Finishing Exterior Teak

[onestepcsy37]

starbrite tropical teak oil. not starbrite teak oil. starbrite TROPICAL teak oil. it's teak oil with a thick uv filler in it.

clean the teak and brush it on. let it dry and put on a second coat. when it seemed to be wearing thin after four years i put on another coat. been seven years now and i think it's ready for another coat.

and this is in the florida sun.

[Beersmith]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

starbrite tropical teak oil. not starbrite teak oil. starbrite TROPICAL teak oil. it's teak oil with a thick uv filler in it.

clean the teak and brush it on. let it dry and put on a second coat. when it seemed to be wearing thin after four years i put on another coat. been seven years now and i think it's ready for another coat.

and this is in the florida sun.

any pictures?

[Lesterbranch]

We are doing 2 coats of West System (105+107) and then about 6 coats of Epiphanis. It is soooooooo beautiful, with reports of longevity. We are getting the best results we have seen on any boat yet. Looks like someone poured glass on our teak. By doing it this way, we are eliminating one of the two worst enimies of varnish. Moisture can not get under the varnish now. As for sun damage, just sand with a green pad and apply another coat when the finish begins to dull slightly, maybe once a year. The other thing that is critical is... Immediately touch up any damage.

[zeehag]

i scrub my exterior teakwood with sea water then use a teak oil .. lasts 1 full year and i can walk on my cap without falling into sea, something folks forget happens with a slick and slippery varnish surface. my teak is not black, as it is cleaned before oiling, and it doesnt mold. have fun. i spend 6 hours yearly on my teakwood--and i have well over 110 running ft of it.

[onestepcsy37]

this is the caprail after about two years.

i cleaned the teak (it was pretty bad) and then applied two coats of starbrite TROPICAL teak oil with a brush. really easy but keep a rag handy to clean up any splashes as it's hard to remove once it's dried.

four years later it was wearing thin so i just washed it with water, let it dry, and brushed on one coat. that was three years ago. looks like it needs another coat.

this stuff works great in the florida sun, not expensive ($30 quart), easy to apply, and looks pretty good.

[teneicm]

bchaps-

How's your teak holding up? Still looking good?

[zeehag]

30 dollars per quart is very expensive!!!! i use watco and tung oil finish and those are like 8-10 dollars per quart an last as long as necessary--i like my wood to loook like wood and be antiskid--as teak is spozed to---and i spend 6 hours YEARLY on mine--no grey , no slippery slidey and looks like wood.

[s/vfootloose]

About 6 years ago I did all the deck brightwork. I replaced the bowsprit, removed the boomkins and samson posts(these are all fir) and stripped all the teak to bare wood. I refinished the fir with 4 coats of epoxy and 10 coats of varnish and the teak with 10 coats of varnish thinning the first 2 coats 50% for saturation. I am now in the process again. Things I've learned: Epoxy doesn't hold up in the tropics, what wasn't in the sun is fine the tops of the boomkins and bowsprit looked okay but I was able to scrap it off in sheets where it released from the wood. I got rot in one of the samson posts where moisture got under the epoxy and was held in by it. I love flagship varnish. It held up great with a twice a year sanding and adding 2 coats actually it looked better and better as it got a deeper shine. Get an empty fingernail polish bottle and fill it with varnish whenever you get a scratch give it a light sand and paint it with the varnish from the bottle a few coats. It won't look perfect but the next time you varnish you won't be able to see where it was.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i use watco and tung oil finish and those are like 8-10 dollars per quart an last as long as necessary.

Zeehag - What is Watco? And what brand of tung oil do you use?

[bchaps]

Hi Teneicm...my wife and I returned to the boat in March 2012, six months after the original application of TeakGuard. It generally appeared to have lost some of the original lustre and heavy wear areas from stepping on/off from finger dock were getting thin. Areas protected by canvas didn't experience any visible deterioration. My wife (the painter in the family) applied another coat and it again had a bright look as originally pictured in my earlier post.

If TeakGuard only requires two coats per year to maintain a fresh look, I'll be delighted! Keep in mind...no taping, no sanding and it applies as fast as you can wipe it on the wood using a foam brush. Any drips or runs must be immediately wiped clean. So Charbonneau, with a five inch cap rail all the way around (figure 90 feet) and two 25 foot eyebrows, requires about three hours for my wife to to recoat all exterior teak. I can certainly live with that...and she isn't complaining either!

Bill

[barnakiel]

The point is the natural color is grey. I like to call it silver.

Otherwise, best results I have seen was to get the teak as clean as one can (brush, water, soap) then apply teak oil of good quality.

If you can get the teak very clean (I mean very clean - no dark stains) and oil it as soon as it dries, you will get a nice, golden color that will last as long as you re-apply the oil often enough.

There are some aggressive products that may help bleach dark stains. Use them with utmost caution.

There is at least one oil (International) that is a half-way between oil and varnish, it tends to stay on longer than plain oil.

Cheers,
b.

[Beersmith]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

starbrite tropical teak oil. not starbrite teak oil. starbrite TROPICAL teak oil. it's teak oil with a thick uv filler in it.

clean the teak and brush it on. let it dry and put on a second coat. when it seemed to be wearing thin after four years i put on another coat. been seven years now and i think it's ready for another coat.

and this is in the florida sun.

just wanted to thank you for your recommendation of Starbrite Tropical Teak Oil. I used it on my cap rails this week that I had spent a lot of time restoring, I am LOVING the results.











full story and more pictures here: Teak Cap Rail Restoration