Refinishing cabinet doors

Danjenni · Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:48 pm Post subject: Refinishing cabinet doors

Have teak plywood doors with teak band around exterior of door. I think these are standard doors (2012 - 22 Cruiser). They need to be brightened up. I think the original finish was teak oil. Does anyone know for sure what was used or have tips for refreshing. Thanks in advance.

hardee · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2020 9:55 am Post subject:

On my 2005 Cruiser, I have teak drawers and plenty of teak trim. I do a spring and fall thing with them. Wipe down with a lightly moist cloth to clean, then after an hour or two, I use teak oil on a clean rag and wipe the whole thing down again, maybe twice, allowing some time for the coats to soak in as much as possible. Then wipe the surface again to remove any excess. The place that takes the most beating, weather wise, is the teak flag pole on the stern. It usually gets about 4 coats in the fall and an occasional coat during the season, depending on the look.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

Danjenni · Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2020 12:23 am Post subject:

Thank you for the response. I thought it was just teak oil finish but you all know what can happen when we assume. Thanks again!

hardee · Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2020 12:41 am Post subject:

Please Note: Mine are teak with an oiled finish. YMMV so check and be sure before you put teak oil on top of varnish or Verathane.

Mine were not factory installed.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

thataway · Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2020 5:12 pm Post subject:

Teak oil tends to darken and dull with time. All of the teak I have seen on the factory C Dory have been a light oil finish. On my trim, I clean it once a year and then put a lite coat of oil, let it soak in about 20 minutes and then use a soft cloth to take off any excess.

There are many ways of treating interior teak. I find the oil to be the easiest. Always be careful of using any harsh chemicals on teak. If you scrub with the grain and a brush, you will remove the soft wood, and leave a raised hard grain. Any cleaning with brush should be across the grain. I just use Dawn soap and scrub it well. Wrinse and let dry well, before oiling.

On our larger cruising boats, some of which were all teak below, we varnished with a satin varnish about once every 3 to 4 years. We mostly sanded before re-farnishing--not much yearly maintenance.