Restore Teak Cockpit Grating, Seating and Toe Rail Suggestions

[PaulRainbow]

Yes, sorry the way I writ that is confusing.
I am using Sikkkins badged up as Cetol Filter 7 a litre tin was the same price as 500/750?ml of Woodskin from a chandlers, form memory about £16

Thanks Doug, that was how i was expecting it to be. I'm going to try the HLS plus this year, a little less "varnishy" that filter 7, will see how it goes.

 

[Yngmar]

Leaving teak bare is an easy short term solution but long term it makes no sense. My toerails and hand rails, left bare for around ten years, are now half the section they were. The plugs that cover the fixing screws are falling out due to absence of anything to attach to. The wood is deeply grooved as the softer parts of the teak have eroded. I have gone back to Woodskin, which is easy to apply and seems to offer reasonable protection to what remains.

+1 for not leaving it bare. Mine has been bare for 15 years under previous ownership(s) and has weathered a lot as well, the glue for the screw plugs is protruding and some of the deeper ridges have started to crack. Luckily Bavaria put it on plenty thick, so I'm now sanding it down to healthy teak and varnishing with Le Tonkinois. It doesn't matter which product you choose for protecting it (except in ease of application and durability of the protection), but leaving it bare means replacing it all at some point - it will eventually start giving you splinters.

The "teak restorer" products are a bit of a fools game. They make untreated teak look nice for a little while (maybe 3-6 months), but at the cost of further weakening it, and possibly damaging the sealant on the edges, as they have on mine (likely due to improper application, but that can happen). So before I even get to the varnishing, I get the much worse job of scraping out the sealant (it's rubbing off like black chalk) and replacing it. :nonchalance:

I see you've already been sufficiently scolded for powerwashing unprotected timber, so no need to add to that

Today's job - started detail sanding the edge. New caulking in place and top is ready to be sanded as well (the blotchy sealant will simply be sanded off, just like when caulking teak decking, and then varnished over - no problem with Le Tonkinois):

This is the companionway trim I've already done, so in addition to the teak now being protected from the elements, it also looks 10x better:

It helps if you're a bit crazy like me and actually enjoy the zen of varnishing (and then polishing it to a satin gleam). Otherwise just slap on some Woodskin, it'll do ;-)

If you can absolutely not be bothered, you can even apply varnish on top of it as it is (after some cleaning, but without sanding). It'll look darker, much less nice and keep whatever ridges it has, but it'll stop weathering away. The upside of this is that it keeps all of the strength it has left, which may be important for the teak grating, which I've seen break apart on many boats once weathered enough (and that stuff is not cheap to replace).

 

[FWB]

Lots of teak on my boat. I leave it bare and use Patio Magic once a year.