finishing teak

ssobol

Active member
I am putting in a few teak pieces in my cabin. Does anyone know how the existing teak in the C-Dory's is finished? Mine has no sheen and I don't know if it is sanded and unfinished or if there is some sort of varnish on it. I'd like the new pieces I put in to match the existing finish.

Thanks.
 
ssobol":1ibikxuk said:
I am putting in a few teak pieces in my cabin. Does anyone know how the existing teak in the C-Dory's is finished? Mine has no sheen and I don't know if it is sanded and unfinished or if there is some sort of varnish on it. I'd like the new pieces I put in to match the existing finish.

Thanks.
Usually, it's just rubbed with teak oil. You can refresh all of your teak with teak oil when you put the new pieces in and it will all look pretty close to the same.
 
Exterior teak needs teak oil or another protectant from UV sun rays. It will
grey in time, sometimes crack a bit and require scrubbing with bronze wool
with reapplication of the teak oil.

Interior teak may not need any extra coating past the factory finish if not
exposed to excessive sunlight.

I now look at exterior teak on boats like I look at a home lawn:
maintenance (read 'work' I could do without).

Aye.
 
The teak in our boat was looking a little dull when we bought it. I did some light sanding and finished it with multiple coats of thinned Epifanes varnish. It still looks perfect. Probably not for everyone but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It looks great and very durable.
 
The factory finish is a light teak oil, and we do repeat that yearly or more often, on the C Dory's we have owned. Water, various oils, lotions, dishwashing, food bits, cleaning materials, will affect the finish, that is the reason for renewal on a regular basis.

Certainly varnish is an excellent finish, if you have the patience to keep it up…!
 
I have a fair amount of teak INSIDE my cabin. It gets a wipe down with teak oil fall and spring. Takes me about 10 minutes, and looks (and smells) good. I do have a teak flag pole, and it does show some weather between times. I usually give it a good drowning, then wipe it down and do it all over again in a day or so. It has held up well, and looks new still, at 7 years.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

JC_Lately_SleepyC_Flat_Blue_055.highlight.jpg
 
They do sell Teak Bleach...to lighten teak.... I have lots of teak in my boat as I love the stuff..... and all I ever do is go over the wood every year with a fresh coat of marine teak oil.... make sure you use marine teak oil and not teak oil that you buy at Builders Supply... that stuff will stink for weeks....

It will all blend to the same color...no problem... and it is nice to touch...soft..

On my Tug I have a teak swim step....and that gets really grey and nasty looking.... teak is hard to sand as it clogs up the paper...but it is possible if you are persistent and have lots of paper...makes it look just like new...on that I use the teak bleach to bring back the color and then soak it well with the oil....... teak is great as you don't get splinters and it is not slippery when wet.
 
I use Unique Teak. It's a two part solution that first bleaches teak then conditions it a beautiful gold. after it dries, apply teak oil, and you're good to go!
of course, you need to remove the teak from the boat first.
 
Anyone used lemon oil on their teak? I have used it on a teak settee that has stayed outside for over 15 years. Any reason I shouldn't use it on the teak inside my boat?
 
Most teak oil finishes have a smell. I would test that by applying the selected oil to a scrap of wood, letting it dry, put it inside the boat, and verifying that the smell is OK. Once you coat the wood inside the boat you have that smell for a long time!
 
Nothing wrong with using "lemon" oil. Most teak finishes are linseed oil or tung oil. The question would be how much "lemon" is in the lemon oil your are using?
 
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