Teak shower base treatment

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by ancor

Thanks all for the info. I do like the look of it being natural and think the idea of throwing it overboard (with a painter attached) is an easy and elegant affair.
There are a couple of things that made me look to sealing the timber however. One is to seal it as it is in the combined head and shower area and I wouldn't want to have unwanted dirt and human excretions etc. soak into the grid. Anywhere else wouldn't be an issue.
Another reason is because there are small brad nails in there as well as the stainless screws, which are not so much of an issue. The nails are prone to rust as can be seen in the picture already.
The sanding I did was only on the exposed surfaces and hopefully the pictures show this better.
It was an easy job with a sander and it wouldn't worry me if I had to repeat the process every few years.
At this stage I'm looking to go to our local hardware store and look at some water or oil based polyurethane floor or trim varnish/paint and see whether it can be sprayed or not.
Anyway, please let me know if my reasoning has merit or not. Cheers

I vote bare teak, occasionally maybe spray with a bleach water mix to keep the growth at bay. It's not slippery either when bare. But you do have some deterioration there. so how to protect?

But if you finish it, Polyurethane like Varathane should be fine. It's harder than spar varnish so that's good. I have sprayed varnish or Varathane with an airless sprayer before and it works fine.

Varathane is available in spray cans now. But I have bought 3 cans over the last few years, every can didn't work. It sprays for maybe 30 seconds then just starts dripping all over the can and your hand while spraying blotches of poly also.

You could seal the whole thing with epoxy. This is a risk though, if water gets under the epoxy and it starts to peel or flake over time, well, it's nearly scrap as some will come off in chunks and other will tenaciously not come off at all. But I would consider floating epoxy into those dark spots where you see past water ingress to stop any damage.

Yet another option, good oil based or poly white paint on all but the top surface for protection. Maybe Krylon spray. It's more durable than varnish. Then leave the top bare.

[sailcrazy]

following

[ancor]

So, in view of all the submissions, I'm going with the easiest and natural option. I'll keep a close eye on the nails and if they start to explode with rust, will go the sealed option with some poly floor/trim sealer.

Thanks all for the helpful info. If it turns to s**t, I know I now have plenty of people to blame!

[Painted Skies]

Our boat came to us with gloss-varnished floor boards in both heads and the shower stall. Probably wouldn't have been my first choice for a finish, however, we have come to appreciate how easy they are to keep clean. We regularly take them into the cockpit and use a soft scrub-brush and soap to loosen the dirt, then rinse or powerwash as the final step. Never had the varnish start to peel off, however, we sand and add a single coat about once every three or four years. Surprisingly, the glossy surface isn't particularly slippery as you might think it would be, even when wet.

We have not favored any particular brand of varnish - have just utilized whatever we had on hand. In the past we have used Werdol (Epiphanes), Petit Z Spar, Petit Flagship, Norglass Microshield, and most recently Awlwood Gloss.

Cheers, Katherine

[Scrimshaw4]

I wonder how slippery a shiny varnished shower grate would be while showering with soap and shampoo unless you added non-skid grit to the top surface.???

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Scrimshaw4

I wonder how slippery a shiny varnished shower grate would be while showering with soap and shampoo unless you added non-skid grit to the top surface.???

yes, slippery. IME

[RoadRacer]

......another vote for Semco

[sailcrazy]

While Semco is good, and we use it on our teak deck and caprail, we have elected to use varnish on both our separate shower stall grate and the head floor in the other bathroom (without a seperate shower stall). And NO, from very recent and personal experience, I can assure you neither grate is slippery-either while just showering or while using soap. We elected to use varnish to help preserve the wood, and so have been very happy with the result. The only problem is after any repair has been made (very rare), the wood must be dry and the area revarnished (read multiple coats) before it can be used again. But, again, it is NOT slippery!

[tarian]

Originally Posted by Scrimshaw4

I wonder how slippery a shiny varnished shower grate would be while showering with soap and shampoo unless you added non-skid grit to the top surface.???

As said above not slippy at all, had plenty of showers on my varnished grate and no problems at all .

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by tarian

Never think all those nasties you pick up through your life come from public toilets !!

Don't forget that that is a fallacy spread by the medical profession to encourage people to go for STD checks. Giving people an innocent alibi is necessary otherwise no one would dare go for fear of revealing the truth...

Bare teak washed in salt water. Semco if you want to seal it.

[captainwd40]

My 2 cents .......

I agree with the other posts that state teak should never be varnished.

Cleaned and oiled regularly ...... but never varnished!

50% bleach water solution usually does a good job cleaning it and once dry ....... I prefer generously applied lemon oil. It tends to stay cleaner longer and smells nice and fresh.

Cheers,

Captain WD40

[arcticmonkey]

sounds like one of those "routine boat chores"... a once a moth (er)... I like the natural wood look as well

[David Mathis]

The teak is in a shower and not exposed to the sun so it should be fine. Its purpose is to prevent slips and falls. Applying a glossy varnish or poly coating will make it look like it just came from the showroom but you should think about the traction of a bare foot on a wet glossy surface. Is the risk of a fall worth the glossy appearance?