Teak decks - any one tried this before

are we getting "annular rings" IE seasons growth (summer & winter) from previous years with "Sap wood" this being the newer growth on the outer circumference of the tree & not generally used in high quality hardwoods /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
It's still softer timber no matter how old it is . It's the nature of the beast .
Or are you refering to the cambiun layer ? Then i would agree it is a bad cut /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
hum, well loads of advice here, some good and some quite bad.

1. Your teak decks will last less long if you pressure wash them. In the limit, if you wanted to remove the teak deck fairly painlessly - using a pressure washer could be one way of doing it.

2. From even simple common sense - putting oil on teak deck is a bit stupid innit? Think about it - is it going to reduce or improve grip, hm? of course, it's going to reduce it if anything. Teak oil (if you like) can be used on any teak that you don't stand on, ever.

3. It is not hard to keep raw/natural teak decks looking clean. You need the correct 2-part chemicals such wessex chemicals and cleaning tools, and hosepipe, and half an hour. Once cleaned and new-brown, an interim clean can be done with dishwasher powder to retain new-teak brown appearance.

4. The length of time the teak decks remain clean depends on their environment. For longest life and longest-lasting clean, teak under cover wil stay cleanest and least ridgy. Observe boat with bimini - cockpit has nicer teak than side decks cos cockpit is protectd from direct whack of rain which itself is like mild jetwash.

5. For a boat in normal use, pretty much anything washed gently over teak will be better than nothing at all, Seawater, whatever. But the grey-silver appearance means there is fine cack in there. Antimould stuff simply stops mould growing, i spect dilute bleach would do the same, and salty water would make lifeles easy for greenish growth.

6 There's no problem in letting the teak go silvery, really. But clean teak is one indication that there are few if any aspects of the ship that are not under control. There are similarities elsewhere - it doesn't really make any difference to the type of job theycould do if a mechanic has no clean overalls, nor than a pofessional cricketer has no clean white trousers, nor that a business person or teacher hasn't had a shave for a few days. But generally, those on top of their game get the easy stuff right.
 
After final fitting of my teak cockpit I had various smears of sikaflex, sweat, blood and tears so I thought I'd try the tcm method of two part cleaner/brightener and general swooshing about with mop and water. Not only does it work (expected) but it's dead easy (unexpected).

Thanx.
 
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hum, well loads of advice here, some good and some quite bad.


2. From even simple common sense - putting oil on teak deck is a bit stupid innit? Think about it - is it going to reduce or improve grip, hm? of course, it's going to reduce it if anything. Teak oil (if you like) can be used on any teak that you don't stand on, ever.

Not necessarily stupid but thanks anyway!

One of teaks properties is that it is naturaly oily despite this, it is still the best slip resistant surface for decks.

To keep a teak deck in good condition, common sense would suggest that it is necessary to maintain the timbers natural properties.

Cleaning it with the chemicals you suggest removes the natural oils and leaves the surface (at least) dry.

How do you then restore and maintain the surface to stop it drying out and spliting?
 
Made by Wessex Chemicals, doesnt necessarily mean its nasty to teak - it isnt.
Another fully satisfied customer and acolyte of the tcm school of teak cleaning.
In fact, I copied and pasted the original tcm teak cleaning thread, of which this is just a pale imitation, and can PM it to you over the weekend if you like.
 
I have tried the wessex chemical method, I was satisfied but concerned about the aggressive nature of the chemicals especially with regard to aluminium fittings.

I recently used a surface biocide and wash as recommended by HR and others. The result is similar though much easier to achieve.

Both methods leave the surface of the teak dry.

I was enquiring if anyone had oiled their decks after cleaning, to restore the original properties of the teak.
 
hi, sorry bit strong with "stupid".

I wd say that yep, the surface is indeed "dry" when clean but the teak doesn't split as a result. Teak is tight grained and cleaning the outside (of most wood actually) doesn't mean all the oils are stripped out.

"Replacing" all the wood oils will be a bit tough, there aren't loads of oils as though a sponge and the wood is dimensionally fairly stable once seasoned, and with chucking loads of oil on you risk making the wood swell. Get some teak, oil it normally, and then saw it in half. I wd be surprised if the oil has penetrated more than a millimetre. Oiling teak is a surface treatment, primarily decorative. Yep, it's a bit sort-of protective i suppose. But it hardly penetrates the wood, a bit more but not much more than varnish or gloss paint.

Put it another way, i had teak stuff and oiled it, but it split. And also had loads of teak not split, but never oiled it.

But i agree that oiling teak *sounds* a rational thing to do, somehow. Hence i had teak deck about twenty years ago, put loads of lovely teak oil on it, then some more and then more after that. It was on a slight slope ...and sheesh it was slippery! It took me months of all sorts of stuff to get it off...
 
the Cambium Layer is the part of the tree that the sap rises in ( just under the bark- from memory some 45 yrs ago @ cambridge tech - now the university of east anglia /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif).
its only the "Heart Wood" that is used in the Finest Grades of Hardwood.
the area you quote is the spring growth of the anular rings its the autumn anular rings that are the densenst area of growth in a tree
 
I agree but the Heart wood is still made up of early wood and late wood , so you still have softer timber there that a jet wash will wear away first leaving a ridged effect .
 
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