jammy
Member
Surely an old question but what do people recommend for bringing a shine back to decks untended for a year..!
Cleaning teak decks
- Thread starter jammy
- Start date
Twister_Ken
Well-Known Member
The secret of cleaning teak decks is not too.
Almost any cleaning technique will either abrade or damaage the teak. And whatever you do to brighten teak, nature will turn it grey again, sooner or later. So accept the greyness, and swill the teak with cleanish salt water from time to time, preferably by sailing upwind in a bit of a blow.
Almost any cleaning technique will either abrade or damaage the teak. And whatever you do to brighten teak, nature will turn it grey again, sooner or later. So accept the greyness, and swill the teak with cleanish salt water from time to time, preferably by sailing upwind in a bit of a blow.
BrendanS
Well-Known Member
Whatever you do, just don't scrub it. Teak is a softwood, and bristles and powerwashing will damage it beyond what you can imagine. Treat it gently, and if you feel the need to clean, use sponges and patience, not hard scrubbing.
Vara
Well-Known Member
TCM has published the seminal work on this subject IN THIS THREAD.I think he did an update but I can't find it!
pvb
Well-Known Member
This stuff is good...
In many cases, the "dirt" on teak decks is tiny spots of mould or mildew. Additionally, green algae can appear. After cleaning, there's a very easy way of keeping the nasty stuff at bay. Best of all, it involves almost no work! Hallberg-Rassy recommend treating teak decking with a product called Boracol, which is generally sold as a timber preservative. It’s highly effective in killing green algae, mould spores and termites. Unfortunately, in the UK it’s only licensed for professional use. However, the two active ingredients - disodium octaborate (a fungicide) and benzalkonium chloride (an algaecide) - are available in various amateur products. Easiest to find and use is Polycell 3-in-1 Mould Killer (about £5 a litre from bigger B&Q stores). It’s a colourless liquid. I’ve used it for several years now on my HR, and I’m very pleased with the results. In comparison with neighbouring boats, my deck looks so much cleaner and brighter.
To apply it, first clean the deck thoroughly and allow at least 24 hours to dry. Choose a day when rain isn’t expected for 24 hours and apply the liquid liberally with a soft paintbrush. I use about 2 litres on my 35-footer. You should wear protective gloves and safety glasses. Wash splashes off skin immediately. It won't harm GRP. Reapply every 4-6 months.
I use the same liquid on the inside and outside of my canvas sprayhood, again with good results.
Most mould and mildew products are basically bleach. This Polycell product contains no bleach, but has the powerful fungicidal ingredients which get rid of the mould. It also has a medium-term residual effect, so a treatment every 4-6 months should keep your deck and sprayhood looking good.
In many cases, the "dirt" on teak decks is tiny spots of mould or mildew. Additionally, green algae can appear. After cleaning, there's a very easy way of keeping the nasty stuff at bay. Best of all, it involves almost no work! Hallberg-Rassy recommend treating teak decking with a product called Boracol, which is generally sold as a timber preservative. It’s highly effective in killing green algae, mould spores and termites. Unfortunately, in the UK it’s only licensed for professional use. However, the two active ingredients - disodium octaborate (a fungicide) and benzalkonium chloride (an algaecide) - are available in various amateur products. Easiest to find and use is Polycell 3-in-1 Mould Killer (about £5 a litre from bigger B&Q stores). It’s a colourless liquid. I’ve used it for several years now on my HR, and I’m very pleased with the results. In comparison with neighbouring boats, my deck looks so much cleaner and brighter.
To apply it, first clean the deck thoroughly and allow at least 24 hours to dry. Choose a day when rain isn’t expected for 24 hours and apply the liquid liberally with a soft paintbrush. I use about 2 litres on my 35-footer. You should wear protective gloves and safety glasses. Wash splashes off skin immediately. It won't harm GRP. Reapply every 4-6 months.
I use the same liquid on the inside and outside of my canvas sprayhood, again with good results.
Most mould and mildew products are basically bleach. This Polycell product contains no bleach, but has the powerful fungicidal ingredients which get rid of the mould. It also has a medium-term residual effect, so a treatment every 4-6 months should keep your deck and sprayhood looking good.
Fill
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that, I'd missed the thread.
I've recently spent something like 3 days with fairy liquid, hose, sponge and nurofen (that's for my aching neck not the boat) in washing the accumulated dirt off the deck. Did look lovely tho'
I've recently spent something like 3 days with fairy liquid, hose, sponge and nurofen (that's for my aching neck not the boat) in washing the accumulated dirt off the deck. Did look lovely tho'
tcm
...
updated teak
You'll sometimes see brand-new looking decks at some boat shows that are actually selling secondhand boats. Your teak deck can look like that again. Here’s how to do it.
My own background is having swankyish boats in the med, built/maintained three teak patios outside houses one of them 200 square metres, employed various “experts” and skippers, and spent £hundreds on all sorts of jetwashers, brushes, gizmos, and chemicals.
1. First decide if you want you teak to look like teak - or teak covered with something else. Everyone can tell if it's oiled, or if it's got protective finishes on, and so can everyone else. It looks a bit yellowish, uniform, plastic and non-natural - and it's actually not as grippy as natutral teak. There's also fake teak, which some boat builders can tell you is actually twice the price of real teak. But we humans are very good at identifying real and synthetic materials even from a good distance away. Teak should look like raw teak – just a like new boat at the boat show. Any teak can look like that again.
2. Firstly, the chemicals. You need two-part cleaner which can be obtained from Wessex Chemicals. I haven’t found anyone else who does the right stuff, althou othes have better names than er “2-part teak cleaner” which is what they call it.
You get this in 1-litre or 5-litre or 10litre plastic containers, a few quid a litre. Expect to use around 3/4 litre of each for a biggish 60foot boat at each clean. If you buy in bulk, mark the containers "part 1" and "Part2” clearly as the coloured dye can go off after year and yer can't easily tell which is which. Incidentally, the part two in concentrated form removes rust stains, which is handy, but make sure you rinse it afterwards.
3. Now , the kit: NO BRUSHES, NO JETWASHERS. You need the mildest possible way of swooshing around the boat, and on new teak this means a sponge. But a sponge on a stick, so a Vileda floor mop thing that squeezes out is excellent. For outside teak tho, esp teak which is a bit “ridgy”, the floor mop will get destroyed and stick on the ridges. The Surehold range or similar is good - you get a long stick and put attachements onnit , red handle – that’;s the one, and get the flat attachment to which you can stick on a pad that looks like a panscrub. You want the very mildest one, a white one that is soft enuf to wash your face with - only just not a sponge, not as severe as a loofah. Plonk this on the flat face of the attachment.
Okay, look you MIGHT need a brush if you teak is very heavily knackered and this is the first clean for years and years. A brush will get into the ridges - but digs out the softer material at the same time. So use a soft brush if you really must. But non-ancient boat or teack under five years old - no brush.
Oh, and you need a hose too, hopefully with a decent end attachment. Actually just a bare end is ok so the water “drops” out: it’s important NOT to have it on a “blast” setting like the cheapest hose ends – better ones have 6 options, and for teak you shd only use the setting for what feels like “rain”.
3. Cleaning even a colossal floor takes minutes, not hours. Get everything out of the area, tables chairs etc so no water goes on anything cept the teak. Screw-down tables need to be out as well. Hoover dusty inside areas if necessary.
Then wet the area with water from hose NOT blasting, just dribble about with the hose set to “gentle rain”.
Now, the key thing is that you need this to take a short amount of time - so hands and knees is hopeless as you will never do it more than once - an effective AND quick clean is what we want. I saw one guy cleaning the deck with toothbrush! – not for us I’m afraid.
4. Mix a mild dilution of Part 1 in a bucket and wipe it on to the teak with that floorpad mop thing. “5 water to 1 chemical” is the most severe you shd use ever on mossy greenish teak, but try 10water to 1chemical to start if it's just greyish.
The teak will go very dark almost immediately, the colour of mahogany or even very very strong coffee. Urgh! – a bit worrying! And the spashes on the bits you haven’t done – they’re just as bad! Don’t worry.
Keep putting the solution on, and agitate the stuff over the teak, across the grain. Use that floor mop to sloosh it around, always acros the grain gently, with the soft spongy pad.
As it goes dark, there's a tendency to not bother rubbing everywhere cos it’s “doing something” but you do need to "apply" it to the wood with the sponge/mop thing, not just rinse over. At the edges, use a mild handheld green plastic panscrub – again, not one too rough to wipe your face with – to get the edges – otherwise we won’t have the “new” look as the middle will be clean, the edges murky.
Saftey warning: SLIPPERY with Part1 :the teak loses a LOT of it’s anti-slip properties with this part 1 on so be careful and keep kids and the unwary away. On an open a sailing boat deck, be especially careful as you move around – and with the next stage too. But when finished it’s back to normal, of course.
5. Pretty much as soon as the diluted part 1 has been put on everywhere and gone worryingly dark brown, it's done the business. So once it is all uniformly wet and dark, rinse the area, and tons of brown gunk will come off, often quite a shocking amount. But imagine how filthy your car would be if you left it unwashed, just rinsed a bit now and again, for a year or more. You need it all this off. I use a rubber window wiping blade on a stick to swoosh it all out. Again, don't blast with water - use low pressure and lots of it.
6. Now the part two, the red stuff. Again , mild solution. 10water to one P2 on wet teak after part 1. This is worrying to put on cos it bleaches back the colour, and even the bucket seems to leave a mark. Argh! Again, don't worry - it will all come back bright as the bleachiness goes all over. Not much skil needed - provided you stay at a mild dilution, you can't put "too much" on - it returns to it's natural colour, so it won't go white or anything like that.
Another warning: this is a mild acid, so it will sting cuts in unprotected hands and feet. But your hands and feet don’t drop off, or at least mine haven’t been damaged anyway and I’ve done this a fair bit.
On big patios or on the pontoon (yep, you have to clean the pontoon too soon, see below) I use a garden watering can and a rose to sploosh it on. The part 1 get’s the gunk off – this seems to hardly lift any more dirt, just turn back the colour. You do need to rinse off the part 2 though.
If you missed an area with p1, it'll be silvery grey after p2, so yerd have to start again –or praps leave it til next time.
You need to carefully rinse metal items around on the floor – stainless or aluminium won’t get horribly damaged provided you get the stuff off during the rinsing so target these especially.
I wipe with a “blade” (like a windscreen wiper) to speed up the drying process, and get the dirt off without needing tons and tons of water.
Walking on the now-clean teak whilst it's drying means you lose the "utterly fab clean new-boat" look, but clean footmarks do evaporate so it's ok, ish.
Now, the teak looks brand new when it dries. Hurrah! Is it clean tho? Get a white tissue and wet it, wipe on a bit of the teak, and the tissue will remain white clean. It's clean enough to eat food from.
7. Soon the teak will get filthy and go silvery grey again. Why's that? Well it's cos of the rain, or the air or (mostly) cos you or the crew did it with your feet. In the med, big boats are "no shoes" - you step aboard in bare feet, not deck shoes, not socks, but Bare Feet, even if you charter the boat and pay a zillion pounds a week. All those swanky boats , look at the pics closely and none are wearing shoes. Ok, on some they ARE wearing shoes, but they are either deck pumps (that always stay on the clean deck) or nitwits.
8. To keep the deck clean, I'm afraid that you need to try a bit harder than you are doing. You have a deck that is utterly clean and visibly so, like white carpet. But the pontoon is filthy. It's like having muddy garden path and muddy driveway, and white carpet indoors. You need to instigate a regime to limit the dirt arriving on board.
Clean the pontoon where you step aboard for a start, using 2-part teak cleaner again, and this time use a brush cos it will be filthy, it’s already ridged, and erm, it’s not your expensive boat.
If the quayside of you normal berth is concrete, clean and then paint it with garage floor paint. Put a mat down on the quayside for changing shoes. The mat will fly away in high wind so make sure you have spare mats and take it up before a gale. I lose about one mat per year, mebbe two. If you can't be shoes-off on board the boat cos in the uk it's cold, have one pair of shoes for schlepping over to the car park etc. and dedicated shoes on board that are only for on board, never ashore.
9. Knackered ridgy teak. Teak feels as hard as nails – dense and unyielding- but is actually quite susceptible to being washed away, perhaps like very weak concrete.
To keep it from disintgrating, you need to never clean it and never wash it, and never step on it and keep it covered ! - but this aint possible on a boat. A winter cover (over the whiole boat or at least over the teak) makes it last longer. If you have bare teak indoors perhaps in a wheelhouse, and also outdoors on the deck, you'll see how the indoor stuff stays new and flat and not-ridgy for much longer. The rain does this – it’s a moderate jetwash that happens lots of times per year. So, if you had a cover, or individual covers for bits of the deck, your teak won't go ridgy anywhere near as quickly. The cover needs to allow air to circulate to stop it going mouldy a bit, but never with rain landing on it. Le Grand Bleue is Abramovich’s ugly ship with loads of playtime boats incl a big 70 foot powerboat - and the first such boat (Sirius) had individual canvas /Sunbrella covers for the teak held down with poppers when owners aren’t on board - and the teak is lovely, even after a several years.
10. Sanding the teak. Yeah, well, you need a machine to do this, and make it flat. Easy to decsribe, hard to do and makes a right mess. Once the teak is flat, you can make it smooth with finer and finer sanding, tho it will be slippery if you go on too long. It will need sanding eventually. Be very very careful with a beltsander cos it will eat a lot of material very quickly: much safer is an orbital sander with about the grittiest grit you can find: yeah, 40 grit might feel awful to your hands but it still takes a while to get the teak flat. First off, the sander dances around as it “grabs” on the raised black caulking. Then, it starts at the hard raised ridges but it still takes time even with 40grit. Get a decent machine with lots of watts – the £12 850w units aren’t good enuf and get groaningly slowed down.
Its ok to leave it a bit de-ridged rather than grind down to "new" – clean as above and you still have newe looking deck with far less ridges than before. Professionals seem to insist on whamming it down to “new wood all over” which must use more material and limit the number of times you can sand.
11 Finally, about the semco and other protective coverings again: at the cost of it looking like real natural teak, these stop dirt from entering the grain. So, it's sort-of protecting the teak for the next owner of the boat. I spose you could use these over winter, that would be okay. But would a top-class superyacht or classic racer use these protecvtive finishes, or teak? No they blimmin well wouldn't, they'd be chucked out of st tropez and the skipper doomed to everlasting ridicule! Teak means teak.
You'll sometimes see brand-new looking decks at some boat shows that are actually selling secondhand boats. Your teak deck can look like that again. Here’s how to do it.
My own background is having swankyish boats in the med, built/maintained three teak patios outside houses one of them 200 square metres, employed various “experts” and skippers, and spent £hundreds on all sorts of jetwashers, brushes, gizmos, and chemicals.
1. First decide if you want you teak to look like teak - or teak covered with something else. Everyone can tell if it's oiled, or if it's got protective finishes on, and so can everyone else. It looks a bit yellowish, uniform, plastic and non-natural - and it's actually not as grippy as natutral teak. There's also fake teak, which some boat builders can tell you is actually twice the price of real teak. But we humans are very good at identifying real and synthetic materials even from a good distance away. Teak should look like raw teak – just a like new boat at the boat show. Any teak can look like that again.
2. Firstly, the chemicals. You need two-part cleaner which can be obtained from Wessex Chemicals. I haven’t found anyone else who does the right stuff, althou othes have better names than er “2-part teak cleaner” which is what they call it.
You get this in 1-litre or 5-litre or 10litre plastic containers, a few quid a litre. Expect to use around 3/4 litre of each for a biggish 60foot boat at each clean. If you buy in bulk, mark the containers "part 1" and "Part2” clearly as the coloured dye can go off after year and yer can't easily tell which is which. Incidentally, the part two in concentrated form removes rust stains, which is handy, but make sure you rinse it afterwards.
3. Now , the kit: NO BRUSHES, NO JETWASHERS. You need the mildest possible way of swooshing around the boat, and on new teak this means a sponge. But a sponge on a stick, so a Vileda floor mop thing that squeezes out is excellent. For outside teak tho, esp teak which is a bit “ridgy”, the floor mop will get destroyed and stick on the ridges. The Surehold range or similar is good - you get a long stick and put attachements onnit , red handle – that’;s the one, and get the flat attachment to which you can stick on a pad that looks like a panscrub. You want the very mildest one, a white one that is soft enuf to wash your face with - only just not a sponge, not as severe as a loofah. Plonk this on the flat face of the attachment.
Okay, look you MIGHT need a brush if you teak is very heavily knackered and this is the first clean for years and years. A brush will get into the ridges - but digs out the softer material at the same time. So use a soft brush if you really must. But non-ancient boat or teack under five years old - no brush.
Oh, and you need a hose too, hopefully with a decent end attachment. Actually just a bare end is ok so the water “drops” out: it’s important NOT to have it on a “blast” setting like the cheapest hose ends – better ones have 6 options, and for teak you shd only use the setting for what feels like “rain”.
3. Cleaning even a colossal floor takes minutes, not hours. Get everything out of the area, tables chairs etc so no water goes on anything cept the teak. Screw-down tables need to be out as well. Hoover dusty inside areas if necessary.
Then wet the area with water from hose NOT blasting, just dribble about with the hose set to “gentle rain”.
Now, the key thing is that you need this to take a short amount of time - so hands and knees is hopeless as you will never do it more than once - an effective AND quick clean is what we want. I saw one guy cleaning the deck with toothbrush! – not for us I’m afraid.
4. Mix a mild dilution of Part 1 in a bucket and wipe it on to the teak with that floorpad mop thing. “5 water to 1 chemical” is the most severe you shd use ever on mossy greenish teak, but try 10water to 1chemical to start if it's just greyish.
The teak will go very dark almost immediately, the colour of mahogany or even very very strong coffee. Urgh! – a bit worrying! And the spashes on the bits you haven’t done – they’re just as bad! Don’t worry.
Keep putting the solution on, and agitate the stuff over the teak, across the grain. Use that floor mop to sloosh it around, always acros the grain gently, with the soft spongy pad.
As it goes dark, there's a tendency to not bother rubbing everywhere cos it’s “doing something” but you do need to "apply" it to the wood with the sponge/mop thing, not just rinse over. At the edges, use a mild handheld green plastic panscrub – again, not one too rough to wipe your face with – to get the edges – otherwise we won’t have the “new” look as the middle will be clean, the edges murky.
Saftey warning: SLIPPERY with Part1 :the teak loses a LOT of it’s anti-slip properties with this part 1 on so be careful and keep kids and the unwary away. On an open a sailing boat deck, be especially careful as you move around – and with the next stage too. But when finished it’s back to normal, of course.
5. Pretty much as soon as the diluted part 1 has been put on everywhere and gone worryingly dark brown, it's done the business. So once it is all uniformly wet and dark, rinse the area, and tons of brown gunk will come off, often quite a shocking amount. But imagine how filthy your car would be if you left it unwashed, just rinsed a bit now and again, for a year or more. You need it all this off. I use a rubber window wiping blade on a stick to swoosh it all out. Again, don't blast with water - use low pressure and lots of it.
6. Now the part two, the red stuff. Again , mild solution. 10water to one P2 on wet teak after part 1. This is worrying to put on cos it bleaches back the colour, and even the bucket seems to leave a mark. Argh! Again, don't worry - it will all come back bright as the bleachiness goes all over. Not much skil needed - provided you stay at a mild dilution, you can't put "too much" on - it returns to it's natural colour, so it won't go white or anything like that.
Another warning: this is a mild acid, so it will sting cuts in unprotected hands and feet. But your hands and feet don’t drop off, or at least mine haven’t been damaged anyway and I’ve done this a fair bit.
On big patios or on the pontoon (yep, you have to clean the pontoon too soon, see below) I use a garden watering can and a rose to sploosh it on. The part 1 get’s the gunk off – this seems to hardly lift any more dirt, just turn back the colour. You do need to rinse off the part 2 though.
If you missed an area with p1, it'll be silvery grey after p2, so yerd have to start again –or praps leave it til next time.
You need to carefully rinse metal items around on the floor – stainless or aluminium won’t get horribly damaged provided you get the stuff off during the rinsing so target these especially.
I wipe with a “blade” (like a windscreen wiper) to speed up the drying process, and get the dirt off without needing tons and tons of water.
Walking on the now-clean teak whilst it's drying means you lose the "utterly fab clean new-boat" look, but clean footmarks do evaporate so it's ok, ish.
Now, the teak looks brand new when it dries. Hurrah! Is it clean tho? Get a white tissue and wet it, wipe on a bit of the teak, and the tissue will remain white clean. It's clean enough to eat food from.
7. Soon the teak will get filthy and go silvery grey again. Why's that? Well it's cos of the rain, or the air or (mostly) cos you or the crew did it with your feet. In the med, big boats are "no shoes" - you step aboard in bare feet, not deck shoes, not socks, but Bare Feet, even if you charter the boat and pay a zillion pounds a week. All those swanky boats , look at the pics closely and none are wearing shoes. Ok, on some they ARE wearing shoes, but they are either deck pumps (that always stay on the clean deck) or nitwits.
8. To keep the deck clean, I'm afraid that you need to try a bit harder than you are doing. You have a deck that is utterly clean and visibly so, like white carpet. But the pontoon is filthy. It's like having muddy garden path and muddy driveway, and white carpet indoors. You need to instigate a regime to limit the dirt arriving on board.
Clean the pontoon where you step aboard for a start, using 2-part teak cleaner again, and this time use a brush cos it will be filthy, it’s already ridged, and erm, it’s not your expensive boat.
If the quayside of you normal berth is concrete, clean and then paint it with garage floor paint. Put a mat down on the quayside for changing shoes. The mat will fly away in high wind so make sure you have spare mats and take it up before a gale. I lose about one mat per year, mebbe two. If you can't be shoes-off on board the boat cos in the uk it's cold, have one pair of shoes for schlepping over to the car park etc. and dedicated shoes on board that are only for on board, never ashore.
9. Knackered ridgy teak. Teak feels as hard as nails – dense and unyielding- but is actually quite susceptible to being washed away, perhaps like very weak concrete.
To keep it from disintgrating, you need to never clean it and never wash it, and never step on it and keep it covered ! - but this aint possible on a boat. A winter cover (over the whiole boat or at least over the teak) makes it last longer. If you have bare teak indoors perhaps in a wheelhouse, and also outdoors on the deck, you'll see how the indoor stuff stays new and flat and not-ridgy for much longer. The rain does this – it’s a moderate jetwash that happens lots of times per year. So, if you had a cover, or individual covers for bits of the deck, your teak won't go ridgy anywhere near as quickly. The cover needs to allow air to circulate to stop it going mouldy a bit, but never with rain landing on it. Le Grand Bleue is Abramovich’s ugly ship with loads of playtime boats incl a big 70 foot powerboat - and the first such boat (Sirius) had individual canvas /Sunbrella covers for the teak held down with poppers when owners aren’t on board - and the teak is lovely, even after a several years.
10. Sanding the teak. Yeah, well, you need a machine to do this, and make it flat. Easy to decsribe, hard to do and makes a right mess. Once the teak is flat, you can make it smooth with finer and finer sanding, tho it will be slippery if you go on too long. It will need sanding eventually. Be very very careful with a beltsander cos it will eat a lot of material very quickly: much safer is an orbital sander with about the grittiest grit you can find: yeah, 40 grit might feel awful to your hands but it still takes a while to get the teak flat. First off, the sander dances around as it “grabs” on the raised black caulking. Then, it starts at the hard raised ridges but it still takes time even with 40grit. Get a decent machine with lots of watts – the £12 850w units aren’t good enuf and get groaningly slowed down.
Its ok to leave it a bit de-ridged rather than grind down to "new" – clean as above and you still have newe looking deck with far less ridges than before. Professionals seem to insist on whamming it down to “new wood all over” which must use more material and limit the number of times you can sand.
11 Finally, about the semco and other protective coverings again: at the cost of it looking like real natural teak, these stop dirt from entering the grain. So, it's sort-of protecting the teak for the next owner of the boat. I spose you could use these over winter, that would be okay. But would a top-class superyacht or classic racer use these protecvtive finishes, or teak? No they blimmin well wouldn't, they'd be chucked out of st tropez and the skipper doomed to everlasting ridicule! Teak means teak.
AOWYN
Well-Known Member
Nigel L helped me out on this a couple of years ago.
Mix a bit of caustic soda with some water and household bleach plus a couple of drops of washing up liquid. (All the usual caveats apply about mixing the chemicals, gloves, glasses etc etc)
Slosh around over the teak I use a brush, yes I know that I shouldn't but I do, and hose off with a lot of water.
What proportions I asked him? - just try it he said, the key is lots of water from a hose, not a pressure washer.
Very cheap, very effective.
The teak on my boat is still half an inch thick after 25 years, so I am not too worried about using a soft brush on it, or even a hard brush in places, as I am sure that it will see me out. If you have only a few mm of teak to start with then maybe the cheap approach is not for you, but on the east coast the decks are a mess after the damp winters so the 50p per clean per annum route suits me. It is a very satisfying job, one of the few that really shows a difference but with very little effort, unlike polishing the hull!!!!
PS The caustic soda crystals cost pennies, but it came in a red plastic bottle which looked very like a plastic container of salt, so don't leave it in the galley (unless you are taking your lawyer sailing with you)
Mix a bit of caustic soda with some water and household bleach plus a couple of drops of washing up liquid. (All the usual caveats apply about mixing the chemicals, gloves, glasses etc etc)
Slosh around over the teak I use a brush, yes I know that I shouldn't but I do, and hose off with a lot of water.
What proportions I asked him? - just try it he said, the key is lots of water from a hose, not a pressure washer.
Very cheap, very effective.
The teak on my boat is still half an inch thick after 25 years, so I am not too worried about using a soft brush on it, or even a hard brush in places, as I am sure that it will see me out. If you have only a few mm of teak to start with then maybe the cheap approach is not for you, but on the east coast the decks are a mess after the damp winters so the 50p per clean per annum route suits me. It is a very satisfying job, one of the few that really shows a difference but with very little effort, unlike polishing the hull!!!!
PS The caustic soda crystals cost pennies, but it came in a red plastic bottle which looked very like a plastic container of salt, so don't leave it in the galley (unless you are taking your lawyer sailing with you)
lackey
New Member
The best way to clean teak decks is to go to sea.
If, on the other hand you can't go to sea but have to present a tidy looking ship to the mother-in-law, boss, new lover, etc, then the LAST thing to use are so-called teak cleaners.
Go to the supermarket and buy a 1 kg pack of Napisan or similar diaper cleaning kit. Wet the deck and sprinkle with Napisan. Then with a soft broom, spread the stuff around.
Hose off.
If that hasn't worked then you will have to go to sea.
If, on the other hand you can't go to sea but have to present a tidy looking ship to the mother-in-law, boss, new lover, etc, then the LAST thing to use are so-called teak cleaners.
Go to the supermarket and buy a 1 kg pack of Napisan or similar diaper cleaning kit. Wet the deck and sprinkle with Napisan. Then with a soft broom, spread the stuff around.
Hose off.
If that hasn't worked then you will have to go to sea.
DeeGee
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
The best way to clean teak decks is to go to sea.
[/ QUOTE ]Takes a bit more than that, I find. Go to sea will help prevent algae, and will kill what you have got, but it takes a bit of brushing (ACROSS the grain) to actually clean it off. Hate to say it, but TCM has outlined a truly sensible approach, esp after the winter, when it is really 'orrible. I have tried most approaches, and I still use a v soft brush on the end of my Surehold stick, but am going to try using a sponge, as my deck is now somewhat more ridged than I would really like - mind you, great antislip characteristics !!
(One thing they told me at Sika was do NOT use bleach, Sikaflex does not like bleach. Some builders are using black silicone nowadays which apparently doesn't give a toss about bleach). /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
The best way to clean teak decks is to go to sea.
[/ QUOTE ]Takes a bit more than that, I find. Go to sea will help prevent algae, and will kill what you have got, but it takes a bit of brushing (ACROSS the grain) to actually clean it off. Hate to say it, but TCM has outlined a truly sensible approach, esp after the winter, when it is really 'orrible. I have tried most approaches, and I still use a v soft brush on the end of my Surehold stick, but am going to try using a sponge, as my deck is now somewhat more ridged than I would really like - mind you, great antislip characteristics !!
(One thing they told me at Sika was do NOT use bleach, Sikaflex does not like bleach. Some builders are using black silicone nowadays which apparently doesn't give a toss about bleach). /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Plan_B
Well-Known Member
Re: updated teak
Wanna earn 5 bob TCM - your obviously the man - my dirty worn out deck is moored at Dartmouth !!
Regards
Dave D
Wanna earn 5 bob TCM - your obviously the man - my dirty worn out deck is moored at Dartmouth !!
Regards
Dave D
ParaHandy
Well-Known Member
Re: updated teak
brilliant .... and many thanks ...
brilliant .... and many thanks ...
cardinal_mark
Well-Known Member
Re: updated teak
TCM - this is brill, thanks!
Just one question before I plunge in and wreck my pride and joy. I noticed you mentioned the alluminum etc but how important is that you avoid splashing the chemicals on the coachroof etc? Is it necessary to mask these areas or are the chemicals safe on the gel?
Cheers
Mark
TCM - this is brill, thanks!
Just one question before I plunge in and wreck my pride and joy. I noticed you mentioned the alluminum etc but how important is that you avoid splashing the chemicals on the coachroof etc? Is it necessary to mask these areas or are the chemicals safe on the gel?
Cheers
Mark
Steve Clayton
Well-Known Member
Teak cleaning
Totally agree with what previous posters have said. I still have lots of the part 1 and 2 components on board but I was shown something I've found to be much better. Believe it or not dishwasher powder, mixed with warm water to a slippery consistency, and applied in the way other posters have indicated is FANTASTIC.
Totally agree with what previous posters have said. I still have lots of the part 1 and 2 components on board but I was shown something I've found to be much better. Believe it or not dishwasher powder, mixed with warm water to a slippery consistency, and applied in the way other posters have indicated is FANTASTIC.
BlueChip
Well-Known Member
Re: Teak cleaning
I've used the 2 part Wessex chemical approach and wasn't very impressed. The results were nowhere near as good as I expected and yet I followed TCM's instructions to the letter.
I was also very unhappy to find after I had finished, that one of the components had slightly etched the frames of my Lewmar ports and left some nasty marks, I was very carefull to rinse off well afterwards as well
The two part approach took a fair time to complete (37') and IMHO the results are not as good as I achieve using a regular Oxalic acid cleaner
I've used the 2 part Wessex chemical approach and wasn't very impressed. The results were nowhere near as good as I expected and yet I followed TCM's instructions to the letter.
I was also very unhappy to find after I had finished, that one of the components had slightly etched the frames of my Lewmar ports and left some nasty marks, I was very carefull to rinse off well afterwards as well
The two part approach took a fair time to complete (37') and IMHO the results are not as good as I achieve using a regular Oxalic acid cleaner
Swagman
Well-Known Member
Re: Teak cleaning
[ QUOTE ]
Totally agree with what previous posters have said. I still have lots of the part 1 and 2 components on board but I was shown something I've found to be much better. Believe it or not dishwasher powder, mixed with warm water to a slippery consistency, and applied in the way other posters have indicated is FANTASTIC.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hi Steve,
Congratulations on getting legal - trust it all goes well.
Just before all rush out and use dishwasher powder - please check if you have paintwork that could be splashed by this mix. A few years back I mistakenly used some in water to clean a car windscreen - and ended up scarring the paintwork.
I suspect it has a caustic acid content which would may not harm grp and will bleach wood - but it could harm paintwork.
I personally took the earlier advice from TCM and have used the two step approach from Wessex Chemnicals in Poole - perfect results.
Cheers
JOHN
[ QUOTE ]
Totally agree with what previous posters have said. I still have lots of the part 1 and 2 components on board but I was shown something I've found to be much better. Believe it or not dishwasher powder, mixed with warm water to a slippery consistency, and applied in the way other posters have indicated is FANTASTIC.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hi Steve,
Congratulations on getting legal - trust it all goes well.
Just before all rush out and use dishwasher powder - please check if you have paintwork that could be splashed by this mix. A few years back I mistakenly used some in water to clean a car windscreen - and ended up scarring the paintwork.
I suspect it has a caustic acid content which would may not harm grp and will bleach wood - but it could harm paintwork.
I personally took the earlier advice from TCM and have used the two step approach from Wessex Chemnicals in Poole - perfect results.
Cheers
JOHN
Genoa
Well-Known Member
Re: Teak cleaning
Follow on question :
I've never recaulked my production boat teak deck, but the kids have manged to pick some of it out. What is the best easy repair for redoing the cockpit area?
Follow on question :
I've never recaulked my production boat teak deck, but the kids have manged to pick some of it out. What is the best easy repair for redoing the cockpit area?
tcm
...
Re: Teak cleaning
there's a sikkens black mastic product for caulking, ask at chandlers, buy masking tape as well tho, mask off the teak either side and the areas of good caulk and the gloops and press the gear in, leaving the surface proud of other teak/rubber. The next day it's gone rubbery and you can cut excess off with a single side razor blade or similar. Use gloves cos it's black and gungy.
I'll probly get done over for this post too :-(
there's a sikkens black mastic product for caulking, ask at chandlers, buy masking tape as well tho, mask off the teak either side and the areas of good caulk and the gloops and press the gear in, leaving the surface proud of other teak/rubber. The next day it's gone rubbery and you can cut excess off with a single side razor blade or similar. Use gloves cos it's black and gungy.
I'll probly get done over for this post too :-(
Genoa
Well-Known Member
Re: Teak cleaning
thats the next bank holiday gone then ....
thanks.
thats the next bank holiday gone then ....
thanks.
carben
Well-Known Member
Re: Teak cleaning
The best, easiest repair after your kids picked the caulking out? Make them put it back in. No TV until they have.
It doesn't get much easier than that. Not necessarily quiet, but character-forming. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
The best, easiest repair after your kids picked the caulking out? Make them put it back in. No TV until they have.
It doesn't get much easier than that. Not necessarily quiet, but character-forming. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
