Teak Maintenance

[Sailboats Rock]

Your right Boatman61, my Morgan does not have a teak deck. But I understand the info that was shared. And very much like zeehag mentioned about the oil on deck.....I can just that turning into a bad situation real fast. All of my teak is below except for the actual companion-way and its' tracking in the cockpit area. Although I do have a teak track that goes around the outter edge of the deck that has drain holes for water to leave the deck. Some of that has been damaged and simply needs to be replaced. However, that rest of it will still need to treated with whatever will give me longest life. In a nut shell, I am just trying my best to bring this vessel from 1973 and all its' neglect up to 2011 and make people go.....niiice!

Thanks again for everyones' input

[Bloodhound]

We live on an inland sea (Lake Texoma on the TX-OK border) so although I'd prefer salt water washing, it isn't an option right now. So Tilex and a scrub pad is what's left. We're in a humid climate and oil + humidity = mold so the bleach component is to kill the mold. I've done the rounds with coating external teak, and for me, never again. Decks and bow platforms are the last thing to coat --- teak is probably the best non-skid there is and coating it reduces its non-skid qualities. From personal experience, freshly sanded and coated teak looks absolutely beautiful --- for 3 or 4 months, then the rot sets in and you're back to square one.

Having said that, it must be pointed out that how you deal with your external teak depends very much on your environment. There is not a single answer. There is no uniformly, here is the best and only way. High humidity recommends a bleach component to kill off the molds that will grow even in a salt water environment. Finishes in an extremely hot environment have shortened lives. So what is best depends on where you are. Wish there were a single perfect answer; then this thread would be quite short.

[Prerequisite]

Any chance people would be willing to post photos of their teak? All these different methods produce varying results- it would be nice to see the final product of each technique.

[zeehag]

rock salt works when boats are in fresh water. no need for chemicals on teak. ruins it--i know-- i had to renew ruined teak. was sanded to within an inch if its life then chemical burned to nothingness. i renewed with ONLY salt water and oil. works great, as you can see, if this will load right..LOL... navey keeps stealing my signalZ..

[Sailboats Rock]

Thanks again for all your help! I am sure I will have plenty of ideas to try until I find one I like best.

[lancelot9898]

Originally Posted by gulfstar37

We've had good luck with Sikens Cetol.

Every other year I use a green scrung pad to buff the surface tape the wood off that is on the deck and put a top coat on with a foam brush.

I too use the cetol and have found that the natural color is best. After I put down the initial 3 coats, I then applied the clear gloss finish which seems to preserve the coating better. For the yearly maintenance I apply one coat of the gloss instead of the color coat. Is that what you are using for your maintenance coat? BTW the foam brush works fine contrary to the cetol instructions

[gulfstar37]

We too have changed to the natural color of Cetol. From what I understand this finish is not a varnish but a see through paint base. The original Cetol was dark and each coating would darken the wood until after about 8 or 9 coats you could not see the wood grain. The natural I think will help prevent that.

Previous post on using a heat gun is the way to remove Cetol. The finish will soften and strip off down to bare wood very easily. Then a lite sanding, wipe down with acetone then 3 to 4 coats. This system has worked for us very well with minimal effort. I envy finishes that look a foot deep and you could probably use as a mirror for shaving but we also like to sail. I do this on the inside wood work where the worst enviromental element is spilling a sundowner. We do not have teak decks but lots of teak trim.

One thing to remember is to make sure you mask off painted or fiberglass surfaces no matter what finish you use. Teak oil will stain gelcote, stain will of course stain gelcote, ect. ect. A little time in prep will go a long way instead of spending a lot of time cleaning up after the fact.

Again there is as many best finshes as there are best waxes. Either will start a good conversation.

Good luck.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Has anyone tried the new stuff PolyWhey that Practical Sailor wrote about this month?

[zeehag]

only thing i am a bitch about inmy boat is my teak. i donot sand . i do not varnish, i donot grind away the wood to make it pretty--i started out with a thin , cracking, grey caprail, seawatered it and oiled it back to natural wood color--and now is as you saw in my pix above--i LOVE my teak. and it only takes me 3-6 hours PER YEAR to do....everyone else is many many hours. i sit and watch my neighbors --the ones who do varnish and cetol-- they spend DAYS on their teak and mine looks better....oops i can thelp myself--i am truly loving my wood and how it looks. is an annual chore but i love doing it as the wood looks sooo fine after. now i have been doing same thing for 3 yrs, is soo much easier than the first 2 yrs--now i only have to brush with a soft shop brush the dirt qnd dust off, and slop on th e watco and is good to go....i dont even have to be careful, as mineral spirits remove my drips, and blemishes do not last-- they absorb!and if my long hair lands on th e newly watco'd wood-- no problem-- comes right off without having to redo it all. i can even protect the wood just before a storm and not have blemishes in my finish!!!!(did that last rain we had)--i have 110 ft of caprail, all totalled....so this works for me--

does this poly whey have color to it? what is it spozed to look like when done?? (now i have to admit i havent read practical sailor in 10 yrs..oops--i used to be a zealot!)--if anyone has used it--please post pix....what kind of prep does it need--i still have an ericson that was victim of cetol/cetol light over decades and needs somehing to take the fake orange out of the wood, after i get the covers off......