can get a wet and forget stuff that works BUT ... it takes quite some time to work (say half a year). apply, let it work, wash, wash, wash, apply, let it work .... wash, wash,



Just pretend the mold is not there. imho



Cheers,
b.

[zeehag]

darkness is dirt. sea water has been a most excellent cleaner for teakwood for centuries. why reinvent the wheel. i use sea water then oil on mine. works perfect for a hurricane season as it seals and protects without shrinking the teak from drying via fresh water. teak loves salt water. use it to your advantage.

[Cheechako]

A lot of that darkness is dirt and that black mold that grows on it from fresh water/rain.. You can wash it good with Joy or Dawn. I prefer scotchbrite used across the grain only. Chemical cleaners take that right off also. Or a hand sander with about 80 grit will make it like new, but you cant do that often or you're eating your teak away.
Once like new, the best thing I've ever seen is just dousing with salt water often. It will stay light brown and nice if you rinse it often.

[Mabel Page]

Thanks. I think I might be done putting oil on it. I’m okay with the grey/silver natural look, but still trying to figure out what I think looks the best based on everyone’s suggestions and my preference. What I’m doing now isn’t working. It’s just the cockpit of the boat, so not a huge project.

Been looking at the Semco cleaner and sealer products online. Maybe I’ll try that and see what it looks like and try to get the black off? Hopefully not putting any teak oil on will help too. Is there are role for a teak sealer here?

[Cheechako]

A lot of people swear by Teak Brite products. I haven't used it though.

[badadim]

Brush gently with soft brush and sea water perpendicular to the teak fibers. Enjoy sailing, think about time horizon of your sailing life vs life cycle of teak deck. Teak is known for being able to preserve oil inside of it - do not overspend on cosmetics, they will not stop mold. Once mold is deep in your guts and you can't sleep well: use boracol. It took me 1 gallon of boracol to treat 25+ years old 43' teak deck to get it nice and grey again and kill all the mold. You need 24 dry sunny hours: rinse & dry the deck, apply boracol with a brush, let it dry & absorb, go sailing once it is dry (no brushing for the 1st week; some stained water will come out in 1st 1~2 weeks as the deck gets wet - just rinse it when you have time and desire).

The hint came from a letter posted in Sailing Magazine I can't find now. But here is a reputable source on the same: https://www.pbo.co.uk/gear/10-teak-cleaners-tested-27992/11

There are 2 boracol Sansin products: one is preventetive, another is the killer. I used the killer (luck of UV and exsess of rain in Pacific NW resulted in a lot of mold in the deck) https://www.sansin.com/product/boracol/

It has been 2 full years since that application - I am happy with my old teak deck not spending time and money on it. Will keep abusing it for another 10-20 years...

[sailu2]

I use Boracol on my decks and have done so for the last 10 years. I first saw reference to it on on the web site of Hallberg Rassy. No hard labour involved just wet the decks and paint on. Much cheaper than other other methods and quicker.

[quandary]

Boracol works. Leaves a lovely even light grey deck after a few weeks.

[LeeV]

In our last trimaran we had teak below: chart holders, magazine rack, tool rack below the electronics, etc....not anything like an entire deck though.

We'd clean it and then used lemon oil (Home Depot); it looked nice and smelled great! :-)

Regards,

[ArmyDaveNY]

I like the sound of Boracol but I have not used it, but I am going to try it based upon the above comments. If you are looking for results immediately, Te-Ka is an excellent two part cleaner. It is relatively easy to use, although it does require a little effort, as well as gloves to keep it off of our hands. It does a fantastic job.


I cleaned the teak on my friends Island Packet 27 which has a lot of teak and it took just a few hours.


Good luck with your cleaning.

[jharding]

Te-Ka worked great for me

[CAELESTIS]

Forget the deck destroying two step products.

This https://www.teakdecking.com/eco-100-...leaner-powder/

With a white 3M scrub pad across the grain