Interior Teak Oil

[jsakovits]

Doing some interior refit work with new teak and wanted to find out what is folks go to oil for interior teak.

Appreciate your feedback.

[coopec43]

Originally Posted by jsakovits

Doing some interior refit work with new teak and wanted to find out what is folks go to oil for interior teak.

Appreciate your feedback.

Why would you oil teak when it has its own natural oil?

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by jsakovits

Doing some interior refit work with new teak and wanted to find out what is folks go to oil for interior teak.

Appreciate your feedback.

For raw teak, tung oil is the best, but expensive. Just beware of branded "teak oils" you find in the chandlery- read the ingredients as some are mostly linseed oil with a bit of tung oil. I was able to find 100% pure tung oil online for a decent price as it wasn't for the marine market. I'm sure on google you can find it for a decent price.

[Benz]

My interior wood (though it's not teak) has a couple coats of boiled linseed oil I applied ten years ago. It's the companion stairs and cabin sole, and I scrub them regularly with sea water, and they look mighty fine to me. Being walked over all day with bare feet in the warm and socks in the cold keeps them buffed.

[scarlet]

This is very timely. I was going to post an interior talk question myself. I have teak I only in the heads. I laid down 6 costs of teak oil a few months ago in the master head, and I am so surprised that it is all fading already. I used west marine teak oil as it was what I had here... All I've done, as far as cleaning the floor is rinse it with water once a week. Since it's indoor I figured I would only have to redo it every few years. Would switching to a better product.. (like Watco) be better? I'm a little intimidated by the ring oil due to its combustibility.

Oh... And if I do switch to Watco or tung oil, do I need to strip the west marine stuff off first?

[scarlet]

I just read the Watco can and it says not for interior floors.

[Scott Berg]

For interior teak soles I strongly recommend a water based varnish like Gym Seal or similar product. This is what is used on basketball floors and is strong, easy to maintain, and not nearly as slippery as some oil based finishes. There was a GREAT product called Ultimate Sole that is no longer available; too bad... it was the best...

[CSYChip]

I use teak oil with a top coat of tung oil. The teak oil penetrates much better but can stay tacky and doesn't have the gloss of tung oil. The teak oiled wood doesn't need sanded before applying tung oil but does need a couple days drying time.

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by Copacabana

For raw teak, tung oil is the best, but expensive. Just beware of branded "teak oils" you find in the chandlery- read the ingredients as some are mostly linseed oil with a bit of tung oil. I was able to find 100% pure tung oil online for a decent price as it wasn't for the marine market. I'm sure on google you can find it for a decent price.

Totally agree to use real tung oil and you can usually order it online for a reasonable cost.

We did some research on some of the so called commercial "tung oil" products. They usually contain no tung oil and are mostly inexpensive solvents.
We did our new cabin soles w/real tung oil and it was very easy to dilute w/solvent and apply. (can use d-limonene instead of mineral spirits for a citrus smell) It has now been several years and the tung oil finish has held up well w/no touch ups needed. It is a mat finish, so if you want a glossy finish, this probably isn't for you.
We like the tung oil as it isn't slippery (like most glossy) and is very durable.
We also used the tung oil on the teak trim in the head/shower area where other finishes would be problematic. After the tung oil polymerized, we coated it w/a good Carnauba wax.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by jsakovits

Doing some interior refit work with new teak and wanted to find out what is folks go to oil for interior teak.

Appreciate your feedback.

Really it just looks aesthetically good showing the grain a bit more etc and protects the teak from drying out. The downside is in a warm humid environment stuff loves to grow in the oil.
The other advantage is that cleaning and reoiling is less messy than varnish or etc and allows you to do one area at a time at your leisure.
Bulkheads etc are usually teak veneer plywood and there is little natural oil left in the very thin veneer... And refinishing with varnish etc risks sanding through that very thin veneer.

Inside the boat I prefer some sort of actual finish myself, as it lasts a long time and looks nice.

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Really it just looks aesthetically good showing the grain a bit more etc and protects the teak from drying out. The downside is in a warm humid environment stuff loves to grow in the oil.
The other advantage is that cleaning and reoiling is less messy than varnish or etc and allows you to do one area at a time at your leisure.
Bulkheads etc are usually teak veneer plywood and there is little natural oil left in the very thin veneer... And refinishing with varnish etc risks sanding through that very thin veneer.

Inside the boat I prefer some sort of actual finish myself, as it lasts a long time and looks nice.

I read somewhere recently that lemon oil is a good option as it is a mold inhibitor.

I have never used it but researching further.

Absent that, Danish furniture teak oil. Its what I use on all my mid-century furniture.

[Greg K]

Originally Posted by flightlead404

I read somewhere recently that lemon oil is a good option as it is a mold inhibitor.

I have never used it but researching further.

Absent that, Danish furniture teak oil. Its what I use on all my mid-century furniture.

Lemon oil is wonderful for interior teak ( except cabin sole, of course) . We have been using it for a couple decades on our previous boat as well as our current one. It leaves a wonderful aroma, brings the wood back to life and, as a bonus, prevents mold. Go over all interior wood a couple times a year and it looks like new.

We currently use Parker & Bailey Natural Lemon Oil Polish. Excellent stuff. Couldn't speak more highly of it.

[Hudson Force]

This article seems to clear some of these "teak oil" thoughts.

popularwoodworking.com/flexner-on-finishing-woodworking-blogs/teak-oil-what-is-it/