What do I use on my teak?
 

Sea Cracker has a fair amount of teak. I hate oiling it. I have tried several "coatings", but none seem to last. Aqua Tek, Starbrite Tropical Teak oil sealer. I hate the way the Starbrite sealer starts pealing mid season. Sea Cracker is exposed all year long except the helm is covered. What are ya'll using on your teak?

2 choices:

clean it well and sand it all down - west system epoxy ! mix it with acetone for the first coat,after that coat kicks,scuff it with a scotch brite pad and coat it again,no thinning - keep doing that for 6/7 times,till the teak is completely sealed...

then - prime it with a good 2 part primer,followed by awlgrip !


or


starboard ! use starboard - use the existing pieces as a template...



teak - crime against nature

Air. Teak needs nothing. Let it go gray. It works for me that way. I have never seen a coating stick. (Not talking about oils). But I am a fan of natural gray.

I don't believe west system is UV stabilized?

I've had good luck with Sikkens Cetol. I can at least get 2-3 seasons out of an application.

clean it well and sand it all down - west system epoxy ! mix it with acetone for the first coat,after that coat kicks,scuff it with a scotch brite pad and coat it again,no thinning - keep doing that for 6/7 times,till the teak is completely sealed...

then - prime it with a good 2 part primer,followed by awlgrip


the steps I typed,that's referred to as "whiting out teak" - west system epoxy is used to seal the teak,that epoxy is then primed and painted with awlgrip...


actually,west system produced a product for teak,years ago - it's been discontinued...west system epoxy isn't uv stabilized,it can be varnished,so i'm told - never tried that,nor would I recommend it...


the coating I've described,it's basically a "forever cure" - the teak is sealed in a waterproof epoxy - it lasts...

I used Epifanes gloss wood finish on my teak on a few boats and could easily get three years out of it,when applied in three coats.Check out the pics on their site,their wood finishes are someone of the highest rated in the marine industry.Extremely high quality stuff.

http://www.epifanes.com/page/wood-finish-gloss

Im re-doing all mine and have added more teak and doing it with Honey Teak from Tom at signature. A little pricey but Really impressed with it so far. I was comvinced after using the signature paint and after doing some research and reading reviews from blowboaters. I Really like the fact that you can put it on wet on wet with no sanding in between coats.

I've used Honey Teak which is fairly good but heavily pigmented and darker than I like, plus it doesn't hold up as well as Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss, which was rated most durable by PowerBoat reports and numerous wood working forums. I believe the key to durability is 7+ coats of Epifanes, and then invest in a boat cover! You'll get 5-6+ years out of it that way, even in S. Fla!

I tried all the various oils in the 43 years I've owned my boat, including Deks Olje No. 1 + 2. The problem with them is that the oils oxidize and turn dark in just a couple of months even if covered. The 2-part teak cleaners are very aggressive and really destroy the soft grain of the wood, so once you've sanded it smooth, either leave it natural and scrub it often with a mild detergent or use a good varnish to protect it.

The problem I have with the epoxy + urethane or varnish approach is that, as mentioned above, epoxy has no UV inhibitors in it. It needs something over it to keep it from turning white. Unless you frequently renew the protective varnish, you have no way of knowing when the UV protection is gone, and this is a big problem with the strong UV we have in S. Florida! I've heard stories of the topcoated epoxy looking fine one day and then turning white virtually overnight! And then all you have to do to fix that is strip it all down to bare wood!

My experience is that just plain varnish with a fresh coat or two every few years looks the best and requires the least amount of overall maintenance over the long term. But investing in a good cover will keep the whole boat looking good and save you lot's of work!

Bushwhacker is 100% correct! Traditional varnish is still the way to go, 5-6 coats initially after the teak is cleaned up and it will be beautiful. Cetol and the like are very muddy looking although it does hide a lot of sins:)

Epiphanes is my choice as well. I cleaned, sanded and coated my teak with 8 coats. Looks the same today as it did 2-1/2 yrs ago. I posted some pics of the results in another thread somewhere.

Being in the boat repair and maintenance business for over 30 years I've tried a lots of different varnishes. The one I keep coming back to is Z Spar Captains #1015, it holds up well for me and is a lighter look than Epiphanes. I try to stay away from the polyurethanes as they tend to be more brittle and crack when hit or banged.
Rod

What do I use on my teak
 

Teak Protector

There are multiple opinions- depends on the look, ease of application and re-application. Epiphanes used by friends, Bushwacker and 65Bowrider looks good; a bit shiny and dark like the wood in a nice, old bar (a compliment). In the summer of 2005 when my teak was looking pretty bad with tree trunk like scale in some locations, I bleached and sanded it clean and applied Siskin’s Cetol, maybe 4 – 5 coats. Cetol was recommended by a wind-bagger friend (for ease of application and refurbs) whose sailboat is always in the SC elements. Four months after Cetol I started storing my boat under roof. With weekly use between April and October, except for minor repair of scratches with an artist brush I have not touched my Cetol in the last 10 years. It looks almost as good as when first applied! This photo is 6 years after application.

Capt Terry

I treat mine with fish blood and salt water. :D

His teak has the same "luster" as driftwood!
Wait a minute - he ain't got no teak, you can call home and ask his wife!

plus 1 on outerhounds 1015 captains varnish..works great ..We have to charge extra for epifaines gloss.Not as good ,imho. ! Amazing how much response you get on a piece of teak,on this site. and nothing on a complete rebuild..Just sayin.....

You guys are great! Thanks for all the advice. I have to get her back looking new again and find a correct full cover.

Ok guys, how do I prep the Teak? What weight sandpaper? I have always used the harsh cleaners, but never again.

If the soft part of the grain is gone, you may have to sand it a lot to get it smooth, so sanding with 60 grit is ok. Bare teak will quickly clog fine sand paper; I’d give it a final sanding with 180 grit before 1st coat of varnish. Follow their directions . . . thin first coat 25%, then thin the next 4-5 coats about 5%, allowing it to dry for 24 hrs between coats. No thinning required between subsequent coats. If you use Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss you won't have to sand between coats if recoated within 72 hrs, although if you get bubbles or bugs in it, I’d sand it locally with 280 grit. Before the last coat I’d sand everything with 320 grit or you can use a red 3M pad to knock off the gloss. I did mostly wet sanding of the varnish to avoid clogging the paper.

I have a 1975 Cub Cadet garden tractor and on the posts they always want pics to guide you in repairs. I forgot, so here's some pics of the teak. I also have a pic of the stuff I put on it last. I am concerned about sanding because I figure I need to remove the teak to sand and th Po had a bad habit of using marine silicone sealant with adhesive to fasten everything. I have several spots near the rod holders where I had to remove them because they got broken into pieces.

A "permanent" fix is to use a 2 part clear urethane. It builds a thicker film that is UV resistant and does not need anything for many years. You just sand it smooth and apply, you can apply all your coats in one (maybe two) days

There are several brand of two part urethanes clear coats for wood, we have a 20% off the EMC ST clear right now for forum memebers.

here it is on JFK's old boat :)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o.../honeyfitz.jpg

I suspect straight urethane is better than putting epoxy under it. That way you don't have to worry about the epoxy suddenly turning white! Although the urethane will last longer than anything else, it'll be a bear to strip if you let it go too long, so if you go that route, it would pay to maintain it well!

Here we go!
 

I have removed a few pieces of teak. It was very coarse. sanded with 150, then 220. Pleased with everything except the wood putty that was supposed to be stainable. I wish I had found this site before I went to repairing/ patching the teak.

Looking good and nice varnish choice:D