best glue for teak?

[Nick_H]

waterproof wood glue or epoxy?

 

[1955patric]

Teak is an oily wood so joining surfaces need to be deoiled using acetone prior to gluing. Assuming this done the glue used depends on whether the joint will be open to the weather or not and whether it is part of a structural unit- if so I would use polyurethane or epoxy. Otherwise a good PVA or aliphatic glue would do. I use Tightbond glues for almost all my woodwork and have not been let down by them yet.

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

BALCOTAN adhesive from Robbins Timber is pretty impressive.

 

[1955patric]

It is a polyurethane with the usual impressive performance and an equally impressive price /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Most polyurethanes will perform just as well at half the price.
Just checked prices Balcotan (Robbins Timber) £12.96 for 750g
Elch PU glue (Screwfix) £8.81 for 1 ltr
If you only need small qauntities:
Gorilla glue
£5.99 for 114 ml (4oz)
All do the same job

 

[absit_omen]

Teak epoxy. Balcotan good for gap filling as it froths up - alarmingly at times.

 

[Nick_H]

Thanks all. I want to repair a partial split on the armrest of a teak directors chair, and I can only open up the split by 2-3mm, so I can't clean the face with acetone first. Also will the Balcotan or equivalent sink into the gap ok?

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

Only the rapid Balcotan froths (alarmingly). For a small repair I think Araldite would be adequate.
I mistakenly formed the impression that you were going to build a new teak deckhouse to make your MOBO more distinctive

 

[absit_omen]

Sorry to disagree but the place where I train don't do 'rapid' anything. They use ordinary stuff - and it froths!

 

[Drascomber]

The best glue for teak, and most boat building jobs by a country mile, is Aerodux. The only source I know for small quantities is Severn Valley Sailplanes who sell an equivalent called Prefere 750/405M.

As well as using it for laminating my tiller and other such jobs I also used it to repair a split in the piano at home that was caused by the drying effect of central heating. Only suitable where a dark glue line is aceptable it is practically indestructible. It has a longer open time than epoxy, is less susceptible to dry joints and in fact prefers to be well clamped.

I tried Balcotan once and it pushed the components apart leaving a thick glue line. I stopped using it.

For any teak gluing jobs I always apply a liberal dose of acetone and allow to dry before applying the glue.