New Teak Deck Oil or Not

[Harry Brown]

A friend of mine is at the final stages of having a new teak deck fitted.
The fitter wants to apply an initial coat of teak oil to finish.
Can someone please advise if this should be done or not?
Thanks.

 

[johnlilley]

Hmmm....oil will make it look attractive but it will also be very slippery until the oil has fully soaked in and weathered...back to square one. Practicality versus cosmetic appeal. However, silvered clean teak has its own appeal.

 

[pvb]

No!!! Don't ever put teak oil on it, it's horrible stuff. If you treat it a couple of times a year with Boracol, it'll stay clean looking and naturally weather to a silvery colour. If you want it to stay golden coloured, apply Semco Teak Sealer ("Natural" shade). But don't use oil.

 

[jwilson]

In general, no: Boracol or Patio Magic will keep it silvery grey, Semco will keep it golden. I have known one owner who oiled his deck every year for 40 years, the teak was still sound but almost the same black as the caulking. Whatever you do don't scrub it hard, the stiffest brush you should let near it is a soft paintbrush or a deckbrush with silky soft head.

I have also heard stories of oil softening the caulking: maybe dependent on what caulking compound and what oil. Stuff sold as "Teak oil" is usually mostly linseed oil, there is actually no such thing as teak oil.

 

[CrikeyChris]

I agree with the comments above. I applied teak oil to my cockpit last year - it looked very smart but quickly detoriated. Little flecks of black appeared in the grain.

 

[pandroid]

No!!! Don't ever put teak oil on it, it's horrible stuff. If you treat it a couple of times a year with Boracol, it'll stay clean looking and naturally weather to a silvery colour. If you want it to stay golden coloured, apply Semco Teak Sealer ("Natural" shade). But don't use oil.

+1. Never in a million years. If don't have a decent toerail, the rain will wash the oil out down the sides of the boat and you will be forever cleaning it out of the gelcoat. Ask me how I know...

 

[longjohnsilver]

No!!! Don't ever put teak oil on it, it's horrible stuff. If you treat it a couple of times a year with Boracol, it'll stay clean looking and naturally weather to a silvery colour. If you want it to stay golden coloured, apply Semco Teak Sealer ("Natural" shade). But don't use oil.

Completely agree. The only teak oil I use outside is Stabrite Tropical, but never on my teak decks. Many other oils look good initially but soon attract dirt and turn black.

 

[Rigger]

I’ve just had a new teak deck fitted by TLC in Conwy, and am really pleased with it. The advice from Barry Lovell couldn’t be more clear- NEVER put teak oil on it! Boracol once or twice a year applied with a sponge is the absolute maximum you should apply. Otherwise treat it with kid gloves!

 

[maby]

Definitely Semco - but go for the colourless version - that will keep your teak looking clean and more or less new for a year. I really don't like the silver weathered look.

 

[howardclark]

Had my deck replaced 10 years ago - allowed to go grey- absolutely agree avoid oil- just spray a couple of times a year with a dilute solution of Benzalkonium chloride, usually identified as BAC or BZK. Easy to find on internet and much lower cost than the branded items mentioned. I have a fair sized deck and it costs about £15 pa and easily applied with a pump up garden sprayer. This keeps the green at bay! Alternatively wash deck with salt water regularly or keep sailing!

 

[pvb]

absolutely agree avoid oil- just spray a couple of times a year with a dilute solution of Benzalkonium chloride, usually identified as BAC or BZK. Easy to find on internet and much lower cost than the branded items mentioned.

The advantage of paying a bit more for Boracol is that it also contains disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, a good fungicide and wood preservative. Much of the "dirt" which people see on their teak decks isn't dirt, it's tiny mould spores. Boracol helps to keep those at bay. I had an HR352 for almost 20 years, and Boracol kept the deck looking smart, which is why Hallberg-Rassy recommend Boracol. Incidentally, Boracol is also excellent for keeping sprayhoods clean.

 

[ashtead]

Plus 1 for Senco but if doing decks I would suggest a couple of crew help to keep it looking good unless you have plenty of spare time. We Senco our rails and capping which is fine but doing the decks ever 6 months or so might become a chore.

 

[Harry Brown]

Thanks for all the replies. No oil it is then! :encouragement:

 

[maby]

Plus 1 for Senco but if doing decks I would suggest a couple of crew help to keep it looking good unless you have plenty of spare time. We Senco our rails and capping which is fine but doing the decks ever 6 months or so might become a chore.

Semco is very fast to apply. Once or twice per year, we wash the teak cockpit floor with a very mild soap and a mop - no brush! We rinse it well, let it dry, then apply one coat of Semco clear with a soft sponge.

 

[KellysEye]

Teak oil contains Linseeed oil and it goes black caused by UV damage as we found I wouldn't use it agan. I had to sand to all the teak to get it back to normal. One other issue is we had a teak deck on our a steel boat and I got it removed because I was worried about corrosion when taken off the boat was two inches higher in the water.

 

[Fabiancsl]

This thread has been most helpful, but almost unanimously seems to vote against oiling

from what i gather it seems the main arguments against oiling are it making the deck slippery, it potentially rinsing out & retaining more dirt

are there any succes stories from oiling decks that just havent commented yet?