Great info guys.... a couple of concerns:
1) the Teak louvers a very pited and weathered by the sun. I'm concerned that I would have to sand a lot of material off before I got back to a good quality teak surface.
2) Heavy sanding would remove a lot of material, thus thinning and weakening the louver. One good accidental smack with my knee and I'll have many broken louvers, and wish I never messed w/ it. See the pictures below to show the weathering when I found the boat in July 2009.
