I like my teak grey. Why touch it?

[AlastairLC]

Whenever I search the internet for “teak maintenance“, I see a lot of washing, sanding, sealing, oiling...
I guess if you want to have your teak dark brown and shiny, that’s okay (if a lot of work).
I don’t want that look or that work.
if the teak is a nice soft grey, smooth and undamaged, why do anything to it?
What am I missing here?

 

[kappykaplan]

If the teak is a nice soft grey, smooth and undamaged, why do anything to it?

I don't do anything to mine - I like the grey look.

 

[dlochner]

Nothing. Some folks like the look of a highly varnished teak and willing to put in the time and effort to get it. A bigger number of people want the look of a highly varnished teak and would rather not put the effort into getting it.

The big problem is once someone starts down the path of cleaning and oiling teak, it has to be continued because the soft wood between the grain erodes and the teak becomes a washboard. More work for the next guy.

Mostly I prefer the look of varnished teak. I've found that doing a good job with 6 or more coats lasts quite a while here in Upstate NY. Every few years a couple of quick coats of varnish keeps it looking good. The modern varnishes have short recoating times. Right now I'm using Total Boat Gleam on a cockpit table that will allow up to 3 coats a day without sanding.

In the end, it's different strokes for different folks.

 

[jssailem]

You can’t be shiny brown if you want to go grey.

Kind of like that with hair color as well.

 

[shemandr]

...if the teak is a nice soft grey, smooth and undamaged, why do anything to it?

Does such a thing exist? Most weathered teak I've dealt has a corrugated surface that is rough and gnarly looking. Put me down for the finished look.

 

[kappykaplan]

Kind of like that with hair color as well.

I haven't had brown hair on my head for a long time!

 

[jssailem]

I wonder... Maybe if we sand it with 220 a bit and then varnish it we can get that color to come back...

 

[kappykaplan]

I don't think so, Tim (er, John)! With a tip'o'th'hat to Tim the Toolman Taylor.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

l'm with you- my teak is left bare also

 

[TomY]

Whenever I search the internet for “teak maintenance“, I see a lot of washing, sanding, sealing, oiling...
I guess if you want to have your teak dark brown and shiny, that’s okay (if a lot of work).
I don’t want that look or that work.
if the teak is a nice soft grey, smooth and undamaged, why do anything to it?
What am I missing here?

Any wood left uncoated and outdoors sacrifices itself to the elements, that's just common sense. Any coating applied between the wood and elements, becomes the victim and erodes away. Like teak, no coating is impervious.

The time frame of that sacrifice varies due to wood species, exposure (sun angle is huge), near endless variables. But you can't stop mother nature.

If teak was impervious to the elements, teak decks would last forever. They don't as we know.

In the scheme of boat ownership, many wood parts above decks will last 'grey', for a long time. Most of the parts on more modern glass boats are small and easily replaced. Many, it's cheaper to replace than maintain. Toe rails? Might be worth coating to preserve.

Your choice but wood, even teak, is no miracle material, I know this more from building design and maintenance than boats.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Rot, would be my answer to "why touch it?".
Wood exposed to the outdoors needs protection.
That said, all of mine was replaced with composite. Couldn't be more pleased.

 

[TomY]

Rot, would be my answer to "why touch it?".
Wood exposed to the outdoors needs protection.
That said, all of mine was replaced with composite. Couldn't be more pleased.

Caring for buildings old and 'new', rot is my life.

20 year old 'new' windows that were not maintained.

I love composite material, especially for areas of high abuse from the elements.

A coat of lumpy paint to make it look 'old', and Bobs your uncle.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Thanks Tom! My house is 100 years old this year. Our whole College Hill neighborhood is around that age. Water and exposure has been its worst enemy. Treatment and care, or lack of is easily apparent.

 

[dLj]

Any wood left uncoated and outdoors sacrifices itself to the elements, that's just common sense. Any coating applied between the wood and elements, becomes the victim and erodes away. Like teak, no coating is impervious.

The time frame of that sacrifice varies due to wood species, exposure (sun angle is huge), near endless variables. But you can't stop mother nature.

If teak was impervious to the elements, teak decks would last forever. They don't as we know.

In the scheme of boat ownership, many wood parts above decks will last 'grey', for a long time. Most of the parts on more modern glass boats are small and easily replaced. Many, it's cheaper to replace than maintain. Toe rails? Might be worth coating to preserve.

While I do agree with the above, in the case of teak, and a few other wood species such as ipe and iroko, the maintenance being done may actually degrade the wood faster than the natural process. If you are "on-top" of the maintenance, as in you are refinishing the teak before the existing coating system has broken down, in essence you are refinishing the coating system, not the teak itself, then I would completely agree that you can extend the life of teak, virtually indefinitely. However, as I more often see, the existing coating degrades to the point where one must prepare the wood surface for the next coating. Then it seems to me you are actually degrading, or wearing out, the teak faster than if you were to leave it alone in it's grey condition and allow the slow natural process take place.

So with teak, and some others, either really stay on top of maintenance or let it go grey....

dj

 

[DougM]

The big problem is once someone starts down the path of cleaning and oiling teak, it has to be continued because the soft wood between the grain erodes and the teak becomes a washboard. More work for the next guy.

One of the primary causes of the erosion of the softer sections of the wood between the growth rings is scrubbing along the grain. I was taught to scrub across the grain to keep that erosion to a minimum. It not a cure but it helps.

 

[AlastairLC]

Bobs your uncle.

Or as the toffs put it, “Robert's your father's brother”.

 

[capta]

Teak doesn't rot from fresh water in the traditional way, so that's not a worry. What we've found is that the teak, over the years in the tropics, seems to run out of its natural oils, dry out and shrink a bit, so something like a toe rail may begin to leak. I'm sure the situation is much different in the temperate regions, though the heat/cold thing may be a problem.

 

[dlochner]

Or as the toffs put it, “Robert's your father's brother”.

How does Bob's uncle treat his teak?

 

[AlastairLC]

He Peels it.

 

[MarcW]

Caring for buildings old and 'new', rot is my life.

20 year old 'new' windows that were not maintained.

View attachment 186967

I doubt those windows were made of teak.