Teak Rejuvenation Options

[Sail123]

Teak is over 35 years old. My 1976 Clipper Marine Aft Cabin 32 has always been a saltwater yacht. For the first time that I know of, she is headed inland for freshwater.

Her teak looks strong, and intact, but the grain in the wood looks open and exposed, like an old mans hands that have worked all his life.

I do not want to remove the teak, and open up new kettles of worms, I prefer to address the needs of the wood, while I leave it right where it is.

Suggestions for products that will support the health and vigor of my older sailboat.

Goal is nurture, clean, restore, not change her outside of what she had or could have had as factory options.

She is cleaning up real nice.

I thank you (and she thanks you!)

 

[oliversdad]

A good scrubbing with detergent and a brush can do wonders if you aren't going to remove.It should brighten it up some.In my case I ended up removing the handrails and sanding some of the coarseness and grooves out with a finish sander.They look almost good as new. I can understand not wanting to remove yours as they are a lot longer than mine [3 screws].

 

[hewebb]

I removed ours and sanded then kept soaking with natural teak oil and reinstalled. I keep a can of teak oil on the boat to occasionally give it another coat if needed. Removing it will also give you a chance to reseal and check for any damage.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Scrape, sand or scrub just don't power wash- it'll wash out the softer wood and make the grain stand out even more. BTDT, got the t-shirt.
I scrape the old varnish and grain off, sand with 80 grit and then give it a coat of epoxy (spar urethane on interior). Any fuzz left gets taken care of in the second sanding, another coat of epoxy then spar urethane to protect the epoxy from UV. It's pretty fast and works for me.
I've seen guys spend so much time on teak that as soon as they were done with one cycle it was time to start over.

Added: a little wood bleach and a green scrub pad will take off a lot of weather.

 

[RECESS]

I sanded and then put down the blue painters tape and used teak oil. The teak oil I used said to wipe dry after the third application. My wife did not do this completely and it became gummy and did not dry. I had to sand that area and reapply. I did not have to say anything about it but the rest of the job was done exactly as the directions called for.

 

[Joe]

Scrape, sand or scrub just don't power wash- it'll wash out the softer wood and make the grain stand out even more. BTDT, got the t-shirt.
I scrape the old varnish and grain off, sand with 80 grit and then give it a coat of epoxy (spar urethane on interior). Any fuzz left gets taken care of in the second sanding, another coat of epoxy then spar urethane to protect the epoxy from UV. It's pretty fast and works for me.
I've seen guys spend so much time on teak that as soon as they were done with one cycle it was time to start over.

Added: a little wood bleach and a green scrub pad will take off a lot of weather.

Merlinuxo..... will you forward this link to your friend: http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/teak-care.asp

 

[MrUnix]

I've seen guys spend so much time on teak that as soon as they were done with one cycle it was time to start over.

I knew a guy once that was so fed up with maintaining the wood on his boat he wound up painting every bit of it, interior and exterior.. and did it while drunk, so you can imagine the results

Cheers,
Brad

 

[DougM]

I scrub my teak with salt water and a medium stiff brush. Then just flush it off with fresh water. The teak looks great. The oils seem to attact dirt, and act as a petri dish for mold/algae/mildew. Just a good scrub every two or three weeks works and doesn't seem to raise the grain. The teak retains its natural wood color.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Merlinuxo..... will you forward this link to your friend: http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/teak-care.asp

No. I don't play those kiddy games Joe. But you go ahead and have fun.

 

[Mark Maulden]

pail of seawater, cup of baking soda, cup of bleach, and a little squirt of liquid dishwashing soap. Scrub with med bronze wool. Saves a lot of sanding....

 

[Joe]

No. I don't play those kiddy games Joe. But you go ahead and have fun.

Thank you

 

[LittleFrog]

Just refinished my hand rails/replaced hatch runners. The problem with teak is that half of the grain of the wood is hard, the other soft. When you scrub with a stiff brush to clean, you scrub the softer wood right out of the teak you are trying to fix.
Best cleaning I have found is Te-Ka (from company called TRAVACO). You can use a really soft brush (or something like that) to apply. It's a two part cleaner and does a really good job. I bit the bullit and used a Bristol finishing kit to "varnish" the wood. It's a two part system and more expensive than most of the other stuff, but the results are outstanding. I put a total of 8 coats on the wood and it looks like it has been dipped in glass. It was a real pain to work with, but the resluts (and longevity) are worth it.

 

[Sail123]

???

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...i_sku=202282&gclid=CKjuwqbl368CFaVgTAod-GttCA

I love the look and durability of Urethane, but I am shooting to restore, and that was not on boats in 1976 to my knowledge.

Just refinished my hand rails/replaced hatch runners. The problem with teak is that half of the grain of the wood is hard, the other soft. When you scrub with a stiff brush to clean, you scrub the softer wood right out of the teak you are trying to fix.
Best cleaning I have found is Te-Ka (from company called TRAVACO). You can use a really soft brush (or something like that) to apply. It's a two part cleaner and does a really good job. I bit the bullit and used a Bristol finishing kit to "varnish" the wood. It's a two part system and more expensive than most of the other stuff, but the results are outstanding. I put a total of 8 coats on the wood and it looks like it has been dipped in glass. It was a real pain to work with, but the resluts (and longevity) are worth it.