Teak deck splinters

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rolf.nielsen

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Kids started to get teak splinters being barefoot on the flybridge on my '90 Grand Banks 36. Perhaps the teak deck needs some servicing, but Google has surprisingly not been very helpful specifically with a problem of splinters. Can a deck be sanded lightly without damaging the silicone for a light servicing, or will a full Monty be needed, in which case I suppose I need to call in the professionals?
 
Light sanding will be OK. With that age boat, assuming it is the original deck is likely to be showing wear and aggressive sanding could start to loosen plugs in the screw holes. If in doubt call in a professional as any serious work on such decks can be very expensive.
 
I am about to start work on my decking in an hour or so (or tomorrow).

Worst case scenerio, you could just loosen the plugs, unscrew and replace the whole thing - but I don't know where you can buy them from.

I'm going to use an orbital sander tomorrow with 80G paper briefly, then 160G and finish off with 300G
 
JollyRodgers said:
I am about to start work on my decking in an hour or so (or tomorrow).

Worst case scenerio, you could just loosen the plugs, unscrew and replace the whole thing - but I don't know where you can buy them from.

I'm going to use an orbital sander tomorrow with 80G paper briefly, then 160G and finish off with 300G
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You can make your own plugs or buy them ready made from Howells. Problem is if there is wear the plug can be tooshallow so you may need to remove the screw, bore a bit deeper and replace the screw. OK if your teak is deep enough.
 
rolf.nielsen said:
Kids started to get teak splinters being barefoot on the flybridge on my '90 Grand Banks 36. Perhaps the teak deck needs some servicing, but Google has surprisingly not been very helpful specifically with a problem of splinters. Can a deck be sanded lightly without damaging the silicone for a light servicing, or will a full Monty be needed, in which case I suppose I need to call in the professionals?
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I have no idea with your mention of "silicone" ? if you mean caulking, yes it can be sanded. Although teak has grains that are soft as well as a harder grain within their make up, i am supprised splinters are being a problem. Not knowing your boat or it's true wood material it is difficult to answer. For me the wood is better left on the deck rather than be in a dust bag from sanding, lighter the sanding the better.
 
Tranona said:
You can make your own plugs or buy them ready made from Howells. Problem is if there is wear the plug can be tooshallow so you may need to remove the screw, bore a bit deeper and replace the screw. OK if your teak is deep enough.
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Sounds interesting. You got a link to the plugs?

I just had a quick sand up. Didnt want to be out there too long or do too much incase I p*ssed people off with dusty wood flying around or making a noise.

Ignore picture quality and mess. Was just taking this picture to send to the girlfriend.

It has come out pretty nicely I think. REALLY smooth and looks much better. I'll go over all of the wood tomorrow and then I guess before I next come back will try and find some good teak cleaner to go over it and restore the natural colour and stop it from getting ruined again.

The patch in the picture only took perhaps 1-2 mins. I used an 80G, then 120G then finished up on a either 260 or 300 cant remember which number it was, but it was a very fine paper.

f9pxDbq.jpg
 
www.kjhowells.com for all things teak. Located in Poole but do mail order.

BTW if that were my boat, I would not be using a sander, but would clean that dirt off with a good teak cleaner. Plenty available from chandlers - I use one from Wessex Chemicals. Stocked by Force 4. Only sand it the teak has worn unevenly. You only have to do sanding with 80 grit and your teak will disappear. You can never keep the colour you have sanded to, but annual treatment with Patio Magic or Boracol will reduce the dirt and mould so that you can keep it clean with regular washing.
 
Tranona said:
www.kjhowells.com for all things teak. Located in Poole but do mail order.

BTW if that were my boat, I would not be using a sander, but would clean that dirt off with a good teak cleaner. Plenty available from chandlers - I use one from Wessex Chemicals. Stocked by Force 4. Only sand it the teak has worn unevenly. You only have to do sanding with 80 grit and your teak will disappear. You can never keep the colour you have sanded to, but annual treatment with Patio Magic or Boracol will reduce the dirt and mould so that you can keep it clean with regular washing.
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The way I was looking at it was, it's just wood at the end of the day. The wood that is on there currently hasn't ever been looked after in around 30 years by the looks of things and has lots of grime and **** on and it's all uneven and not flat and basically not smooth. If I take 2-3mm off the top and give it a nice smooth finish and get it back to it's original (somewhat) colour, then run a teak cleaner over the top to help protect it and shine it up, then what's the harm? Atleast this way is quick and will give all of the wood the same level/smoothness and colour.

If I end up taking too much off (very unlikely) then I can just buy new wood and install that.
 
JollyRodgers said:
If I end up taking too much off (very unlikely) then I can just buy new wood and install that.
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If it is glued down you will regret that when you come to it! Anything you can do to preserve the original teak is worth it in the long run, although at 30 years it has done well. Hope you don't have a full teak deck as 30 years is normally past its sell by date.
 
Really surprised you are getting splinters. Be very careful with sanding. If the teak is 6mm thick and it costs £10k to replace then sanding 3mm off it is taking £5k worth of deck away. Teak always ends up looking the same and unless you want to dedicate your life to various treatments, cleaning and replacing I would suggest you grow to like the patina of 'aged' teak. A very light go over with sandpaper might help the splinters but I mean light, don't try to change the colour. Then wash it occasionally in sea water with a soft brush. One of the benefits of teak is that the grooves that form in the grain make it very good grip, sand these off and it will be slippy like any other wet wood.
 
Teak splinters very painful. Ask the Dutch how many men died of musket/cannonball/cutlass wounds and how many of poisoning after sea battles - their ships were built of teak sources from their colonies and the effects of splinter wounds were horrific.

Re sanding wood: anything over 180 grit will make the wood too smooth/slippery and is unnecessary, but once wetted the grain will rise and provide grip.
 
Babylon said:
Teak splinters very painful. Ask the Dutch how many men died of musket/cannonball/cutlass wounds and how many of poisoning after sea battles - their ships were built of teak sources from their colonies and the effects of splinter wounds were horrific.

Re sanding wood: anything over 180 grit will make the wood too smooth/slippery and is unnecessary, but once wetted the grain will rise and provide grip.
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If you're going to shoot a cannon at it no wonder it splinters.Their ships were most likely built of oak anyway.
 
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