Teak-The Care of Boat Hardwoods
James "Doc" Lewis
In this article we will look at the several alternate methods of
restoring and preserving teak on your boat or yacht in order to
place you in a more informed position to decide on which method
best suits your situation.
Whether it be a lovely piece of teak furniture sitting elegantly
on the aft deck of a luxury yacht, or a 12" by 12" inch pad under
a sheet winch on a daysailer, there's just something about teak
that says "salty."
It has been said that nothing so brightens the nautical
appearance of a boat so much as well maintained teak. Having made
such a sweeping generalization we are now faced with numerous
variations on just what makes teak well maintained.
If our boats lived in clean air we could let the wood go. Over
time, it would weather naturally to an attractive ash gray and we
could concern ourselves with other things. Unfortunately the
assault of modern-day air pollutants, the proximity to the sea,
and old father sun himself quickly turn bare teak nearly black.
Scrubbing only removes some of the stains leaving a mottled look.
As beautiful as it is here on The Emerald Coast where I write
this, it only takes a few days to see the effects of air
pollutants and intense sunlight on anything left outside.
Preparation
Regardless of the method of preservation used the first thing
which must be done is to clean and restore the teak to its
natural state.
At BoatDocs1 we believe in accomplishing this in the gentlest way
possible while still achieving the desired results. If the teak
is just dirty a thorough cleaning with laundry detergent,
chlorine bleach, scrub brush, and a little elbow grease will do
the job.
If the wood has weathered for long, has remnants of a previous
sealer, varnish, lacquer, or the like, and/or if mildew has set
in we will have to use oxalic acid to kill the organisms, bleach
out the black and stained areas, and deep clean the wood.
If you are doing this yourself the main thing to remember is that
anything remaining from a previous product will interfere with
the bonding of the new coating. This can cause anything from a
minor color shift to causing the new coat to not stick at all and
actually blister and peal away from the surface.
So take your time, use plenty of water to rinse away all of the
soap and residue of previous products and allow at least 24 hours
drying time before your first coat.
As with any paint, lacquer, or varnish, it is the preparation
that sets the professional results apart from the want-to-be
attempts. If you figure on about a 80%/20% ratio for preparation
to application you should be pretty close.
Everybody and their dog can swing a paint brush but it takes a
little savvy and a good bit of patience to hold off on the brush
till the wood is ready. Without that forbearance the job is
doomed before the can is ever opened.
Now the choices begin.
Teak Oil
Teak oil is one of the oldest and in many ways easiest methods of
maintaining the natural look to teak.
More choices, linseed or tung oil. In general, tung oil is a more
refined version of linseed oil. The higher quality/price is an
individual call depending on the application.
Our main concern here is the various additives including
pigments, UV filters, and mildew retardants. The additives are a
must here on the Emerald Coast and anywhere you have the
combination of sun, heat, humidity, and sea air. The choices
should be based on the exposure to the elements the wood will be
getting, with the higher concentrations of additives and
corresponding darker pigmentation for any wood which will be
exposed a great deal of the time.
Characteristics: Gives the wood a matte finish without shiny
spots. Requires recoating periodically, 1-3 months depending on
exposure factors. While teak oils, when properly applied and
maintained resist and displace water they do not completely
eliminate it's getting into the wood. (works well but requires
frequent maintenance or will tend to turn black and degrade
rapidly) A big plus is that unless the wood is very rough, no
sanding should be required.
Teak Sealer
Teak sealers are actually an adjunct to Teak Oil in that they
seal in the oil and lengthen the time between applications. We
have had excellent results with several products in our climate
and the choices are mostly related to desired look and
durability.
Sealers are a good choice for those who don't mind doing a little
extra work at the beginning and end of the season in order to not
have to worry about it during.
Characteristics: Teak treated with sealer is more water resistant
than if treated with teak oil, has a more uniform appearance, and
doesn't tend to turn black. Slightly more preparation required
than with oil but if maintained will only have to be done once.
(when wood is well prepared and the sealer applied correctly it
will last up to a year between maintenance application) Only
initial sanding required, (prior to first coat) none needed
between coats.
Varnish
Ah, the beauty of a newly varnished teak deck.
On the plus side:
Offers real protection for the wood.
Wood will not dry out and split
" will not absorb moisture and rot
" is unaffected by dirt and pollution
" will not be stained by spills
The not-so-plus side:
* Varnishing any wood requires thorough and painstaking sanding
and preparation.
* The standard for a ship-shape job is 7 coats with sanding
between each coat. I've often done 12 to 14 to achieve desired
results.
* Additional coats, with thorough sanding between, are required
to maintain the look.
* The humidity must be low or a milky appearance will result,
requiring more sanding to remove the affected coat.
Characteristics:
Poems have been written about the beauty of well varnished teak
and I'll leave it to them to do their job on this one. From a
purely practical point of view, if you have the time to
do-it-yourself or the money to have a professional take care of
it for you then varnish will preserve the wood better than any
other method and at the same time be a beautiful accent to your
yacht.
The Road Less Traveled
I should mention one more possibility before closing, one that
I've used myself on a couple of occasions. If you watch old
seafaring movies you've seen this one too. Teak decks can be
scrubbed periodically with sea water and a stiff brush and will
actually last about the same length of time as an oiled deck.
The main drawback to this is that without any protection the wood
will absorb everything which is spilled on it, and many modern
oils and greases, to say nothing of not so modern wines and
berries will leave stains which will be just about imposable to
remove. On the other hand if you have a lot of teak on your boat
you could likely write a book with the time you would save by not
having to keep up the varnish.
Whatever you decide, may all of your boating adventures be happy
ones.
James "Doc" Lewis has been "messin about in boats" for as long as
he can remember. He is owner/operator of BoatDocs1, a
full-service boat detailing-yacht maintenance business serving
the Emerald Coast region of Florida. To learn more about boats
and keeping them looking their best visit his web site at:
http://www.boatdocs1.com/
Copyright© 2004 BoatDocs1
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