Teak Restoration

Jon,
I spotted 3 links to threads on Teak care/restoration in the FAQ thread. Take a look.

The Starbrite cleaner worked great for me. You want to use a brass brush to apply the clearer, don't use steel as it can embed in the wood and rust..

I didn't love the Watco teak oil, which is what I used last year. I have since learnt it is heavily solvent based and not a high quality oil. I have read the FAQ and there doesn't seem to be much consensus on what to use as an oil.

Watco contains varnish and a high amount of solvent. I am going to try and experiment high a higher quality oil (less solvent and varnish) this year and see how that goes.

MrMcD wrote: For several years now I have used regular Olive oil on my teak deck. I used it once because I was out of teak oil. It looked good. so I have used it ever since. I re apply 3 or 4 times a summer. Let it soak in in the sun. then rub some more on. When a ski or wakeboard nicks the teak I just wipe a little in the mark and it does a good job blending in and hiding the nicks. Pretty sure it is not Home Depot approved but I don't think it has killed any fish.

I see what you are doing there

mark c wrote: Heres what I used last year 2 Part Teak Cleaner

After looking at your pictures I may have to give the Total Boat products a try!

Paul,
What do you have against solvents and "varnish"? A solvent or "vehicle" is used to control viscosity so the liquid can be conveyed to where it's needed. In the case of a oil finish, a reduced viscosity allows for deeper penetration of the wood Once the solvent flashes off is when the "varnish" takes over oxidizing (no, oil based finishes do not dry) leaving the protective coating. There are many forms of varnish. Oils, both natural and synthetic are blended for desired end results. In the case of Watco, I have used their products for close to 50 years with fantastic results. There is a can or two always in my paint cabinet. It was the very first finish I used when I started working with wood.

Mark,
I sure don't like the idea of using olive oil. It's my experience that anything organic or a teak oil with a high organic % (Tung oil) will feed the fungus that causes the black mold especially in the open grain found in Teak. There may be other brands but I've found both Watco and Starbrite have a low % of the Tung oil.

I personally have not used any of Jamestown's TotalBoat products but the feed back I'm getting is all great. They do their research, field out the best products and then package them My next purchase of varnish will be a TotalBoat product. Jamestown is my first choice for maintenance type supplies.

MrMcD wrote: For several years now I have used regular Olive oil on my teak deck.

Try a little balsamic vinegar with that olive oil for some tasty results.   

JQ