Interior Wood

[ParamourII]

Hi All,

Brand new here, what a great forum!
Just bought an 86' 30 this past August and have been giving her lots of TLC. It looks like the interior teak has not been cleaned in some time. Can anyone tell me what it was finished with originally and the best way to care for it?

Thanks

Joe

 

[rbmcintire]

Welcome, Joe

I just spray an orange oil product like OrangeGlo and wipe it down with a clean rag. Works for me.

Rob

 

[Stu Jackson]

Unless the PO did something to the interior teak, there's nothing on it.

We use teak oil. We dislike the varnished shiny look down below, although some have used satin finish varnish. But when you look at the huge area to be covered, it's a lot easier to paint it on and hand wipe with a teak oiled rag than to try to carefully varnish it.

Depends on what you like to see.

Your boat, your choice.

 

[ParamourII]

Unless the PO did something to the interior teak, there's nothing on it.

We use teak oil. We dislike the varnished shiny look down below, although some have used satin finish varnish. But when you look at the huge area to be covered, it's a lot easier to paint it on and hand wipe with a teak oiled rag than to try to carefully varnish it.

Depends on what you like to see.

Your boat, your choice.

I don't think the PO did anything to it, does this look like oiled teak?

I really like the look of it now, and most of it looks nice there are just some areas that look a little tired. Any recommendations on a product to use?

Thanks a lot

Joe

 

[ParamourII]

Sorry, just learning how to post pics.

 

[ParamourII]

Here is a picture of some of the more tired areas

 

[Stu Jackson]

I think it looks fine, just a little dry.

Get some teak oil at WM and soak a rag and go for it.

Nice looking boat.

 

[ParamourII]

Thanks alot I will do that. One more question though, is teak oil teak oil? My home depot has it and the brand is Watco. That would be much easier than having to order it, I don't have any marine stores very close to me.

Thanks again.

 

[DanM]

Joe,

My boat is the last '85 built so it has some of the '86 features and Watco Teak Oil was used on my interior when the boat was new. Previous owners have used it (as did I when I bought her eight years ago) to freshen up the interior, and it does make it somewhat brighter and gets rid of that dry look. I run a dehumidifier in my boat while it's in the slip which I think has a lot of benefits, but also will dry out the wood work.

I've now switched to using Formby's Tung Oil (High Gloss) which is really just a thinned out varnish, nothing oily about it. I like the varnished look and the gloss (some don't) and I found that the Watco Teak Oil would make the teak look a bit red for my taste which Formby's doesn't do.

It does take quite a bit of work. I masked everything off. Two coats, light sand with 1500 grit, couple more coats. You apply it with a sponge almost as though you are waxing the woodwork. Personally I like it more than the Watco Oil, it lasts and I like the shine. Of course... just one sailors opionion, congrats on the new boat, she's a beauty!

DanM.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I personally don't know. Why not get online, find it, and read the label contents, then compare it to say WM's own teak oil?

 

[jimmcgee]

From the tech lib of the Catalina 30 Assoc

Interior Finishes:
What does Catalina use to "finish" the interior teak? The varnish is Target Coatings-Oxford, semi gloss. If your boat is oiled it is Watco teak oil.
~ Gerry Douglas
​

If you haven't found them yet, check them out at http://www.catalina30.com/

Congrats on the new boat. She looks to be in really good condition.

Jim

 

[ParamourII]

Ok so after some research I am thouroughly confused. I had no idea that there were so many different ways and ideas of what to do with interior teak. I have read that watco is kind of like a varnish and requires lots of cleaning prep etc. I am just looking for something to freshen up what i have as I think that overall it is in pretty good shape, just a little dried out.

 

[RichLan]

Teak Oil

I agree with Stu. Your teak looks good in the photos. I like the look of the oiled teak in my 82 Hunter. Dry wood like yours will soak up a lot of oil. Be prepared to apply two or three coats of oil over a few weeks. If there are soiled areas, you can try cleaning with Murphy's Oil Soap before applying teak oil.

(I suppose a mix of linseed oil and turpentine can be a substitute for teak oil. Have any members used this? It will be less costly than teak oil for large areas.)

 

[philliz]

Hi
My boat was a lot worse when we got it, what we used was a 2 part teak cleaner, this takes off any dirt and most of the old teak oil. Then my wife applied lots of coats (up to 10) of new oil until the wood would not take anymore and would feel tacky. Then at the start of each season when we uncovered the boat she would wipe the teak down with a damp cloth and apply 1 coat of oil which is then good the the whole season.

 

[ParamourII]

From the tech lib of the Catalina 30 Assoc

Interior Finishes:
What does Catalina use to "finish" the interior teak? The varnish is Target Coatings-Oxford, semi gloss. If your boat is oiled it is Watco teak oil.
~ Gerry Douglas
​

If you haven't found them yet, check them out at http://www.catalina30.com/

Congrats on the new boat. She looks to be in really good condition.

Jim

Thanks, overall she is in great shape, just needs a little TLC.
I did find the Cat 30 assoc. and saw the Target-Oxford varnish. My newbie question though is how do I tell for sure what it was finished with? It doesn't seem like varnish at all. I would like to know for sure because I don't want to change what it is.

 

[Stu Jackson]

That interior finish is for the Mark II boats with white paneled doors with thin teak trim, not for the Mark I boats.

 

[DanM]

...which get's even more confusing as I have a MKI boat that has a lot of the MKII features, because, I assume, Catalina was making rapid changes as they were cranking out boats in the late 80's / early 90's.

I'd go with this... The boat is old. If the teak needs cleaning than clean it. If it looks good, personally I'd use a varnish type product (or even a clear gloss Cetol that I saw on a 46' boat that I thought looked great since I like shiny!) so that I didn't have to rework it every year or so.

I've used Watco teak oil in the past and it looked good for a year or two but it made the teak look a bit more red. Now I've used Formby's (a wiping varnish) and it stopped the color change but it looks shiny (which I like personally) and it seems to last.

Do you want to oil it or coat it? Do you wax or Poliglow? Heck, I wax the exterior and Formby's the interior but I like the look, oh... and I Cetol the exterior teak!

DanM.

 

[Stu Jackson]

In the C 34 C36 and probably the C30 group, there were what we call Mark I, Mark 1 1/4,, Mark 1 1/2 and Mark II boats.

You're right, there was a period in the mid-90s that many changes were being made.

That said, either you have all teak doors or teak trim with white panels.

The difference(s) is (are) obvious.

The eventual answer is similar: whatever works for you.

Your boat, your choice.

 

[ParamourII]

I picked up a quart of the Watco teak oil at HD today. I am going to try it on a small spot and make sure I like the way it looks. I am not interested in varnishing my interior, as I said, I really like the way it looks. I just want to freshen it up a bit. Thanks a lot for all the advice. I will let you know how it comes out.