I am sure that this has been discussed before but my teak hand rails and companionway boards are grey and I don't like it!! I want to refinish them along with other exterior wood. Here are my questions: 1. How to get them clean and restore the color? I have heard bleaches, cleaning soloutions 1 and 2 part, TSP, what works the best in the real world? 2. It seems that form what I have read that the only way to get the color back is to oil the wood, yes or no? 3. After cleaning, sanding, restoring color many friends recomend cetol as the finish. I bought some and it has a color to it. Can I use cetol over oiled wood? Or should I clean, sand and just use cetol? I don't want my teak looking grey ever again. Any advise would be welcome Art <)))><
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Refinishing teak
I just refinished my teak. I found it easiest to actually remove the wood from the boat... There is not that much and as long as no one has used any adhesive calking on it the removal is as simple as removain a few bolts and screws. Refinishing then can be accomplished without needing to mask off the deck. It also allows you to recaulk. I used the 3m NON-adhesive caulking for this. As far as cleaning... there are a variety of teak cleaners out there, most notably a 2 part (Tek-A is it?... can't remember). I think that it is fine for once in a while cleaning but people argue that repeated use dries out the teak too much. What I did personally, because I was going to use Cetol, was to sand the teakboth to get to new wood and also to smooth it out because I don't think the previous owner did much to the teak and it was getting quite rough. I used my random orbital sander and also hand sanding to accomplish this. Once I had the teak cleaned and sanded to where I was satisfied with it, I cleaned it with a wipedown of acetone to remove residual surface oil and then applied 3 coats of cetol light. Now as long as I keep up with the cetol maintainance, which should not be too bad with this product, I really never will have to clean the teak again. If you go the teak oil finish route it will go grey again over time and the oil tends to attract dirt but oiling is a time honored method for teak finising as well. Good Luck Steve
I just refinished my teak. I found it easiest to actually remove the wood from the boat... There is not that much and as long as no one has used any adhesive calking on it the removal is as simple as removain a few bolts and screws. Refinishing then can be accomplished without needing to mask off the deck. It also allows you to recaulk. I used the 3m NON-adhesive caulking for this. As far as cleaning... there are a variety of teak cleaners out there, most notably a 2 part (Tek-A is it?... can't remember). I think that it is fine for once in a while cleaning but people argue that repeated use dries out the teak too much. What I did personally, because I was going to use Cetol, was to sand the teakboth to get to new wood and also to smooth it out because I don't think the previous owner did much to the teak and it was getting quite rough. I used my random orbital sander and also hand sanding to accomplish this. Once I had the teak cleaned and sanded to where I was satisfied with it, I cleaned it with a wipedown of acetone to remove residual surface oil and then applied 3 coats of cetol light. Now as long as I keep up with the cetol maintainance, which should not be too bad with this product, I really never will have to clean the teak again. If you go the teak oil finish route it will go grey again over time and the oil tends to attract dirt but oiling is a time honored method for teak finising as well. Good Luck Steve
Teak a and cetol
Hi Art i agree with Steve Off the boat is the easy way to go when it is really bad. I did my teak two years ago and everything still looks great. I took everything off during the winter and used Teak A it is a part A and b solution. It cleans everything, brightens the teak. Then I sanded everythingwith 220 grit paper for a nice smooth surface. Then 6 coats of cetol and I think I am ready to go for a couple of years. Cetol says that all i have to do is rough up the surface a little and apply more coats in follow up years as needed. I felt this was a great time to rebed everything with 3m 4200 ( stays flexiable and is removable). You will not be sorry everything looks so much better after a refinishing job. It makes a great winter project when you can use the boat anyway. Enjoy the weather remaining and hit it hard when the weather turns. Herb s/v Daydream
Hi Art i agree with Steve Off the boat is the easy way to go when it is really bad. I did my teak two years ago and everything still looks great. I took everything off during the winter and used Teak A it is a part A and b solution. It cleans everything, brightens the teak. Then I sanded everythingwith 220 grit paper for a nice smooth surface. Then 6 coats of cetol and I think I am ready to go for a couple of years. Cetol says that all i have to do is rough up the surface a little and apply more coats in follow up years as needed. I felt this was a great time to rebed everything with 3m 4200 ( stays flexiable and is removable). You will not be sorry everything looks so much better after a refinishing job. It makes a great winter project when you can use the boat anyway. Enjoy the weather remaining and hit it hard when the weather turns. Herb s/v Daydream
Cetol light?
Thanks for the advise. I already have a few sample pieces of teak off the boat and have cleaned them with water and TSP (Don Casey recomended it) It worked great!! Now I need to sand. But, what is the difference between cetol and cetol light. I assume it is the same product with less piment in it??? Let me know if any one has used the regular stuff. It is a long drie to the West Marine for me to return what I have. Thanks Art <)))><
Thanks for the advise. I already have a few sample pieces of teak off the boat and have cleaned them with water and TSP (Don Casey recomended it) It worked great!! Now I need to sand. But, what is the difference between cetol and cetol light. I assume it is the same product with less piment in it??? Let me know if any one has used the regular stuff. It is a long drie to the West Marine for me to return what I have. Thanks Art <)))><
Cetol Light
Went through this earlier in the year. Stripped, sanded etc. My neighbor had used Cetol and it looked okay, not great but okay. I figured Cetol Light would be a bit less orange so tried it. I absolutely hate it. The teak now looks like it's made of plastic. If I ever get up enough energy to re-strip/sand, I think I'll try Honey Teak, heard good stuff about it. Of course it's going to be a while... Ron 86 C30TRBS
Went through this earlier in the year. Stripped, sanded etc. My neighbor had used Cetol and it looked okay, not great but okay. I figured Cetol Light would be a bit less orange so tried it. I absolutely hate it. The teak now looks like it's made of plastic. If I ever get up enough energy to re-strip/sand, I think I'll try Honey Teak, heard good stuff about it. Of course it's going to be a while... Ron 86 C30TRBS
That's not good
I have heard so many good things about Cetol. That is a supprise to me. Is there a better product out there? I don't want to hae to redo it again. I was going to try a little on the back of a piece of teak, where it will not show first. I also think I will take my Cetol to the home depot and have it shaken up well. Perhaps that will help Does any one else have any sugestions. Art <)))><
I have heard so many good things about Cetol. That is a supprise to me. Is there a better product out there? I don't want to hae to redo it again. I was going to try a little on the back of a piece of teak, where it will not show first. I also think I will take my Cetol to the home depot and have it shaken up well. Perhaps that will help Does any one else have any sugestions. Art <)))><
More Teak Stuff
Art Try this http://archive.sailboatowners.com/archive/archresults.tpl?ssite=CO&fno=25&start=1&keyword=cetol&model=none&forum=none&pr=p%2Cr&_ptitle=ptitle+rtitle&_psamp=psamp&andor=wo&srt=pdate It's the archives search under cetol. There are 250 (!!!!!) articles, responses, stories about it. That's a lot of reading for you. Also try varnish and armada searches. It's ALL been discussed before. This website has one of the world's greatest search engines. And regardless of what you read, it's your boat and YOU need to determine what you like and what you want it to look like. Good luck. Stu
Art Try this http://archive.sailboatowners.com/archive/archresults.tpl?ssite=CO&fno=25&start=1&keyword=cetol&model=none&forum=none&pr=p%2Cr&_ptitle=ptitle+rtitle&_psamp=psamp&andor=wo&srt=pdate It's the archives search under cetol. There are 250 (!!!!!) articles, responses, stories about it. That's a lot of reading for you. Also try varnish and armada searches. It's ALL been discussed before. This website has one of the world's greatest search engines. And regardless of what you read, it's your boat and YOU need to determine what you like and what you want it to look like. Good luck. Stu
Teak sealer
Try using Star Bright's teak sealer. It works better than oil and is easier to apply than varnish. I comes in two shades. Apply 3 coats and you are good for several years. It was designed for use in the tropics. Make sure you use a teak cleaner first though. What works best is to go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy deck cleaner. It is far cheaper than the traditional teak cleaners sold at West Marine, and works better.
Try using Star Bright's teak sealer. It works better than oil and is easier to apply than varnish. I comes in two shades. Apply 3 coats and you are good for several years. It was designed for use in the tropics. Make sure you use a teak cleaner first though. What works best is to go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy deck cleaner. It is far cheaper than the traditional teak cleaners sold at West Marine, and works better.
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