Teak refinishing tips wanted!

[Buck Turgidson]

The picture tells the story. That deck gear had been on for 52 years and is about to be replaced. I'm going to drill and plug the screw holes (especially the one with half a bronze screw in it!). But are there any tips for evening out the colour? The uncovered areas have obviously been bleached over the years and the areas under the winches were almost a mm raised compared to the rest. I have already stripped and sanded this once but ran out of time so slapped a couple of coats of rapid clear over it for protection. Will be back in a month or so to prep and install new winches and cleats so before then I need the best advice as to how to get it all looking the same without ripping 1/4 inch off the top surface if possible?
This is all outside my area of expertise so all advice is truly welcome. This granny has never sucked an egg in her life.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

A suggestion, don't know if it will work and you may not like the extra work. Sand it back to bare wood and bleach with oxalic acid perhaps more times in the darker areas and see if it all evens out, at least it should reduce the contrast a bit.

 

[Tranona]

I think you will struggle to get rid of that dark patch. Remove the 1mm (with a plane?) and see what it is like. I have redone nearly all my teak on my GH and heat gun, Bahco scraper and sanding got it good enough for me. However bleach or oxalid acid will help remove the next level of staining. bleach is milder and I used that on the teak and holly sole boards, again to acceptable, not perfect because there were so many dings and scrapes. First photo gives some idea of the original condition. Second is finished - 5 coats of Woodskin.

 

[burgundyben]

If the teak is thick enough I'd hit it with some 40 grit discs in a sander with vacumn extractor.

 

[sv_telemachus]

I think you will struggle to get rid of that dark patch. Remove the 1mm (with a plane?) and see what it is like. I have redone nearly all my teak on my GH and heat gun, Bahco scraper and sanding got it good enough for me. However bleach or oxalid acid will help remove the next level of staining. bleach is milder and I used that on the teak and holly sole boards, again to acceptable, not perfect because there were so many dings and scrapes. First photo gives some idea of the original condition. Second is finished - 5 coats of Woodskin.

How are you finding the Woodskin? Mixed reviews on here.

 

[Tranona]

OK. Been using it for 20 years or so. Dulls after 3 or 4 years, quicker on horizontal surfaces than vertical. Not very good with abrasion from ropes, so on my last boat I had appropriate anti chafe pads (mostly brass strip). Will do the same on the new boat as I find where the chafe points are. Suspect a rub down and refresh after 3 years then a strip and refinish after 2 cycles of refresh - but I shall be gone by then probably! Certainly not owning a boat.

Overall I think it is a good compromise if you are happy not having a high gloss finish. However if I had really good wood and a longer term view I think I would use Sikkens Cetol HLS/No7 2 part system which I used for the timber fascias on my house and more importantly on the beautiful Douglass Fir mast on a previous boat. first photo is the mast as it was finished and second the boat it was on. \at the time of the photo much of the Woodskin was over 10 years old with one partial refresh. However it was partly undercover for much of the time.