Oil Soaked Teak & Epoxy Use

[SVJOCO]

Hello,

My old windlass developed a leak from the base and proceeded to soak the surrounding deck in oil. I have a new windlass with a different footprint and want to make a pedestal out of epoxy on top of the old teak wood. Will epoxy ever stick to this wood? Is there an oil removal procedure which will enable me to keep the teak in place? I’m trying to avoid removing the wood and building back up again, unless that really is the way to go about it. Opinions please!

[rbk]

Build the base on a bench then through bolt with windlass to the deck, seal to the deck with butyl or sealant to keep water out from under it. Don't attempt to build in place, too may things to go wrong IMO.

[tkeithlu]

rbk speaks with wisdom. You really don't want to glue the new base to the deck, you want to bolt it through the deck. You can still make an epoxy or fiberglass base to cover up the icky oil stains, although a stainless steel plate would be simple and strong.

[SVQuestOfPaget]

Agreed with the bolting, not gluing suggestions so far. As to the original question of getting oil out of teak, you may try concentrated dish soap and hot water scrubbing, followed by scrubbing/wiping with solvent (I would try acetone, if it doesn't dissolve or weaken the caulking). I doubt it will clean enough of the oil from the wood to get something to bond strongly, but may help enough to allow the bedding to cure correctly when you install and through bolt your new windlass platform.

[Noah-SVGenesis]

I agree with both responses, If you make an epoxy/FRP block I wouldn’t make it in place. Make a mold and let cure then mount and seal to deck. Or a G10 laminate. Seal with Either butyl or adhesive sealant with bolts light torque, let cure (for adhesive sealant) then final torque after 24 hours. Butyl it’ll take a few days of occasional re-torquing( butyl tends to settle under pressure and heat from the sun, can even start to seem to melt) less of a fan of butyl then I used to be due to this. It’ll make a gasket that doesn’t need to stick perfect with wood to seal. It’ll be mechanical.
Noah

[Cheechako]

Yes, if it's solid, just seal everything well and through bolt. If your wood is rotten, cut a nice rectangle out and put a new wood base in the rectangle maybe?

You can try acetone or etc to scrub some of the oil out of that wood. The sealant will work better. Maybe someone knows the best "deoiler". MEK works great.
I can't remember for sure, but polysulfide sealant may be compatible with the oil.?

[dougweibel]

On the 'not build it in place' suggestion I'll offer an alternative. Get a nice piece of thick plastic sheeting and tape it down over the area. You can form your base on top of the plastic sheet so it has a perfect bottom contour for your deck. After it has cured take it up and remove the plastic sheet.

I have fabricated camera mounts for airplane wings this way. Works like a charm.

[Bowdrie]

^Yes, Doug's description above is a great way to get a fit that cannot be obtained by usual methods.
With the outline of the pad traced on the deck, tape the plastic and set your pad on a bed of epoxy, lining up the drawn tracing, a couple of small indexing screws can help for larger parts.
Mounting a windlass directly to a deck is not great practice.
Having your windlass raised off of the deck on a removable pad is beyond better, it's more better. Something an inch or more that extends out all around to make a matching border.
Now snaps can be installed in a proper manner for a cover.
A thick pad of Teak or Starboard, that surrounded the OPs windlass would not
have allowed that issue to happen.
Bedding between windlass/pad, and pad/deck; while some might prefer Butyl a good layer of (gasp,) Dolphinite comes highly recommended for such use, (large/flat areas,) and future removal is assured without pain and suffering, nor needing new language skills.
If bolts can come from below with nuts on top it is well.

[Bowdrie]

Forgot to add; For the oil-stained Teak I would try Lacquer Thinner with those small/fine brass bristle brushes, or Bronze wool.
After that you can give that area a few coats of heavy Shellac.
Having an alcohol base, it will have better adhesion properties to an oily surface and makes a good "primer" for bedding.
If the Teak was clean/fresh, then a few coats of varnish would be the primer to use.

[SVJOCO]

Message received! I will make a removable pedestal, and bolt that and the windlass to the deck.

The plastic sheet / epoxy idea is fantastic and will definitely help me out because the deck has been sanded away around the perimeter of the old windlass (which has a smaller footprint than the new one), so there is a step there that I need to fill over.

Excellent feedback from all, thank you very much to each of you.

[SVJOCO]

Looks like I can put overlapping packing tape down on the deck instead of plastic sheet, and the epoxy won’t stick to it. I like that idea because I suspect the tape will pick up the wood contour even better than the plastic sheet. I could put wax on it also as an extra release.

Make sense? Any experience with that?

[Stewie12]

Softening of the caulking will be the problem with trying to get rid of the oil. There is a deck cleaner that does not do this, but I cannot remember the name. Ask you local chandler who may give you advice on what to use.

[rslifkin]

Good waxed paper with a little extra wax works as well. And if it'll conform well enough, silicone baking mats are wonderful for laying up fiberglass. Epoxy doesn't stick to them at all, so once it cures, you just flex the mat a little and the part peels right off.

[arcticmonkey]

you may want to try hydrogen peroxide on the oil stain

[Bowdrie]

I have used, (for my own boat,) the method described.
Clear plastic sheeting, (thickness like a lawn/leaf bag,) will achieve excellent properties of contouring itself to surface variations.
This 1in. Teak plank was used as a riser to mount the windlass, forestay fitting, and the mooring bitt.
Starboard was used as an additional riser on top of the Teak for the windlass,
a most excellent solution for easy maintenance/no oil damage.
A notched trowel is used to spread the Dolphinite.
Although some would use Butyl, it's not really a good app for that.
Trying to get Butyl to "squeeze" on large surface areas with just a few perimeter fasteners is folly.
Drilled holes should allow bolts to be inserted without "beating/hammering".
An easy push-fit is desired, and you're not torquing-down an engine head bolt.
Oh, put some of that "black powder" from West System in the epoxy mix.
It will present a proper looking seam around your Teak deck.