Staining Teak

[Bryon Thomas]

Has anyone had any experiences with staining teak? I bought this boat flooded(with rain water) and the lower 18" to 24" of cabin wood is discolored. I removed the entire interior and have attempted to clean the teak, but no luck. From the "waterline" up is the reddish teak color, down is dark, almost like a walnut. I was thinking about using a walnut, or some other darker stain to redo the entire cabin. Just didn't know how well teak would hold stain. Only other options would be new wood (not in the budget), or to paint.P.S. The wood is still in good shape physically.

 

[Rich]

try wiping with alcohol first

Bryon, I've found in prepping wood for staining that rubbing the piece with ordinary rubbing alcohol and letting it dry will give you a good idea of whether the discoloration is superficial or not. Sometimes the alcohol acts as a mild solvent to remove the discolorant or redistribute the teak oil; if not, then you at least have a clean surface which you'll need to begin whatever is the next step.