Age old question... sealing/protecting teak?

[paul salliss]

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

Or, how about removing the lot and having synthetic teak installed, it's fantastic and zero hassle, I would never go back to actual teak

 

[lisilou]

Or, how about removing the lot and having synthetic teak installed, it's fantastic and zero hassle, I would never go back to actual teak

Always an option Paul, always an option. You and yours ok?
L

 

[Piers]

The only restorer I've ever used on Play d'eau is the Wessex two part system which brings the teak back, brilliantly, whilst killing any green or black. Then, just a regular gentle wash (not scrub) with some soap - not much - across the grain (not with the grain). Nothing strong, nothing aggressive. Great results.

But nothing is used to 'seal' the decks. No need.

 

[alt]

Thanks all, and esp Marine Reflections for the very detailed response!

I have decided to just sand the platform for this season and clean it with the 2 part. We'll see how that goes.

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.

 

[Seastoke]

Well now you have me looking at mine ,the teak is about 5 or 6 mm thick it looks like it was screwed down not glued as the heads are just countersunk and the caulk is all cracked ,would i have to take out all the caulk before sanding the re, caulk ,if so how do you get caulk out

 

[Flynnbarr]

Well now you have me looking at mine ,the teak is about 5 or 6 mm thick it looks like it was screwed down not glued as the heads are just countersunk and the caulk is all cracked ,would i have to take out all the caulk before sanding the re, caulk ,if so how do you get caulk out

I used a small router on mine,beautiful straight lines with a baton screwed into the old caulk line as a guide,better than a Fein although I had to use one for the edges in conjunction with a chisel.

 

[Seastoke]

so ypou are screwing in acaulk line outher than the one you are routing

 

[Flynnbarr]

so ypou are screwing in acaulk line outher than the one you are routing

Yes.
Maybe in your case because of lack of depth in the teak you could weigh them down with 56lb potato weights or some pig iron.I did this as well.Securely though,routers are vicious,I used a small laminate router.Your problem is that the new caulking should be 5/6mm deep,going to leave no wood under the caulking if you only have that depth of teak to start with.Sika website gives good advice,depths and widths of caulking needed in relation to plank width,prep advice etc.

 

[Seastoke]

thanks