Teak Restoration

[chautauquasun]

Can anyone give me some ideas on what to use to restore all of the teak on my Supra. I have noticed some pics (Salty87) and the teak looks great on the boats. All of the teak is still on my boat but it is dark and discolored. I want to bring it back to its original look. Anyone have an ideas on the best products to use to bring it back?

thanks

[Salty87]

thanks for noticing.

starbrite (i think that's the name) makes a 2 part cleaner/brightener. pour it on, scrub it in, let it rest for a few mins and then wash off...once with cleaner and then again with the brightener. the teak will be looking better in about 20 mins. then brush on teak oil, might take 6 or more coats depending on how dried out it is. make sure the previous coat is dry before adding more...wipe off any drips on the backsides.

remove the teak, you'll be scrubbing off some nasty stuff probably.

[chautauquasun]

Thanks! Salty...hope I can get it back to looking good again.

[csuggs]

My teak looks real good - but the previous owner got a little carried away with the teak oil and left stains all over the fiberglass. Now I have to find something to remove the stains - so be careful!

[87SunSportMikeyD]

What do you guys say????

TO SAND OR NOT TO SAND??

Some people say do not sand, just scrub and re-coat with starbrite (I have that too). Mine was all darkened with mold and dried out too. It looks brand new after sanding it. We didn't sand it super smooth because I have heard not to. Not sure why really. Slippery maybe.

I am even thinking of removing the 70+ feet of 1/2" teak in the boat and sanding it all. Sounds crazy, I know...

[csuggs]

Yeah Mikey - I've contemplated that 70+ feet in boat as well. Let me know how that goes!

[mapleleaf]

The sanding process is identical to buffing and wet sanding your hull. It might not take as long, but is still labour intensive..... probably 120 - 220 grit is all you'd need. the 220 should remove any 120 swirls.... 400 grit would make it ultra smooth but could be skipped, depends on how fussy you wanna get.

The key is in the oiling, Every coat needs to be dry before the next, and the excess (drips/runs) should be wiped off. If you've put the time into polishing up the fiberglass, you gotta do the teak, it just wouldn't be right not too!!!!

[Salty87]

i've sanded before. i didn't notice any benefit. the 2 part kits are alot easier. if you have any blemishes that need to be sanded out, that's a different story. if you're just cleaning it up, it's more trouble than it's worth and the teak dust can clog up the grain of the wood if you don't clean it out good.