Caulking for teak deck

[RJJ]

Hello, I would greatly appreciate recommendations please for repairs to caulking on the teak decks.

Lead contenders seem to be TDS 440 and Sika 290. I understand 291 is not suitable.

What I am really hoping for of course is something cheaper! 440 and 290 look to be around £20 a tube.

Thanks folks

 

[duncan99210]

I’ve used both Sikaflex and the TDS product. Of the two, Sikaflex was the more stable over a few summers in Greece. No idea of any other products but there must be some....

 

[pvb]

The TDS SIS-440 has the advantage that it supposedly doesn't need a primer; Sikaflex 290DC does need a primer (which is eye-wateringly expensive!). Both are said to be pretty good products, I've used 290DC successfully.

I don't know how extensive your "repairs" are. Is it a full re-caulk, or are you just planning to patch bits which have come loose? If the latter, be prepared to find lots more loose stuff once you start stripping the old stuff off.

The secret to getting caulking to stick properly is to be scrupulously diligent in preparing the grooves - you need to clean, sand, wipe with acetone, vacuum, prime (if using 290DC), and follow the instructions for getting the filthy stuff into the grooves. Sikaflex has a good downloadable guide giving advice.

One thing you might check is what sort of caulking your boat originally had. The reason I say this is because my old Hallberg-Rassy was originally caulked with a silicone caulking, and when I patched it I had to be very careful with groove preparation. No idea what Dufour used.

On price, look at buying 600ml sausages rather than 300ml cartridges if you've got a fair amount to do. It will work out much cheaper.

For patching, I used masking tape each side of the groove, removing it after smoothing. A cardboard box on deck is useful for putting the masking tape in afterwards - put a brick in it to stop it blowing away (don't ask!). Fresh Sikaflex can be wiped off shoes with meths on kitchen paper, don't know about SIS-440. Trust me, you will tread on wet stuff and paddle it about.

 

[LoneHort]

I used CT1 and it was brilliant.

 

[Little Dorrit]

+1 to comments from pvb. Forget bond breaker tape recommended for use with TDS 440; it's a pain in the backside and didn't work for me. Instead of bondbreaker tape or primer I tried Bonda marine primer which worked well as it soaks into teak and dries leaving a sticky surface ideal for the silicone to bond to. Job is very fiddly but take your time and follow pvb's excellent advice and you'll enjoy the satisfaction of the finished result.

 

[RJJ]

I used CT1 and it was brilliant.

Thanks - any primer required?

 

[tjbrace]

I used CT1 and it hasn’t stuck. No primer used. Will try something else next time.

 

[LoneHort]

CT1 no primer, just used a multimaster diamond sander to roughen the grooves.