Teak Oil - One more time

[VirtualVagabond]

I know the subject of maintaining teak has been covered many times, but I still have 2 questions

1) For cruisers who are full time liveaboard and not working 9 to 5, is teak oil a simple way of keeping exterior teak looking good, permanently?... ie wipe on a couple of coats every couple of months?

2) I've seen a boat maintained this way using Daly's SeaFin Teak Oil, which I'm inclined to use.
In the WM catalogue they also have a product called Tropical Teak Oil Sealer, with claims it will outlast any other teak oil product, never turn black, non drip formula etc. and is about 50% higher in price.

I'm looking for any feedback from cruisers who have used these products specifically, but also any other teak oil experiences would be helpful.

Vic

[bobconnie]

Ive used Tung oil for years! I had a couple of gallons of it at one time. It's all gone now! But it worked Very well ! I have not looked for it in a long time as we have no teak decks aboard now ! But if ya can find it it WORKS !! Just a thought

[onestepcsy37]

starbrite TROPICAL teak oil. not teak oil. TROPICAL teak oil. yes, it's true. outlasts other teak oil, never turns black. (it can drip when you apply it so best to tape off and keep a rag with acetone or mineral spirits handy when applying it).

when we first got our boat eight years ago the teak had not been cared for in years (the previous owner had died and the boat sat unloved for two years). it was black. we used the two part teak cleaner to restore it to it's original condition. then we applied two coats of starbrite tropical teak oil. we did nothing - absolutely nothing - for the next four years. and this in sunny florida. then we just hosed off the teak and applied one coat of tropical teak oil. that was four years ago.

the teak was not in bad condition but i could see that the finish was wearing off, so last month i decided to give it a real cleaning and oiling. i cleaned it in accordance with don casey's book. he recommended a pail of water with one cup of liquid laundry soap and one cup of bleach. brush it on with a soft brush, let it sit for fifteen minutes, then hose it off. came out beautiful. then i applied two coats of tropical teak oil. shouldn't have to do anything for the next four years.

i don't know why everyone doesn't use this stuff. when i see people using cetol or varnish or even plain teak oil i just have to laugh....

[sailnautilus]

In short, the answer is yes. Daleys is one of he best and the best technique is to sand the oil into the teak with fine wet to dry paper. The dust from the sanding mixed with the oil acts as a filler in the teak and makes it silky smooth. Finally coat with a couple coats without sanding... looks great.
The bad news is that it always blackens over time and requires bleaching off to get rid of the blackened oil... alot of work.
Just a warning... you must mask with teak oil just like varnish, as the dried teak oil is difficult to get off paint or gel coat.
Fair winds,
Dr. Michele

[atoll]

you might want to get a phillipino crew! to apply the stuff weekly if you are doing a lot of passagemaking! i also found it stains the fiberglass if not applied very carefully

[onestepcsy37]

a few things i should have mentioned.

1. you can get starbrite tropical teak oil cheaper on the internet. go to amazon and search for it.
2. use foam brushes to apply it. buy good quality foam brushes, and lots of them. they don't last all that long.
3. it comes in two colors - light and dark. i think the light looks nicer.
4. think happy thoughts while you're applying it; you won't have to do this again for maybe four years.

[GaryMayo]

Thanks for the heads up on the Starbrite Tropical Teak Oil Light. Amazon, Earths biggest retailer has a 32 ounce can headed this way.

The teak is one of the jobs of my restoration I kept putting off. The other day, someone said I had a nice looking old sailboat. Maybe this job completed will peel some age off my old girl.

Thanks for this thread, thanks for the contributors and thank you for this web site that is so easy and handy to use with your iPhone app.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

starbrite TROPICAL teak oil. not teak oil. TROPICAL teak oil. yes, it's true. outlasts other teak oil, never turns black. (it can drip when you apply it so best to tape off and keep a rag with acetone or mineral spirits handy when applying it).

when we first got our boat eight years ago the teak had not been cared for in years (the previous owner had died and the boat sat unloved for two years). it was black. we used the two part teak cleaner to restore it to it's original condition. then we applied two coats of starbrite tropical teak oil. we did nothing - absolutely nothing - for the next four years. and this in sunny florida. then we just hosed off the teak and applied one coat of tropical teak oil. that was four years ago.

the teak was not in bad condition but i could see that the finish was wearing off, so last month i decided to give it a real cleaning and oiling. i cleaned it in accordance with don casey's book. he recommended a pail of water with one cup of liquid laundry soap and one cup of bleach. brush it on with a soft brush, let it sit for fifteen minutes, then hose it off. came out beautiful. then i applied two coats of tropical teak oil. shouldn't have to do anything for the next four years.

i don't know why everyone doesn't use this stuff. when i see people using cetol or varnish or even plain teak oil i just have to laugh....

Great feedback.
Thanks a ton
This looks like it will be the logical choice. We do have a lot of teak. We're hoping "a thing of beauty is a joy for.... maybe 4 years"

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by sailnautilus

In short, the answer is yes. Daleys is one of he best and the best technique is to sand the oil into the teak with fine wet to dry paper. The dust from the sanding mixed with the oil acts as a filler in the teak and makes it silky smooth. Finally coat with a couple coats without sanding... looks great.
The bad news is that it always blackens over time and requires bleaching off to get rid of the blackened oil... alot of work.
Just a warning... you must mask with teak oil just like varnish, as the dried teak oil is difficult to get off paint or gel coat.
Fair winds,
Dr. Michele

Thanks. It looks like you may have saved us a lot of work.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

Ive used Tung oil for years! I had a couple of gallons of it at one time. It's all gone now! But it worked Very well ! I have not looked for it in a long time as we have no teak decks aboard now ! But if ya can find it it WORKS !! Just a thought

Hi Bob/Connie,
I've heard of people using Tung oil. I've also heard horror stories about the rags spontaneously combusting if not gotten rid of quickly and properly.

I'm curious to know a bit more although we're leaning heavily towards the Starbrite Tropical product.

Where do you normally get Tung oil?
Low cost?
Is it also good to use on teak for show as opposed to decks you walk on?
Do you need to mask off to apply it or could you just wipe off excess on the FG with an acetone rag or some suchlike?
How frequently would you need to re apply in the tropics?

Vic

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

starbrite TROPICAL teak oil. not teak oil. TROPICAL teak oil. yes, it's true. outlasts other teak oil, never turns black. (it can drip when you apply it so best to tape off and keep a rag with acetone or mineral spirits handy when applying it).

when we first got our boat eight years ago the teak had not been cared for in years (the previous owner had died and the boat sat unloved for two years). it was black. we used the two part teak cleaner to restore it to it's original condition. then we applied two coats of starbrite tropical teak oil. we did nothing - absolutely nothing - for the next four years. and this in sunny florida. then we just hosed off the teak and applied one coat of tropical teak oil. that was four years ago.

the teak was not in bad condition but i could see that the finish was wearing off, so last month i decided to give it a real cleaning and oiling. i cleaned it in accordance with don casey's book. he recommended a pail of water with one cup of liquid laundry soap and one cup of bleach. brush it on with a soft brush, let it sit for fifteen minutes, then hose it off. came out beautiful. then i applied two coats of tropical teak oil. shouldn't have to do anything for the next four years.

i don't know why everyone doesn't use this stuff. when i see people using cetol or varnish or even plain teak oil i just have to laugh....

Just a thought...
The website says it has pigment to make it 'light' or 'classic'.
This doesn't make it a Cetol-like product does it?
It's an awful Cetol finish we're removing, apart from where it's removed itself!

Vic

[onestepcsy37]

virtualvagabond - something i hadn't mentioned. i've never used this on teak decks because i've never had teak decks. what i have is a 6" coaming around the entire deck, a teak dodger, and teak handrails - but not teak decks. so i cannot tell you how this stuff will work on teak decks, particularly how well it stands up to being walked on.

what it is is a high quality teak oil - starbrite makes the best - with a uv inhibitor solid mixed in. the oil permeates the teak and the solids provide the uv protection. i think it looks great and will try to post a picture when i get home to my own computer in the next 24 hours.

i'm not familiar with cetol other than it's a lot of work, which is what turned me off on it...

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

virtualvagabond - something i hadn't mentioned. i've never used this on teak decks because i've never had teak decks. what i have is a 6" coaming around the entire deck, a teak dodger, and teak handrails - but not teak decks. so i cannot tell you how this stuff will work on teak decks, particularly how well it stands up to being walked on.

what it is is a high quality teak oil - starbrite makes the best - with a uv inhibitor solid mixed in. the oil permeates the teak and the solids provide the uv protection. i think it looks great and will try to post a picture when i get home to my own computer in the next 24 hours.

i'm not familiar with cetol other than it's a lot of work, which is what turned me off on it...

I won't be doing the decks either, but I have a lot of cap rail, decorative strips and edging.

Pictures would be great because I have no idea if we should go for the Light or Classic. It also looked like there may be Light Natural, and Classic Dark, or they may be the same products as Light and Classic.

Vic

[LostAtSea2011]

Oil the interior...varnish the exterior.

[onestepcsy37]

virtualvagabond - sorry to complain about this forum - it's been a great source of all kinds of information - but they've ruined the photo posting process that used to be so user friendly. i've spent the last hour trying to upload the photo until i surmised that the photo had to be small, say under 100k, and finally got it loaded. the error message i was getting just said 'error' with no indication of what the problem was. then instead of getting some simple user id for the photo they gave me multiple strings of url addresses that are completely unusable to ordinary people. i'm a huge believer in keep it simple. the process is anything but.

ok, enough complaining. i figured out that, if you go to the photo gallery - maybe under the 'maintenance' heading (but who knows?) and search for a photo titled 'starbrite tropical teak oil' you may be able to actually see the photo. maybe.

in any event, if you can't please post a message to me with your real email address and i will send it along to you.

the photo, by the way, shows a section of my caprail TWO YEARS after we first applied the oil. looks pretty good, eh?