Teak Oils

[Cornishkiwi]

Is there a difference between teak oils, or difference in quality?? Or regardless of what you buy its all the same stuff??

If so is there any preferred brands or things to go for??

I have quite a lot to oil

Cheers

[LLCoolDave]

Most sailors I talk to don't like teak oil as dirt will stick to it and you'll need to clean more often. I've looked into semco teak sealer but haven't used it yet as it's not available where I'm at but it looks promising.

[Cornishkiwi]

Ok, thank you will look into that

[Pete7]

We have 4 pieces of trim about a 1/3rd the width of one of your planks and that's enough

Currently using International Paints teak oil and its rubbish plus expensive at £11.50 for 1/2 litre. I am only using it up to get rid of it and put some protection on the teak for the winter in case it might rain in England

The nicest stuff came from Aldi for garden furniture but it was too late before I realised and they had sold out, not to be repeated.

Given the amount of work you have, I think either leave it bare and use clean salt water or get an off cut test piece, label it up and try several different types over the winter to see what you think.

[Smokeys Kitchen]

We have now been using Australian Timber Oil for @ 2 years. We get it at a hardware store. Much less expensive than “teak oil” from the marine store. Doesn’t seem to pick up dirt like other oil finishes. Just scratch it well with a green scrubbie and put on another coat. We like it

[althea82]

I used Star Bright Teak Oil in the spring. Looked great for about a month, then started to fade and mold. Scrubbed it all with Teak cleaner and applied SEMCO teak sealer and it looks great.

Tried the “honey tone” first and didn’t really like it. Switched to “classic brown” and it looks like freshly oiled teak. Hasn’t faded in the month it’s been on there. Would certainly recommend it thus far.

[BlackHeron]

I use only pure real tung oil. I thin with limonene citrus solvent as needed.

Can be found on Amazon under the Hope's brand.

Apply monthly, on no account allow any excess to remain on the wood after letting it soak in for 10-15 minutes max. Buff off any excess or it'll go manky after a few coats eventually once it seals the surface. Each successive coat is molecules thin once the pores of the wood are filled. Yes it will go very dark. But it is a very easy job to apply. A couple of hours and you can do the whole boat. Clean up of over-spill is nothing. Towel it off before it dries. Nothing at all like the backbreaking work other finishes require.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I1QA6E..._yt-zFbHR0G3BE

[Creedence]

Most brands of “teak oil” are either primarily tung oil or a linseed oil. Typically if it’s a tung oil-based product, it will be prominently written on the label because it’s the most expensive of the two foundations which are both bolstered by resins for durability.

Tung oil doesn’t darken the teak and is more water resistant, but both will carbonize in the sun and will eventually darken (after say a month or two).

Just a little context to help with your evaluation of the different brands available to you. Some of the brands can have additives that better mitigate the darkening with mildew retardants or UV filters, etc.

[fcallard]

We used Semco for many years, after giving up on teak oil. Since then we have migrated to Cetol and finally to proper varnish. However, we did not have teak decks.

If I were to deal with teak decks, I would try Semco, which—as an earlier poster stated—is easy to prepare for a recoat. Anything else mentioned is much more work. Whatever you use, there will be maintenance. Semco is no exception, but is by far the easiest to maintain in our experience. It isn’t varnish by a long shot, but it will protect the teak.

[Fbfisher]

I use Star Brite Tropical Sealer, looks great, lasts a long time.

[DeValency]

Tried different products and still looking for the ideal material. I do not like oil based as it darken the teak deck. So far, Semco water based sealer provided the best results but these do not survived under the brutal UV in the Caribbean for more than 4-5 months. We’ll see if after heading to the Northeast in the spring the finish will survive for a longer period.
Still have two more water based products I’m testing and will post the results if any better. This was taken about 5 months after the double Semco application