Teak Toerail - Greyed, varnished or oiled?

[PDReynolds]

Hi All,

Just wondering what to do with my greyed teak toerail on my 423. Hull is burgundy awl grip so I was concerned with using teak cleaners and marking the glossy finish.

Do most people leave the toerail natural or what has been successful in doing otherwise?

Thanks

 

[Tejas]

We tried oil but had mildew problems. We've used Semco Teak Sealer for several years now and prefer that. Originally we used tinted Semco but had a problem with tint buildup, so now we use un-tinted. Household bleach and light sanding should clean up the grey. Occasional spraying with white vinegar seems to mitigate mildew problems.

We're in Texas, and treated the teak twice a year until we made toe-rail covers and now we treat just once a year. I'm guessing twice a year might be necessary in Rhode Island.

Toe-rail covers were fairly easy to make, and although we used an industrial sewing machine, we have home sewing machine experience, and making covers with a good home sewing machine should be possible. If anyone is interested I could post details about how we made ours.

 

[Gunni]

Mine are cetol light and gloss top-coated. They look great, but I can not recommend this course without noting that this toerail is impossible to keep moisture free. The finish will fail around screw plugs and scarfs. So if you bright finish the toerail, you are signing up for significant maintenance every year. The good news is, two coats of Cetol gloss and they it looks like 10 coats of varnish.

I don't believe you would lose anything by trying Tejas' method, see if that pleases you. You can always go bright later.