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best way to clean teak
usedcarkelly	#1  Posted on 04/18/15 - 7:55 AM
Member Posts: 6 Comments: 0 Joined: 09/30/11	I have a 1983 Montauk 17, i have removed all wood trim and have cleaned it gently with soap and water and a brush, it cleaned up fairly well, but i want to make it as nice as possible. i have read about mixing bleach/soap and or soudium triphosohate. i called West Marine about teak cleaner and was unfortunate to get some kid who said "I guess" and "why not" way too much to give me any confidence in his experience. Does anyone have any experience in properly cleaning teak, if so would you please share with me ??, Thanks You in advance,....Kelly
butchdavis	#2  Posted on 04/18/15 - 2:30 PM
Member Posts: 826 Comments: 0 Joined: 11/22/11	Soap (Dawn), water, and a soft brush should get it nice and clean. Many folks use an oxalic acid based teak cleaner but it is harsh and care should be exercised to rinse quickly and very well as soon as the teak is clean. Then, rinse again. Finished or clean unfinished teak and other bright work (mahogany) will look beautiful for a long time if it is protected from the elements and especially from the UV of sunlight as much as possible. Butch
gchuba	#3  Posted on 04/19/15 - 9:21 AM
Member Posts: 1675 Comments: 0 Joined: 03/31/13	I use the bleach with water alone. Sometimes put in TSP (TriSodiumPhosphate). Depends on what you are trying to do. I had to strip my wood to remove some mildew that got under the Tung Teak oil. With Watco Teak oil as a protectant, the bleach solution cleaned up the wood easily without stripping. Bleaching bare wood will definitely lighten it. On varnished wood you will be getting the same results as the Tung oil. Cleaning of the surface....not the wood itself. Garris
jvz	#4  Posted on 04/19/15 - 1:55 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 215 Comments: 10 Joined: 03/16/07	Te-Ka I use it on the Whaler when I strip it down to re-varnish. It opens the grain nicely. Then I start sanding with 80 all the way to 320 grit. We also used Te-Ka on the Teak decks on the big classic yachts and cockpit decks of Sport fishers. http://www.marinetex.com/TE-KA.html
Finnegan	#5  Posted on 04/20/15 - 10:43 AM
Member Posts: 1926 Comments: 16 Joined: 05/02/08	I have cleaned a lot of teak in my life, and for teak which has been uncared for for many years, (as was the situation on three old classic Whalers I have purchased), I first use Amazon's ONE-step teak cleaner, sprayed on and lightly scrubbed with a Scotch-Brite pad (the kind with a handle). It generally takes three applications and light scrubbings to get it clean. Under no circumstances use two step cleaner - they will destroy the soft grains of the wood. Also, DO NOT scrub with any kind of brush since the bristles dig out the soft grain, leaving raised hard grain and a lot more follow up sanding, which reduces the wood thickness. I lot of people do not recommend teak cleaner at all, just sanding. In my case, where I am preparing for varnishing, I use the teak cleaner to be sure I am getting rid of any teak oil and varnish residue, since all teak oils have varnish in them. The one step cleaner dissolves the varnish, and also gets rid of any other stains which may have been on the wood, such as gasoline/oil spills, heavy dirt. etc. After cleaning, sanding is imperative to get rid of any black lines/specs remaining. Be aware that oiled teak has a short life of looking good, unless the boat is stored indoors. When exposed to the elements it requires constant cleaning, sanding and re-oiling to remain looking good. Which is why I finally gave up, and switched to long lasting varnish coatings.
gchuba	#6  Posted on 04/20/15 - 1:46 PM
Member Posts: 1675 Comments: 0 Joined: 03/31/13	Finnegan, I was truly alarmed/depressed when my virgin mahogany plywood pieces got mildew on the wood. Underneath the 7 coats of tung based teak oil. I contacted Seafin and talked to a knowledgeable tech. The Seafin oil is not designed to seal. More of a coloring agent with uv protection. My findings were that the the linseed oil based teak oil (Watco) leaves the cleaning doable vs the tung based (Seafin) prevents cleaning of the wood unless stripped. I do love the oil look but.....I am leaning to the camp for varnishing for future applications. I believe you mentioned once several coats of material....also.....can you varnish over the linseed . I found that once the linseed oil is applied sanding seems to remove some but, also works some of the oil in deeper(the tech from Seafin mentioned this in regards to the cleaning of the mildew/mold). I got so frustrated I lightly planed some pieces. I use the bleach primarily for the mildew/mold removal but it sure cleans the other stuff off. I used the nylox pads as well as plastic bristle hand scrub brushes from the supermarket. Garris
Finnegan	#7  Posted on 04/20/15 - 1:57 PM
Member Posts: 1926 Comments: 16 Joined: 05/02/08	Garris - I believe, as did Whaler, that mahogany should ALWAYS be varnished, not oiled. In my experience oiled mahogany does not hold up well at all - the wood is too soft and porous. Daly's Seafin is reported to be 15% varnish, which is why it tends to hold up better than other brands with less varnish in them. But if you're going to go 15%, why not 100%? '
gchuba	#8  Posted on 04/20/15 - 9:24 PM
Member Posts: 1675 Comments: 0 Joined: 03/31/13	I am with you about the mahogany. Interestingly, the mahogany cleaned up immediately with the bleach (20% solution if I recall) from the mildew/mold with no detrimental discoloration of the oil. The teak a "tough old bird" by comparison. Some how the Watco oil allows cleansers directly onto the wood that Seafin does not. My guess is Watco has a negligible amount of varnish in it. Still....that mildew is like glue at my house and varnish is the begrudging way I will go. My pieces were so compromised from the stripping I painted with Zinsser anti mildew primer with Zinsser anti mildew semi gloss exterior top coat (I matched the color with Desert Tan). I saved some wood for fabricating new pieces later down the road. Is there any way to get the varnish to a matte finish? I am just not a "gloss" type guy but will do what I have to. I would also lightly bleach the mahogany before varnishing so as not to trap mildew underneath. Was it you or Joe that mentioned several thin coats of varnish spread over time for correct application. Thanks for the reply. Garris
Greg_K	#9  Posted on 04/21/15 - 7:33 AM
Member Posts: 12 Comments: 0 Joined: 08/01/14	I recently cleaned and refinished the teak gunalls, console doors, and console base trim on my new-to-me '86 Outrage 18'. I used a 2-part cleaner (don't recall the brand off-hand, purchased at West Marine), and it cleaned up to looking nearly new. It does raise the grain and will require sanding, but mine was in such bad shape I would have had to sand either way. I then applied 5 coats of a satin finish marine grade poly bought at an Ace hardware store and I am very pleased with the results. The satin finish (natural color - no tint) brings out the natural golden tone, and looks more like a classic oiled look than varnish. I am hopeful it will hold up well with just seasonal re--coats. I made new cooler cleats and rod holders from solid mahogany and applied 5 coats of Helmsman gloss marine grade poly to those. It's starting to look quite nice.
butchdavis	#10  Posted on 04/21/15 - 8:03 AM
Member Posts: 826 Comments: 0 Joined: 11/22/11	When did Boston Whaler switch from mahogany wood to teak wood? Did the switch occur across models at the same time? When and on which models was plywood trim used? I often wonder if some of our members are quite sure about the wood they have on their Whalers. Or the wood that was original to their Whalers. Butch
gchuba	#11  Posted on 04/21/15 - 10:31 AM
Member Posts: 1675 Comments: 0 Joined: 03/31/13	Butch, for my 1979 22' Revenge the mahogany plywood was used on the under gunnel rod holders. All my hatches and rails were teak. I used the mahogany for rod holders in the cuddy, a splash board over the transom, and cabinet doors as well as backing/support here and there. Garris
Finnegan	#12  Posted on 04/21/15 - 11:15 AM
Member Posts: 1926 Comments: 16 Joined: 05/02/08	As far as I can tell, Whaler's first use of teak was on the 1971 model year Outrage 21 ("Ribside"), where they used it genererously and introduced the now famous teak backed RPS, prior to that, all of the Waler wood was polyurethane coated mahogany, including console, pilot seats, Sport models, locker covers, and all cleats mounted to the boat floor. But even while all of the subsequent Outrage and Revenge models, up through 1993, used a majority of teak, there were always some mahogany wood still used, either in solid as with (cooler) cleats and ceiling boards, under gunwale shelving, and as marine plywood as with rod racks, and cabin floor hatch covers (Revenge and Cuddy models). From what I can tell, none of the 1971 and later Sport/SuperSport models were ever done in teak,, always coated mahogany. The upholstered seatback of the Newport RPS was mahogany also. In 1973 the Cohasset was the first use of teak in the 16/17' models, followed by the 1974 and later Montauks. From 1977-1982, Montauk console cleats were mahogany, a detail that did not hold up too well under certain conditions. A good and reliable guideline, assumming all of the wood is as it left the factory, was mahoganyu parts were polyurethane coated, and teak was left plain, to be oiled by the owner. Whaler never furnished uncoated mahogany, and never furnished varnished teak.
butchdavis	#13  Posted on 04/22/15 - 6:56 AM
Member Posts: 826 Comments: 0 Joined: 11/22/11	Thanks. Would this not be a good article fir future reference? Butch