Scotch-Brite Pads on Teak Deck

[Dockhead]

This is something I would never have done, having spent my whole life with teak decks living according to the rule that you don't need anything but buckets of sea water.

But after my collision in October, my boat didn't go to sea for more than half a year, and during that time a horrible hard green-black layer formed on the deck which I have been unable to eradicate. I've tried normal scrubbing with a soft sponge and dish liquid, I've been to sea since then, I've poured buckets of brine over it, I did one Boracol treatment, and nothing has worked.

Those parts of the deck you walk on eventually returned to normal, but other parts still have this horrible coating which you can scratch with your fingernail, but otherwise doesn't come off.

So in despair I tried Scotch Brite pads on a couple of test areas, and the results look good. Does not get all the green off -- some is left in the low areas, but looks vastly better. The Scotch Brite pads do not appear to harm the soft layers (I'm being very careful to scrub gently and strictly across the grain). They obviously remove a thin layer of teak because some tan color appears out of the gray. But does not seem to cause any grooving or any other obvious harm.

Am I ruining my decks? Anyone else try this?

[Cavalier]

I had a similar problem ended up using a cream cleanser with Oxalic acid content and a green scotch pad, I only used the pad to agitate the cream into the green, left it 5mins (don't let it dry) and then washed it off using the pad too...All the green came off along with minimal damage to the soft-pulp. You can use any cleaner which looks to have the "oxy clean" tag.. I used "zud".

[zeehag]

dockhead i hope you are using sea water with those 3m pads. douche off decks between 3m pad use... the sea water with the 3m pads should clean the decks adequately without need for drying the wood with bleaches.
use pads across grain.

[SSgtPitt]

Why seawater.....other than being free what does it do for the teak?

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by SSgtPitt

Why seawater.....other than being free what does it do for the teak?

fresh water dries out teak thus destroying it by causing cracking and shrinking of the wood.
salt water does not.
teak loves salt water. keeps it clean, and keeps it from drying and cracking.
teak is an oily wood, nourished by salt water.
there is a difference between kiln dried teak and green teak.
green teak is what was used for boat building. kiln dried is what is available now and is used for home interiors and veneers.
teak also rots in fresh water, does not rot in salt water. it is a poisonous wood so insects donot thrive in or on it.
research teak wood. should be in google somewhere. the more i learn about teak , the more i like it. my boat has much teak in and on it.

[SSgtPitt]

Thanks for the info. I don't have a lot of teak on my '82 Cape Dory but i want to build a mat for my cockpit floor. I tore out an old mahogany deck on a clients house and salvaged the wood and I've been using it for some accent projects on the boat. I don't think it'll work for the cockpit though.

[barnakiel]

Yes. You are.

Once there are groves in the wood it will only get deteriorating faster.

The only way to avoid making groves is to clean it across the grain only and only with very soft stuff - sponges, extra soft brushes, etc.

No chemistry. No harsh tolls. No nothing.

b.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by SSgtPitt

Thanks for the info. I don't have a lot of teak on my '82 Cape Dory but i want to build a mat for my cockpit floor. I tore out an old mahogany deck on a clients house and salvaged the wood and I've been using it for some accent projects on the boat. I don't think it'll work for the cockpit though.

try ipe aka perota/aka huanacaxtle wood--it likes both salt and fresh water, is hard wood, impervious to rot and bugs. hand rub oil into it when created, then let it be. .. a unique cockpit grate of this would be pretty enough to mount on bulkhead as art. awesome wood. it is the canopy tree of mexico, fast growing and poisonous enough to be awesome

[mike66]

Another option is to use some copper - free pool algicide diluted about 10% or so with a spray bottle. Works slowly over weeks, but effective. BTW, cruise ships use scotchbrite floor buffers.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[barnakiel]

There is a kiwi product named wet and forget. I get it is a version of what #above talks about.

You spray it, you leave it, the weather is supposed to do the rest.

I found it moderately effective on sunbrella.

b.

[mike66]

Salt water is effective because the salt left behind is a very poor medium for supporting life.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Tayana42]

Saltwater is effective because the salt left behind attracts and holds moisture so the teak doesn't dry out.


S/V B'Shert

[zeehag]

salt water is effective because teak LIKES it.
if nothing lived in sea water we would have no fish no lobsters et cetera.

[Kenomac]

I'm going to go against the grain on this one. If you post a close up picture, it would be helpful. Here's what I Would do,forget the Scotchbrite pads, they will do more harm than good because they don't present a hard, flat surface. Be aggressive and sand just down past the goo with 40-60 grit paper, using a random orbital hand sander which will cut right down to the grooves removing the unwanted stuff. Then follow up with a light sanding using 80'grit to remove the 40'grit sanding marks. Any chemicals, bleaches or fussing around with soft pads won't work and instead will break down the teak. Just sand off the poo down to the good wood.

At the most, you might loose 1 or 2mm of teak, but it will be the dry dead outer layer anyway that allowed the fungus to grow. The layer you'll be removing needs to be removed anyway (as it was the cause of the problem to begin with), so get on with it.

You can continue to go gentle on the problem and waste plenty of time fussing with it, but in the end, your problem will only be resolved by removing the spongy, dead, fungus infested outer layer of teak.

[thinwater]

I'm a believer in seawater-only too, but sometimes a little more is needed, typically by boats that have been stored in the shade, in really damp climate, or are not sailed often enough (MANY of us).

1. Ammonia (diluted) has been suggested by some as a milder alternative to oxalic acid. I've tried it this seems to be true. Slower, but much less wood is removed.

2. Seawater does support life, but dried-out seawater (think Dead Sea or salt flats) really doesn't support any organism that has not evolved for that specific environment. Which is why humankind learned to salt fish and beef.