Teak Refinishing - On or Off the Boat?

[Randy Kolb]

OK, the boat is in the water, the new rigging is on and it is time to turn our attention to the outside teak. I have opted to go with Semco so I am not looking for advice on what product to use. My question is whether to remove some of the teak from the boat for the washing, sanding and treatment.Some of the teak, notably the toe rails and companionway trim, are on smooth fiberglass so I feel that I can tape them off with good results. The rest of the teak, mostly on the cabin top, is on a textured non-slip surface. It looks really tough to mask that off succesfully. So, do I be really careful when applying the finish or do I remove the teak? My main concern with removing the teak is that it will wear out the wood-screw holes on the teak parts and thus make them not as well attached when I re-install them. Is that a legitimate concern? Any way to solve it? If I do take them off is there a special caulk or gasket to use when they go back on?I appreciate you advice and experience. Thanks. Randy

 

[Art]

Take it off, take it all off

I have redone my teak. I struggled witht he question of on or off. I found that taking it off and doing it in the basement gave me several benefits. 1. I could do it at my pace. I didn't have to wait for good weather and I could work on it at night. I avoided dust and dirt. I was able to rebed the teak and won't have to worry about leaks for a good while. The big plus is that I had no runs or drips on the boat.  As for the screws stripping out the wood. Not to worry. First teak is hard and it shouldent be a problem if you are carefull.  Good luckArt <(((><

 

[Dave]

I took mine off

I never tried to refinish the teak on the boat so I have nothing to compare to. However, I'd be willing to bet it's much easier when off the boat. Having the teak off allowed me to polish the getcoat in those areas without having to work around the teak. After refinishing the teak, polishing the gelcoat, re-bedding and re-plugging the teak, everything looks amazingly good. I'm really happy with the way mine turned out. By the way, I went with an oil finish. I don't mind having to rub a little oil on every couple of weeks. I like the more natural look of the oiled finish rather than the glossy thick coating associated with varnish.

 

[Bob]

Refinish Teak With Oil

I have a 1980 C22 & left mine on. I also use an oil finish & apply it with a fine grade wet & dry sandpaper. There is not much wood on mine, no hand rail. Oil is so easy, you can apply it while you are sailing! I have a cover that covers the companion way & trim so the small amount of external wood that I have is protected. I have covers made of the same material for the tiller & OB.

 

[tom g]

blunder to avoid

Removing it is a good idea. It is a lots easier then cleaning the mess up with acetone over the whole summer. A word of caution - if you remove your cabin top hand rails they look relatively straight - they may not be, thus mark the forward and aft end of both of them. We did not appreciate the slight curve they had mounted them backward and cracked one replacing the wood screws since the old holes were no longer lined up with with the holes on the cabin top but were so close that we didn't see it until we heard the awful sound of the wood cracking. The new one we got fron CAT direct was perfectly straight thus our rails no longer match. Have fun.

 

[Ted]

You can give a coat to the backside also

if's its off to seal from moisture & it helps tighten up those screw holes if they got some varnish in them.