Teak Sealer choice

[Fire99]

Hi all,

Now I'm sure this issue is as contentious and divisive as politics but I've just refinished the bow area of my teak deck and it's now looking nice and smooth etc. However, due to various issues I'm going to treat the teak with a sealer. I see that Semco is popular as is Starbrite etc but the look that appeals to me is pretty much what it looks like when wet. A satin sheen with a darker colour. I've seen the natural Semco colour (neighbouring boat) and it looks yellow and very flat to me so not really my bag..

So any recommendations folks for the 'wet look darker shade'?

cheers,

Nick

 

[tico]

Semco do a number of different shades - whatever floats your boat! Only caveat is that on decks you will have to keep redoing it.
My neighbour's immaculate Nimbus has Semco on the deck and he has to recoat about every month as it wears,

 

[Fire99]

Semco do a number of different shades - whatever floats your boat! Only caveat is that on decks you will have to keep redoing it.
My neighbour's immaculate Nimbus has Semco on the deck and he has to recoat about every month as it wears,

Thanks.. I see they have a few shades.. Once a month is a touch brutal.. But then the natural grey look is a bit poop to my eyes..

 

[ST840]

Thanks.. I see they have a few shades.. Once a month is a touch brutal.. But then the natural grey look is a bit poop to my eyes..

I put semco on my teak, lasted about 3 weeks. I'm not bothering to do it again.

 

[rafiki_]

Semco do a number of different shades - whatever floats your boat! Only caveat is that on decks you will have to keep redoing it.
My neighbour's immaculate Nimbus has Semco on the deck and he has to recoat about every month as it wears,

Agreed. She could is the sealer of choice on this forum, as specified by JFM.

 

[Greg2]

There was Semco on our Hardy when we bought it - it is generally regarded as being the best but choose the shade carefully as our decks were a horrible yellow. We re-did it with natural, which we have used on previous boats and it looked a lot better but as has been pointed out it wears and needs re-doing and in low footfall areas it builds up.

We have decided not to do it again and it is slowly going grey, which looks fine in my eyes and a very light salt or fresh water scrub periodically is all it needs.

 

[ashtead]

The view on super yachts tends to be twice a year as a minimum for decks - we just useSemco natural for capping ,rails sand tow rail but the rail does need patching when some foreign raider puts a line over it when mooring alongside,otherwise it’s fine. Personally if I bought a boat with teak decks I would budget to replace it with Flexiteak but maybe the OP decks are more robust/new.

 

[Rappey]

A boat I often see is a semco fanatic. It's at the point where the teak now looks like a slab of plastic due to many coats. Kind of defeats the object of having wood ?
But then another boat has huge slabs of teak and the guy is very ocd keeping everything immaculate. I asked him what he puts on his teak and he told me it's synthetic ?.
Looked more real than real teak !
I've tried so many things on my teak cockpit seats over the past 30 years and finally concluded I've wasted far to much of my life making teak look amazing for a while before the coating fails and it looks worse than ever. It took 6 years before the last bit of coating flaked off and now im accepting grey .

 

[ashtead]

We opted for synthetic teak from new after seeing another yacht with a retrofit version. Clearly it’s not cheap but easy to maintain although I wouldn’t have on coachroof. Many cannot tell it’s not real.

 

[petem]

My recommendation is Semco at the start of the season and clothes washing powder to keep it clean mid season.

 

[Fire99]

Thanks guys.. My decks are 20 years old but after a bit of sanding by myself the foredeck is looking all smooth and smashing (The teak is pretty thick on these). I admit if I had to replace I would go for 'fake teak' asI'm neither that much of a purist and I'm not someone who actually enjoys cleaning and polishing. I do it because I have to.
I may give a fairly dark shade Semco a go on this area and see how I get on. Maybe I'm unusual but I actually think Teak looks best when its wet (dark coloured and shiny) but then it looks like varnished planking rather than Teak. haha

 

[Portofino]

I get great once a season results with this - Products | Teak Wonder

Like most boaty things it’s technique sensitive, not as bad as copper coat or velux , but similarly you have to follow the instructions.Not just do what you think slap it one missing stages etc .

Stage 1 clean scrub it with sea water then fresh .You need to properly get the dirt out .
Stage 2 the acid brighter really works with plenty of fresh water to rinse off .
Stage 3 the thread title = seal it .We wait until it’s bone dry ( easy in the med sun ) then apply 4 coats , yes four .
Each dry between the other .

Theres no point sealing over dirt or damp .


Top LHS corner the boat with the Seadoo ……his lasted a month what ever it was .
This still glows right up to Feb .
Pontoon is the control .
I think it’s the 4 coats of sealer stops re entry of dirt .I think I’ve mastered it in 17 yrs in the Med .

 

[Portofino]

My recommendation is Semco at the start of the season and clothes washing powder to keep it clean mid season.

Makes contradictory no sense ……so the stuff hasn’t sealed ? Dirts re entered requiring further detergent clean ups .
Had it just dyed it then ?


Mine just gets a hose down , rain or wash from the stern wake every time we go out .It’s sealed dirts naturally washes away with what ever water inc sea .

 

[Fire99]

I get great once a season results with this - Products | Teak Wonder

Like most boaty things it’s technique sensitive, not as bad as copper coat or velux , but similarly you have to follow the instructions.Not just do what you think slap it one missing stages etc .

Stage 1 clean scrub it with sea water then fresh .You need to properly get the dirt out .
Stage 2 the acid brighter really works with plenty of fresh water to rinse off .
Stage 3 the thread title = seal it .We wait until it’s bone dry ( easy in the med sun ) then apply 4 coats , yes four .
Each dry between the other .

Theres no point sealing over dirt or damp .

View attachment 141019
Top LHS corner the boat with the Seadoo ……his lasted a month what ever it was .
This still glows right up to Feb .
Pontoon is the control .
I think it’s the 4 coats of sealer stops re entry of dirt .I think I’ve mastered it in 17 yrs in the Med .

I like that.. The colour is good too. Not bile yellow that some look like.

 

[petem]

Makes contradictory no sense ……so the stuff hasn’t sealed ? Dirts re entered requiring further detergent clean ups .
Had it just dyed it then ?

Mine just gets a hose down , rain or wash from the stern wake every time we go out .It’s sealed dirts naturally washes away with what ever water inc sea .

Even peanut marks?

 

[Portofino]

Even peanut marks?

Folks sit on it lathered up in sun cream / oil . Haven’t noticed anything.

If I had to prioritise one stage it would be the first cleaning , that’s so important.It real planks if that makes a difference?
Should work I think on reg veneers.
Not sure about sanding mentioned by few ^^^ ?? I have never sanded mine just cleaned .

As said 4 coats of sealer instead of one might be the secret of its longevity.

 

[petem]

Folks sit on it lathered up in sun cream / oil . Haven’t noticed anything.

If I had to prioritise one stage it would be the first cleaning , that’s so important.It real planks if that makes a difference?
Should work I think on reg veneers.
Not sure about sanding mentioned by few ^^^ ?? I have never sanded mine just cleaned .

As said 4 coats of sealer instead of one might be the secret of its longevity.

Multiple coats would definitely help I think. If TeakWonder works for you then that's great.

But the peanut test is the only true test !

 

[[2574]]

Boracol once a year and water - salt water when sailing, fresh water when it rains!