Dropboards/Washboards Teak (?) Refinishing

[GuidoY]

Hey all,

I'm refinishing the companionway dropboards which are (I believe) teak. I'm having trouble matching up the base colors after sanding. After heating/scraping and sanding, one of them came out right, the other will not match up.

I've hand sanded this thing with 36 grit to try to cut through the grey, followed up with random orbital w/ 50-60 grain, done this cycle several times, no joy. It stays grey and has a bit of a waxy feel to it. Doesn't clog the sander so I'm not thinking it's leftover varnish/epoxy, but at this point I don't know. Also, it's the same on both sides, the interior side and what was the worn out exterior side.

Any of you wood guys (or gals) have some insight or know a good resource on this?

Thanks much!

[Terra Nova]

Looks like one board has been sanded, the other not.

[GuidoY]

It has been sanded & sanded & sanded, ad nauseum.

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[jkindredpdx]

Have you tried a chemical restorer? I think I used a Daly's product that basically eats away the old dead grey fiber... I may have finished up with Seafin to get some oil and color back into it.

My guess the grey board was probably more exposed to the sunlight and weather, and got bleached out...

[Chris66]

I would use a dilute solution of Oxalic Acid. You would find it at any hardware store, it is used for rejuvenating decking timbers.

[bad.wabbit]

My experience is that the weathered layer on (real) teak is pretty thin and should come off quickly with sanding. Is it really teak would be my question.


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[GuidoY]

I haven't used any serious chemicals yet, I do have some bar keepers friend I'm gonna hit it with. Thanks for the product leads. Not sure if boards are real teak but someone took a lot of trouble edge gluing and varnishing. They were well matched before sanding. The journey of discovery continues!