Teak Wood

jbbkamp · Post by **jbbkamp** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:57 pm

This should be pretty quick easy one to answer. I bought gold teak oil for our boat, but my wife is thinking she would sooner a darker color like walnut. Does standard teak oil finish the wood dark? Also, I've cleaned/brightened the teak so far but the wood is still grayish. Should I sand everything down to get a nice finish? I've stained/varnished a lot of things but never use teak wood and teak oil.

thepartydog · Post by **thepartydog** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 12:00 am

What cleaner and lightner are you using? I'm working on the teak on my big brothers big boat, and I'm using the starbright. Are you using a scrubbing sponge or scouring pad?

Use the oil, even if you are going to coat the teak with varnish, or cetol, use the oil. Teak oil is great for the wood. Makes it stronger and makes it last longer. Also, the grey will turn very dark when you apply the oil. If you don't like the look then you can clean it again, and re-oil. The lightner is optional, depending on how light or dark you want your wood to look.

cs3079 · Post by **cs3079** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:04 am

Hello again JB. I'm thinking of doing the same with my boat before parking her over my brother's for the winter. Here's some tips from my buddy Don on teak care. Good luck!

http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/29.htm

Alanhod · Post by **Alanhod** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:03 pm

I am no wood or Teak expert but I have redone my Teak with teak oil twice and really liked the results.

The wood started out dry and light grey colored, now not a light colored as I have seen in photo's of others Teak I've seen.

I pressure wash my teak, let it dry, put on 2 or 3 coats of Teak Oil drying between coats and it comes out dark brown every time. I know it's time to redo it when the color lightens up and the wood starts to look dried out again.

After I did it the first time I had to redo it in about 6 months. After the second time I did it I had to redo it about a year later. I've not touched it now for about a year and a half and it still looks good.

I used no cleaners, just a pressure washer. I take all the Teak off the boat, put it on a tarp. Blast it with the pressure washer, let it dry, paint on a few coats of Teak oil and it looks REALLY good every time.

Here's my boat the day I first saw it, before I bought it. In my memory the teak was much lighter looking then it shows in this photo. Circa Spring 2007

Here's a photo about 2 years after the first photo. It had been at least a year after last applying the Teak oil that this photo was taken. Fall of 2009

I do not seem to have a more current photo of my Teak in it's current state, but it's still quite dark and not at all that dry grey look and it's been redone since this last photo was taken.

I really like what the Teak looks and acts like and what the Teak oil does to the Teak. Not much work excellent results.

Thanks
Alan

jbbkamp · Post by **jbbkamp** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:59 pm

Excellent info! Looks like standard teak oil is the color we were after. Do you normally do the tiller in teak oil also? Previous owner of our boat had it varnished. For the cleaner I used West Marine one step teak cleaner/brightner. Worked alright I think, just didn't know what to expect. I'm sanding everything down in addition to the cleaning just to get a nice smooth surface.

Alanhod · Post by **Alanhod** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 11:32 am

jbbkamp wrote:Excellent info! Looks like standard teak oil is the color we were after. Do you normally do the tiller in teak oil also? Previous owner of our boat had it varnished. For the cleaner I used West Marine one step teak cleaner/brightner. Worked alright I think, just didn't know what to expect. I'm sanding everything down in addition to the cleaning just to get a nice smooth surface.

No on the tiller I use "Spar Varnish" I've done my tiller 3 times and it looks good for about a year then it really looks bad. I have to say I'm not pleased with my results on my tiller. Captain Scott used something that looks real good all the time on his tiller. Can't remember what it's called.

I sand my tiller down with an oscillating sander. Wipe it down to get rid of the dust. , paint it with "Spar Varnish", giving it about 4 coats letting it dry and lightly sand in between. Looks great, till it looks bad within a year later. I waited a little over a year last time and my tiller started to de-laminate. I glued it all back and re-finished it again. It sits in the cabin now till I'm ready to go sail again. It just can't handle Seattle Weather.

Thanks
Alan

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:18 pm

I use a product called Cetol. Works great and patches easily.
Like Alan, sand off old finish completely, clean of dust and such completely. Coat several times until desired finish.

Difference in Cetol and Varnish are two fold.
First is great! It patches easy and you do not have to strip completely to patch a nick or such! Just reaply!

Second is personal taste. The color is more of a redish orange vs a yellowish varnish.

Again, no worries, just a slightly different look. Only the very concerned would even notice!

Here are some companion way boards that were bad

Here is a tiller handle that I was going to throw away but at the last minute decided to restore in an attempt to save a buck! Came out great!

If you use teak oil on the interior wood trim, the color will be much closer to Cetol than varnish so there is some odd benifit there also!

However if you choose Cetol, be forwarned. There are varnish snobs out there that will attempt to somehow degrade you for choosing something different from what they've chosen! LOL! Fortunately I do not finish my boat to impress someone else. Only to please me!

Captain Scott

cs3079 · Post by **cs3079** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:15 pm

Wow, that's looks really nice Scott. It's exactly the finish I wish to put on mine, thanks for the info and posting the pic. I was about to take the easy way out and throw on some Thompson's cedar water seal I had left over from doing my deck two summers ago. A little more work but hey, do I want to spend my precious sailing time taking in the beauty of the moment or thinking about how ugly the deck stain that I splashed on the hatch looks.

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 5:22 pm

I hope it works to your expectations!

Also if memory serves I used the "satin" finish. They have a gloss however I have not used it.

I like the stuff and will not hesitate to use it on my now 3rd C22.

Scott

hp18carr · Post by **hp18carr** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 5:53 pm

late to the game but here's my two cents worth... the first photo is of my entry hatch boards after being cleaned up with Olympic cedar and redwood deck brightener. the second photo is after using Cabot Australian tember oil... jarrah Brown.

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

jbbkamp · Post by **jbbkamp** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:08 am

Great pics of each of the boats! I've got most of the wood sanded down. I'm excited to get them oiled and see the difference I'm seeing in the pics from you guys. I'm bringing the boat to indoor storage for the winter on Friday but I'm keeping all the wood at the house so I can apply a bunch of coats of oil to the wood.

Capt. Bondo · Post by **Capt. Bondo** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 10:28 am

After you refinish the tiller, get or make a tiller cover

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=650692
The first mate made one in minutes from scrap of Sunbrella.

Kevin Dreher · Post by **Kevin Dreher** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 10:48 am

here is my hatch boards and hand rails after sanding and teak

jbbkamp · Post by **jbbkamp** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:17 pm

Scott, looks like we're going to try the Cetol. Sounds like it might hold up a little longer than teak oil and we do like the color. I'm planning on just ordering a quart from West Marine. I'm guessing it's not something that could be picked up at a Lowe's, Menard, Home Depot, etc.