Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushwacker
Teak is amazingly tough and durable wood, but I would not use any of the commercial cleaners on it, as they destroy the soft parts of the grain and will leave a very uneven surface. Been maintaining it for over 41 years on my boat, and I've found that your best bet is to just sand and varnish with about 6-7 coats of Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss. I've tried teak oil, Deks Olje, etc. and all the oils oxidize and turn dark after just a few months. Epifanes will last many years, especially if you keep a cover on boat and is by far the lowest maintenance in the long run. The urethane varnishes may be even more durable, but when they go, it's a LOT more work to restore them! I varnished the mahogany emblem board below about 8-9 years ago and it still looks good, despite the high UV exposure in S. Fl.!
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I concur. If the grain is rather rough, you can have about a sixteenth planed off the exposed surface and you will be amazed at what you will see. That's how I prepped my rear hatches and the teak rodholders and they still look great. Search for my post 'delayed report on teak redo' to see the finished product. Before starting this process, the teak was extremely weathered and gray. I planed the visible surfaces and sanded the crap out of the edges and went to slapping Epiphanes on. Eight coats thinned progressively less and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.