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Darkening the teak

Discussion in 'Post Yacht' started by Stainless45, Mar 11, 2021.

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  1. Stainless45

    Stainless45 Active Member

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    So my teak around the cockpit is bleached out. It's not gray but very very light like white oak. I tried a few products the former owner gave me last summer and it didn't really last. What can I apply that will give it a rich dark tone like newer teak? Replacing the covering boards is probably a few seasons away.
  2. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    A picture would be great..
    Is your teak oiled, varnished (previously) bare and sanded, golden or what?
    Some of the teak treatments will wear it down to the point of needing replacement sooner rather than later.
    Light grey teak is what it will default to if ignored for a few years.
    At that point it will be no maintenance, but it will also dry out and crack sooner or later.
    Back in the day we would keep the grey teak decks swelled up and moist with a bucket of salt water every other day, or just go hard sailing and let the salt spray keep it all wet.
    Good for the teak, not so much for the varnish and the metals on deck.
    Picture...?
  3. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    With your teak that color I wouldn't be too concerned with which oil to use. It's going to suck it in and dry fast whatever. Sand it with brass wool, clean it and pick a color oil you like. Plan to oil it every few weeks through this summer. Once it's absorbed the oil into its pores it'll just require a touch up when the surface dries. Next fall oil it before layup so it soak in all winter and again in the spring and you'll be doing it 3 or 4 times next year.
    As Norseman pointed out many people prefer the gray look, and that's maintenance free. But the wood will be prone to cracking and splinters.
  4. OutPost

    OutPost Member

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    Very hard to ruin teak .. typically if you have to replace it its because its just too worn away.. As long as there is no varnish or cetol or anything on it you can get it looking sharp in no time. I would give it a light scrubbing with a mild acid product .. I like just a little barkeepers friend (oxalic acid) and I use a terrycloth towel - not a hard bristle brush, as you dont want to dig out the soft pulp of the teak and leave too much of a grooved surface (the two part cleaners work great but will groove your teak FAST with too many applications, i try to avoid it). Put it on almost like a thick paste and let it sit keeping it wet then give it a nice towel rub and rinse thoroughly. then rinse some more. Then when it dries I would give it a very light sanding with a mouse or other easily controllable electric sander and I think you'll find some really beautiful teak staring back at you .. light tan dry, golden brown wet teak under that silvery white surface you have now.

    This is my teak, same teak from 1976. I use a product called starbright teak sealer to keep it golden throughout the season. It has a just oiled look and feel .. but lasts a lot longer .. and does not need to be scraped or sanded or anything else to remove it. Starbrite makes a remover specifically for this product called "gel formula teak cleaner restorer" which is made to remove what is left of the starbrite teak sealer without having to use an aggressive two part cleaner. Two coats lasts a season.

    teak1.jpg



    teak2.jpg


    teak3.jpg
  5. Stainless45

    Stainless45 Active Member

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    This is how mine looks

    Attached Files:

    Reel Antsy likes this.
  6. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    Looks just perfect to me!
  7. OutPost

    OutPost Member

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    If it manages to stay like that all the time without you doing anything - enjoy that magic teak. Looks great as-is!
  8. Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

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    I agree. If it were me, I wouldn't oil it. Oil looks OK, but it adds to maintenance as you'll have to really scrub the old oil off and reapply. I've only had oiled teak on one mega yacht, and it was a PITA.
    Get yourself a little teak cleaner, Parts 1&2, and follow the directions on the bottle. Since it's just cap rails, it should be very easy to use. It's acid, so protect yourself and use lots of water.
    gr8trn likes this.
  9. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Looks great and I love the grain of your wood. I've never used a sealer, but it sounds as if it works for you. It sounded like you treat it right until I got to the electric sander part. To me that's just too aggressive. I have to wonder how long the teak would hold the oil without the sealer. I still remember watching a neighbor I didn't like sanding his teak with a palm sander. When he put the oil on it looked beautiful. Two weeks later it looked as if he never touched it. He oiled again and two weeks later again looked like he never touched it. After that he went with the gray look cause it just wouldn't hold the oil. Wood means work one way or another. No getting around it if you want a finished look. I guess you can seal it then strip it each season or oil it every few weeks. But I recommend a very light hand if you're going to use a sander.
  10. OutPost

    OutPost Member

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    Agreed on the light hand.. and advice was sent generally without seeing his and only based on his description and a suggestion that he was even considering replacing it. Having seen it I don't think he needs to to much of anything. Everyone has their own ideas and experiences with this kind of thing. I'll just say that 40 years of taking care of teak I know for sure that even 1 application of two part teak cleaner will remove more wood (specifically the soft pulp fibers) and do more damage than any *light* sanding will.
  11. rtrafford

    rtrafford Senior Member

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    From my review of your photo, the only issue I see is that you didn't have enough lines in the water to catch the others swimming along with...
  12. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    That teak looks pretty good to me. I don’t like oil and other treatment on teak but that s just me. For rails I use Awlwood but I guess on a SF you don’t want to deal with brightwork around the cockpit

    Snappy NuTeak while a hit agressive works real well to clean and brighten teak back to its natural blonde color.
  13. Stainless45

    Stainless45 Active Member

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    Going to try the Starbright stuff that Outpost suggested. If I can get my teak to look like his I'll be very happy
  14. cleanslate

    cleanslate Senior Member

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    I agree with the others. I think it looks fine. You might want to try a little Spray Nine and a light scrub on it . That will bring out the golden tone to it . I like the deck teak to be natural so you can get a grip on it when it gets wet under foot. You start putting oils and such over it and you can loose your grip, which is not fun.

    Catch us another'' Big 'Un '' Striper as our southern Floridian friends would say.
  15. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    This was my last boat with external teak:
    Stripped it all and built up 12 coats of varnish, then another 5 maintenance coats every year.
    Needless to say the boat was in Bristol condition and I was lucky to have a pro doing it for me. (There is an old thread on this forum about the guy: Mr. Greene)

    46FBD6F8-6CBD-4BC2-8F03-3926BB00BDD5.jpeg
  16. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    More boat porn. A6082FC2-57BC-4F51-AD5C-90902AF5437A.jpeg
  17. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Cleanslate brings up a good point "You start putting oils and such over it and you can loose your grip, which is not fun." When freshly oiled teak gets wet it gets slippery. NBD on a deck but you're likely to step up there bringing in a fish or working lines at the dock. I think you have the right solution with the sealer. Possibly put down a coat of oil in a color you like first if you want it darker unless the sealer alone gives you the color you want.