Age old question... sealing/protecting teak?

[alt]

This has probably been done to death, but I have to ask...

As per other thread, i'm in the process of sanding my teak. It's going to look amazing when done, but I can't help but feel it'll look a little naked / vulnerable to the elements.

I don't like the idea of oils as it attracts dirt, so i'm told. Is there a proven sealer / protector out there? Luke from the Sealine forum sells stuff but the postage is a bit OTT from the UK, so wondering if there's an alternative supplier / alternative product that's been tried & tested?

 

[rafiki_]

JFM has got good results with Teak Wonder sealer. I have tried this on my Azi but was not happy with the results, so have gone "natural". Semco products are also well respected, and I plan to try this on my new cockpit table, pics to follow when installed later this month.

 

[Spi D]

FWIW I went from oil to Jotun Benar. Asked around here but nobody had anything to share so I took the plunge - and am glad I did.

Fully exposed to the weather for 12+ months, still looking as the day it was applied. Not hard to do, but I suggest instructions are read and followed.

Available in a couple of types/finishes, a bit pricey but well worth compared to longevity and saved efforts for coming years.

 

[scubaman]

JFM has got good results with Teak Wonder sealer. I have tried this on my Azi but was not happy with the results, so have gone "natural". Semco products are also well respected, and I plan to try this on my new cockpit table, pics to follow when installed later this month.

Jim Pritchard recommended using Semco on worn teak on two different occasions when he did surveys for me some time ago.

 

[CharlieAlpha]

+1 for Semco - natural it only lasts a season (or 2) but is easy to 'Wessex 2 part' and apply again.

 

[alt]

I'm hapy to buy the Semco sealer, but postage for 500ml tub is over £20 (plus purchase price) for delivery from marine-teak.co.uk

Does anyone know of any other supplier? It's not that im a tight-wad, but it's just sickening paying the same price for postage as for the item itself!

 

[lisilou]

How about phoning round your local chandlers to see if they can get it supplied locally.
L

 

[benjenbav]

After trying a couple of sealants I came to the conclusion that for any teak that is to be walked on the best thing to do is just clean it with two part cleaner. Generally once about this time of the year and once in the summer did the job for me. So total oulay of time: mebbe 2 hours a year doing a job which just involves some light brushing and rinsing with a hosepipe.

 

[jfm]

JFM has got good results with Teak Wonder sealer.

No, I have nothing on my teak decks. They're just cleaned with TDS's cleaner (shampoo stuff) and then very occasionally 2 parted

 

[CharlieAlpha]

I'm hapy to buy the Semco sealer, but postage for 500ml tub is over £20 (plus purchase price) for delivery from marine-teak.co.uk

Does anyone know of any other supplier? It's not that im a tight-wad, but it's just sickening paying the same price for postage as for the item itself!

I got my last lot from friends at Marine Teak with a table but used this site the time before

http://www.semco-online.com/
UK and European Main Agent:
SEMCO UK (** = Distributor)
10 Pegasus Close
Hamble
Southampton
SO31 4QZ
020 8977 7035
semcoteakcare@yahoo.co.uk

 

[burgundyben]

Clean and bare.

Its the only way with proper teak.

(But since you have teak faced ply, perhaps Semco or some such)

 

[tamarind]

Semco clear tone. I used to use the natural but it tends to yellow off after a while.

 

[rafiki_]

No, I have nothing on my teak decks. They're just cleaned with TDS's cleaner (shampoo stuff) and then very occasionally 2 parted

Sorry JFM, was it your casppings that you sealed with Teak Wonder, or am I completely off the beam? Suffering from some long days here in Seoul, so happy to be corrected.

 

[rustybarge]

I'm hapy to buy the Semco sealer, but postage for 500ml tub is over £20 (plus purchase price) for delivery from marine-teak.co.uk

Does anyone know of any other supplier? It's not that im a tight-wad, but it's just sickening paying the same price for postage as for the item itself!

If you join ' Amazon club' for £80/yr all postage in GB and Ireland is free of charge.
only worth while if you buy stuff in amazon obviously ( can't think of anything that's not available)

 

[BartW]

I'm in the camp of NO protection on Teac, and very firm on this, just 2 part cleaning 2-3 times / season,

and sanding every 4y

 

[celtic_mist]

I'm hapy to buy the Semco sealer, but postage for 500ml tub is over £20 (plus purchase price) for delivery from marine-teak.co.uk

Does anyone know of any other supplier? It's not that im a tight-wad, but it's just sickening paying the same price for postage as for the item itself!

Alt try using Parcel Motel. Delivery will only be €3.95 using their Belfast address if company offer free UK delivery.
Great company for buying small items from the UK.

 

[alt]

I m in the camp of NO protection on Teac, just 2 part cleaning 2-3 times / season,
En very firm on this
(And sanding every 4y)

I'm going to go with this option, just clean regularly from now on.

Alt try using Parcel Motel. Delivery will only be €3.95 using their Belfast address if company offer free UK delivery.
Great company for buying small items from the UK.

The £17 was to NI, via Parcel Motel!

So essentially it'd cost me £40 for a 500ml tub of the sealer.

 

[Momac]

I am new to teak decking having has it since we changed to the present boat last summer. Do love the look and feel of it on the flybridge and in the cockpit - it was a 'must have' item when we were looking but very pleased to have it.
There was something on my teak making it look okay but a little bit unnaturally orange ..... but it has toned down and mostly washed off and now looking more natural.

Most of the problem is dirt . I don't mind the wood looking a little weathered but don't want it to look black or green . The teak which is full time exposed outside is mostly grey but detergent cleaning does bring out a little colour tone . So far I have just used ordinary mild detergent cleaners and find this removes the dirt/green using a fairly soft brush or microfibre cloth - and makes the teak look presentable.

My cockpit teak is looking more weathered in some parts than others so is hopefully where the two part cleaner will give a more uniform finish. I am in no rush and will wait until warmer weather . Doing nothing much doesn't seem to do the teak any harm.

 

[mhph]

I don`t use any protector. Last season, together with other jobs, asked the local yard (in Spain), to clean the teak. When I returned to the boat the teak looked the best I had ever seen it. In the past had used various 2 part proprietary brands. I know the guys well and asked what they had used. Just plain washing powder,water and elbow grease. Now I tend to go over it say once per month (dependent on how fastidious you are) with the same, and comes up fantastic. Probably don`t have to scrub so hard since the first time. Plus how cheap is that ?

 

[Marine Reflections]

This has probably been done to death, but I have to ask...

As per other thread, i'm in the process of sanding my teak. It's going to look amazing when done, but I can't help but feel it'll look a little naked / vulnerable to the elements.

I don't like the idea of oils as it attracts dirt, so i'm told. Is there a proven sealer / protector out there? Luke from the Sealine forum sells stuff but the postage is a bit OTT from the UK, so wondering if there's an alternative supplier / alternative product that's been tried & tested?

A lot has been said in the past on looking after raw teak and it is safe to say there will be much more debate.
This is due to the many different circumstances teak is kept in, how it is treated, the cleaning techniques, the weather, condition, caulking, depth of teak, chemicals used to protect in the past imbedded in the grain, even down to the quality of installation.
All this has an effect on where the teak is condition wise and it governs the game plan.

If you have fresh, brand new teak, then of course it looks wonderful, but Alt has a warranted concern, will it be vulnerable to the elements?

The straight answer is yes and there are sealers that work very well, but having french polish in a bottle and re-finishing a piano are not the same, just because I have the ingredients, doesn't mean the cake will taste good.
Lots of baking and tasting involved in getting the best out of a product for teak, for best results think more french polishing, than painting the walls. In the grain and not on it.

It is a very personal choice of how to 'run' a teak deck. There is no one product, or one system.
Whatever system you chose would be decided on by what elements you want to protect from, how you wanted to use it, how you wanted it to look and for how long. Varnishing protects long term with little interaction, oil, wax, sealers allow a little more up keep.

Being a restorer and someone who has re-finished an awful lot of teak decks I can advise any protection is going to get old and look bad, a 2 part will freshen up the grain, think of it like changing its pants once in a while.
You can take the greenest teak and make it look new and fresh with just a few passes with 2 part teak cleaners, but a sand after will flash the fresh fruit.

Your protection is the pawn on and within the surface of the teak that takes the brunt of the elements, slowing down the degradation process.
It adds to the maintenance, but if you get it right it can reward.

New fresh teak has its own protection of its natural oils, these migrate to the surface where they oxidise or carbonise (grow old) on the surface turning it grey. This grey or oxidised surface actually can help protect the teak in a kind of anodising way, but not for long, remember it is dead wood.

Without intervention, here in the UK conditions, a grey deck will soon turn dark and be covered in green if left.

Enter the likes of patio magic and the prevention of growth side of offerings, there are many on here who simply rinse down with this or similar every so often, easy!

But if you have 50ft of teak you want looking as fresh as just sanded all year round, you have your work cut out, there is the argument that the less interference the better, some techniques can ruin a deck within a few years.

The best protection would be a cover, but how far do you go?

I like to get the grain nice and tight first, de-grease with acetone, then force Semco (or similar) into the grain in multiple applications, then wipe off the surface product and go again. This takes time where a paint brush could have covered it easier but the results and durability differ.
Even applications with a foam brush and allowing product to be absorbed into the teak offer great results, you are sealing the teak off from oxygen, UV, water and growth.

It will never look as good as in the white, or raw. I personally hate sealing anything. I made a bureau once in burr walnut, broke my heart to have to fill in all that grain, it looked lovely, just it looked better raw.