The interior of our 1985 Catalina-30 has teak that has never been varnished and we've never put teak oil on it, a former owner may have, but that's been 10+ years ago. It looks ok, but every spring we spend too much time cleaning the mildew off the teak. We don't mind cleaning the fibreglass surfaces - that goes quickly and it's easy to do. But the bleepin teak seems to take forever. The question I ask is a simple one: what is the easiest and/or best way to seal the teak to minimize future "extended" spring cleaning? We're not looking to creat more brightwork to have to refinish every few years - so we don't want the high gloss "Bristol" look just nice smooth teak surfaces that are not "mildew farms."
Best Way To Seal Untreated Teak?
- Thread starter Buzzards Bay
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Nothing is maintenance free
Lemon oil is a good way to go but you must recoat periodically throughout the season to keep the shine up. It will darken the teak over time and can attract dirt but is toxic for mildew. I just stripped oil from the entire interior of my boat and there is A LOT of teak in my boat. We removed all the teak oil with Captain John's teak cleaner. Then we brightened the teak with a bleach, Tide and water mixture. We then did a light sanding and applied 3 coats of Varathane oil based poly. It now has a beautiful golden color with a semi gloss finish that is as maintenance free as you could probably get. See the link: http://www.sailboatowners.com/forums/pviewall.tpl?sku=2008147152803.58&fno=441
Lemon oil is a good way to go but you must recoat periodically throughout the season to keep the shine up. It will darken the teak over time and can attract dirt but is toxic for mildew. I just stripped oil from the entire interior of my boat and there is A LOT of teak in my boat. We removed all the teak oil with Captain John's teak cleaner. Then we brightened the teak with a bleach, Tide and water mixture. We then did a light sanding and applied 3 coats of Varathane oil based poly. It now has a beautiful golden color with a semi gloss finish that is as maintenance free as you could probably get. See the link: http://www.sailboatowners.com/forums/pviewall.tpl?sku=2008147152803.58&fno=441
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I just went thru this on my Catalina 30. There is more wood than meets the eye on the C-30 so I would keep this as a winter project as I did. In the fall - remove anything you can and bring it home / garage and basement for a thorough and final cleaning. You really want to make sure all the mold and mildew is out of the wood grain prior to sealing. I like to bleach teak prior to varnishing as its cleans everything out of the wood. Sanding will only enhance the final look so hot it with 100 or 120 then wipe down. I cleaned and finished all the wood that I couldn't remove in the spring when the boat was stripped of everything (carpet, cushions, etc). I used Cetol which is the quickest, fastest and offers a very durable finish. Downside is the tint - somewhat of an orange / bronze tint to the wood. It all depends on your preference. I don't mind it and it matched all my exterior wood. If the wood is all interior you may want to go with a clear Polyurethane finish (avail at any hardware store)- I did this in the head and it came out great. 2 coats of anything you choose should do the trick. The Polyurethane works only if its out of the sun and inside otherwise it will not hold up to the elements. Sealing all my interior wood was one of the most satisfying projects I ever did - it seals out all moisture from entering the wood thus removing much of that boat odor you come across when you get down to the boat for the first time on the weekend (musty / mildewing smell). I would recommend sealing ALL the wood - even behind the cabinets, under the sink and inside / outsides of draws. You don't need an expensive varnish here - any clear-coat will do. The purpose here is to seal all wood to prevent moisture-based odors. Good luck! - Rob
I just went thru this on my Catalina 30. There is more wood than meets the eye on the C-30 so I would keep this as a winter project as I did. In the fall - remove anything you can and bring it home / garage and basement for a thorough and final cleaning. You really want to make sure all the mold and mildew is out of the wood grain prior to sealing. I like to bleach teak prior to varnishing as its cleans everything out of the wood. Sanding will only enhance the final look so hot it with 100 or 120 then wipe down. I cleaned and finished all the wood that I couldn't remove in the spring when the boat was stripped of everything (carpet, cushions, etc). I used Cetol which is the quickest, fastest and offers a very durable finish. Downside is the tint - somewhat of an orange / bronze tint to the wood. It all depends on your preference. I don't mind it and it matched all my exterior wood. If the wood is all interior you may want to go with a clear Polyurethane finish (avail at any hardware store)- I did this in the head and it came out great. 2 coats of anything you choose should do the trick. The Polyurethane works only if its out of the sun and inside otherwise it will not hold up to the elements. Sealing all my interior wood was one of the most satisfying projects I ever did - it seals out all moisture from entering the wood thus removing much of that boat odor you come across when you get down to the boat for the first time on the weekend (musty / mildewing smell). I would recommend sealing ALL the wood - even behind the cabinets, under the sink and inside / outsides of draws. You don't need an expensive varnish here - any clear-coat will do. The purpose here is to seal all wood to prevent moisture-based odors. Good luck! - Rob
cabin teak my 2 c
unfortunately what your looking for: "An easy to apply no skin mildew free long lasting maintenence free teak finish" Dosent exist. You have 4 choices. 1. clean off the mildew with bleach or that 2 part teak cleaner they sell everywhere, then varnish. The varnish will hold up well for a good while but sooner or later your gonna have to take it off. Thats whats wrong with varnish or any finish with a skin. 2. clean the teak as in option 1 and apply oil sealer This is a lot easier than varnish but wont last as long. Your gonna have to reapply sealer a couple of times a season and next spring youll have some mildew to wash off. Youll have to re seal. Option 3 Do nothing, If you see any mildew just wash it off with bleach this is the lowest maintenence of the three but you might not be happy with the way it looks. And finally that brings us to option 4. Two coats of marine mildew resistant oil based epoxy paint. Very hard finish easy to wash off. But your probably not gonna like that idea either. There is no free lunch here.
unfortunately what your looking for: "An easy to apply no skin mildew free long lasting maintenence free teak finish" Dosent exist. You have 4 choices. 1. clean off the mildew with bleach or that 2 part teak cleaner they sell everywhere, then varnish. The varnish will hold up well for a good while but sooner or later your gonna have to take it off. Thats whats wrong with varnish or any finish with a skin. 2. clean the teak as in option 1 and apply oil sealer This is a lot easier than varnish but wont last as long. Your gonna have to reapply sealer a couple of times a season and next spring youll have some mildew to wash off. Youll have to re seal. Option 3 Do nothing, If you see any mildew just wash it off with bleach this is the lowest maintenence of the three but you might not be happy with the way it looks. And finally that brings us to option 4. Two coats of marine mildew resistant oil based epoxy paint. Very hard finish easy to wash off. But your probably not gonna like that idea either. There is no free lunch here.
I recently bought a boatload of teak patio furniture
and the store recommended a product called SEMCO Teak Sealer. Water-based, easy to apply, imparts no color or skin, but seals the teak and prevents mold/mildew, which feeds on the oil in teak. I put two coats on the table tops with a foam brush, wiped it, and after drying, about an hour, you couldn't really tell it had a coat on it, but it did seal it. Spills wiped off. I plan to spray the rest of it. The SEMCO is a little pricey, but you won't need much and down below, it will last virtually forever.
and the store recommended a product called SEMCO Teak Sealer. Water-based, easy to apply, imparts no color or skin, but seals the teak and prevents mold/mildew, which feeds on the oil in teak. I put two coats on the table tops with a foam brush, wiped it, and after drying, about an hour, you couldn't really tell it had a coat on it, but it did seal it. Spills wiped off. I plan to spray the rest of it. The SEMCO is a little pricey, but you won't need much and down below, it will last virtually forever.
Nothing like a hard finish
The best way to seal teak is to varnish it. If you do it on the interior, is should last for many many years. I did it on my Catalina 30 and it looked great. After 5 years it still looked like new and all the maintenance required is a damp rag. There really is no quick and easy way. If you consider the work effort required at the on-set of varnish and amatorize it over a 10 year period, then varnish will be the quick and easy way. Since you dont know if the PO had used oil or not, the best way to do it is to use furniture stripper. Its messy and nasty, but it a good guarantee. If he ever used even a little , it will pretty much all come out. From what you say, this shouldnt take very long. Then wipe down good with acetone or laquer thinner and then varnish with a good quality varnish. Hint No. 1: if it comes from Home Depot, it ain't any good. Hint No. 2: if you want it to look like pinkish-brown paint, use Cetol. Hint No. 3: if you like the dead flat look like it 'needs something' use oil. because it will need more oil. And oil does not seal wood very well. Again, interior brightwork should last many many years. No sunlight-no UV. Just wipe with a damp rag and spring cleaning is done. I have had many years experience in fine furniture building, antique restoration and boat repair and refinishing on a professional level. Tony B
The best way to seal teak is to varnish it. If you do it on the interior, is should last for many many years. I did it on my Catalina 30 and it looked great. After 5 years it still looked like new and all the maintenance required is a damp rag. There really is no quick and easy way. If you consider the work effort required at the on-set of varnish and amatorize it over a 10 year period, then varnish will be the quick and easy way. Since you dont know if the PO had used oil or not, the best way to do it is to use furniture stripper. Its messy and nasty, but it a good guarantee. If he ever used even a little , it will pretty much all come out. From what you say, this shouldnt take very long. Then wipe down good with acetone or laquer thinner and then varnish with a good quality varnish. Hint No. 1: if it comes from Home Depot, it ain't any good. Hint No. 2: if you want it to look like pinkish-brown paint, use Cetol. Hint No. 3: if you like the dead flat look like it 'needs something' use oil. because it will need more oil. And oil does not seal wood very well. Again, interior brightwork should last many many years. No sunlight-no UV. Just wipe with a damp rag and spring cleaning is done. I have had many years experience in fine furniture building, antique restoration and boat repair and refinishing on a professional level. Tony B
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