Teak Table Top Tips?

kennyh

kennyh

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Hi all

I am considering buying a folding teak cockpit table for my Prestige 30s to replace the existing GRP one.

The question is.....Is a Teak Table practical bearing in mind it will probably have to deal with Wine / Beer / Olive oil / Balsamic spills?

Does one of these table clean up easily or should I expect it to look somewhat "lived in" after some use?

The table I am planning on purchasing is:

http://www.marineteak.co.uk/nautic-star-circle-55-p.asp

Anyone got one of them; any reviews / thoughts?

Ps. Just been to Monte Carlo today and some stunning MoBo's in the harbour; but somewhat out of my price bracket!!
 
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The best advice is that given by jfm in a previous thread on this subject.

Use Clear Teak Oil!!!!

I have 2 teak tables on the boat in Mallorca where the sun is fierce most of the year.
Each table gets a quick coat of teak oil using a piece of rag once a week. It dries within 30 mins and is ready for use.

If you get any stubborn marks just rub the area with fine sand paper and re-coat with teak oil.
 
jrudge said:
I coated mine with semco this weekend following the same question on the forum a few weeks ago.

Works a treat.
Click to expand...

Used Semco the first season in Mallorca on the tables and decking.

Decking lasted 2 or 3 days and was very slightly slippery and was a big mistake.
Now just clean the decks regularly (well the cleaning team do) and do not treat them.

Tables lasted about 5 days and Semco raised the grain.

jam is the man on this subject.

I believe Semco works very effectively in the UK.
 
I have a Breton teak table from the Onward Trading co in Southampton, excellent.

it is sanded smooth and treated/ sealed with their own oil, I have a pot but I have never used it.

The table has had red wine, beer, food oils, food etc spilled on it, Wipe with a damp cloth, no probs.

Try Onward.
 
Yup, clear teak oil exactly as DougH says. That is, if you want a golden look. This is very much an each to their own question because plenty of people prefer to let teak go pale and weathered, without varnishes or oils. If left bare it will show all the stains you refer to though, whereas oiled teak wont. FWIW my preference is bare teak only on decks, and all my teak furniture etc is oiled or varnished

FWIW, and each to their own, I wouldn't have caulking on a table. That belongs on decks imho. None of those boats you mention in Monaco had caulked joints on their tables, and nor do Azimt, Fairline, Ferretti, Princess, Sunseeker, Sanlorenzo standard tables, to name but a few. The website link you mentioned only does caulked tables, at quite a good price to be fair. If you want quality teak tables without caulking you can try Wattsons in Kettering (most expensive and best); teakdecking.co.uk in Plymouth (also excellent) and Moodys (quite good but not as good as the other two imho, and I've had custom tables made by all three). All have websites easily findable but prices will be 3x the ones on your link

Here is the look you get with oiled teak.
IMG_4949.jpg

IMG_4921.jpg

DSCF3451.jpg
 
I think one of the reasons the maintenance of teak is such a frequent topic, is due to the differences in circumstances in which it is used.

It breaks my heart to apply anything to freshly exposed sanded teak, but in a lot of circumstances protection can be a wise move.

The goal for the teak protection industry is to maintain the look of freshly exposed bare teak, yet protect it from water, stains and UV degrading.

Teak does this all on its own to a point, it has plenty of natural oil within, but this won't last forever, in some case not long at all.

Past a certain point and under the attack of the above, it has a hard job to look good without constant fettle.

There is so much science at play here and it is near impossible to cover every circumstance with a single method or product.

Without doubt the above pictures from JFM show the holy grail of circumstance and the methods suit the circumstances perfectly.
 
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We know the owners of Marine Teak and they are always trying to flog us one of their tables.....all very good natured of course! :)

The tables are very nice, appear to be very well made and they are excellent value for money. The only reason we haven't bought one is because we already have a very nice table that was, we understand, handmade by someone at Brooms. We know lots of people who have bought one and they are all very happy. The Semco solution seems to work well in the UK (I think they supply that as well) - we have used it on our decks and it does a good job but never used it on a table. Been thinking about giving it a try as our table is looking a bit sorry for itself.

Noting JFM's comment about caulking on tables I was of a similar view initially but having seen them on several boats now I have to say that they look rather good. All down to personal taste and maybe the type of boat I guess. They did try a non-caulked version but it was very heavy apparently and I think they decided not to go with it.
 
Marine Reflections said:
It breaks my heart to apply anything to freshly exposed sanded teak...

The goal for the teak protection industry is to maintain the look of freshly exposed bare teak, yet protect it from water, stains and UV degrading.
Click to expand...

That is perhaps a bit of a UK view. Sure, the holy grail would be that product for decks, but not for furniture. While bare teak is "right" on decks, no-one on large yachts uses bare teak for furniture. Teak furniture is invariably oiled or varnished, not bare or Semco-ed, and not caulked. (Caulking is for surfaces where your feet go). Eating from a bare (not even oiled) teak table that shows ring marks of glasses and oil stains from the food spilled during yesterday's lunch etc is surely no-one's idea of fun, even if the teak itself looks fresh and not silvered. You might notice that the classic yachts varnish their dog houses, deck furniture, capping rails and inner face of their bulwarks, and the only thing they leave bare is the deck. That's how it "should" be, though ultimately people can decide their own "shoulds" of course :D
 
The comments on Semco are interesting ... I did ask first!

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?408232-Sealing-teak-tables&highlight=

Now time will tell but the Semco results were impressive with no lifting of the grain - so much so that I was considering treating the flybridge and rear deck - not the sides, bathing platform etc.

This was purely on practical grounds as with 2 kids the decks get crisps, olives and so on them all the time which just leaves marks. We have K2L on board and it works OK but is still effort.

Now I suspect the view is don't do this .... but does anyone have any suggestions of a product that makes the non working teak more durable.

There is a balance between purist and practical!
 
jfm said:
That is perhaps a bit of a UK view. Sure, the holy grail would be that product for decks, but not for furniture. While bare teak is "right" on decks, no-one on large yachts uses bare teak for furniture. Teak furniture is invariably oiled or varnished, not bare or Semco-ed, and not caulked. (Caulking is for surfaces where your feet go). Eating from a bare (not even oiled) teak table that shows ring marks of glasses and oil stains from the food spilled during yesterday's lunch etc is surely no-one's idea of fun, even if the teak itself looks fresh and not silvered. You might notice that the classic yachts varnish their dog houses, deck furniture, capping rails and inner face of their bulwarks, and the only thing they leave bare is the deck. That's how it "should" be, though ultimately people can decide their own "shoulds" of course :D
Click to expand...

I completely agree.

"That is perhaps a bit of a UK view"

Well yes and no. I haven't explained myself well.

I wasn't suggesting that over here in those circumstances we would do anything different.
Your "how it should be done" is of course quite correct, it is the same here and I'm sure all over the world.

Teak can be sanded so fine and the grain so closed up.
If you have sanded from say 120 grit all the way through to 3000 rather than stopping at say 800, the surface will be silky smooth.
The tighter you can get the grain the more resistance and stand alone protection it has.

It is here where I would apply a product to a table, not with a brush so the product was sat on top like icing on a cake, but forced into the grain via a near dry french polishing rubber.
 
DougH said:
Used Semco the first season in Mallorca on the tables and decking.

Decking lasted 2 or 3 days and was very slightly slippery and was a big mistake.
Now just clean the decks regularly (well the cleaning team do) and do not treat them.

Tables lasted about 5 days and Semco raised the grain.

jam is the man on this subject.

I believe Semco works very effectively in the UK.
Click to expand...

It does work very effectively here in the UK, but it's flaws are actually moisture related. I think it works better in a warmer dryer climate.

The prepared teak does need to be made raw and accepting before application and there are a ton of other little tiny things that all add up to a decent application process. But it's worth experimenting with.

The benefits are that the teak is made less porous so it absorbs less water, is not so affected by spills or accidents.

It is quite common to see too much product applied and made to become slippery. The soft wispy hair like structures of the very top of the teak need to be removed if they were not removed in the preparation stage as these will be clogged up with product.
Multiple layers or coats should be absorbed, the grain filled, so that under foot is teak rather than too much product. Wiping off surface access during application as you go is probably best for building up strength.

It stands to reason though that things are somewhat different when you are able to simply wash the teak clean once a week than if you were to only visit the boat once a month.
Some here are visited by swarms of starlings that poop out red berry droppings. These are horrid when they land on a porous surface such as open teak. It's great if the stains are only surface deep and haven't been absorbed deep into the grain.

The same can be said of olive oil stains or drink spills. The goal is for the teak to look as natural or bare as possible but with a coating that performs.
 
kennyh said:
Hi all

I am considering buying a folding teak cockpit table for my Prestige 30s to replace the existing GRP one.

The question is.....Is a Teak Table practical bearing in mind it will probably have to deal with Wine / Beer / Olive oil / Balsamic spills?

Does one of these table clean up easily or should I expect it to look somewhat "lived in" after some use?

The table I am planning on purchasing is:

http://www.marineteak.co.uk/nautic-star-circle-55-p.asp

Anyone got one of them; any reviews / thoughts?

Ps. Just been to Monte Carlo today and some stunning MoBo's in the harbour; but somewhat out of my price bracket!!
Click to expand...

We ordered ours at the show and plan to leave it untreated. Think the roughness of the wood will look better when aged a bit. :)
 
Found this thread as Im looking for a teak cockpit table for the P58. Very useful comments about protection for the teak. However, my challenge is that the P58 is of a vintage when a folding table was the norm. SWMBO wants something more substantial and more up to date, despite the lazarette hatch being directly below. Im thinking that a freestanding table/pedestal arrangement which I can slide out of the way when necessary will be the answer. I have put enquires out to the companies suggested by jfm. Any experiences? Im a bit concerned about scratching the teak if continually sliding the thing about.
 
CLOUD9 said:
Found this thread as Im looking for a teak cockpit table for the P58. Very useful comments about protection for the teak. However, my challenge is that the P58 is of a vintage when a folding table was the norm. SWMBO wants something more substantial and more up to date, despite the lazarette hatch being directly below. Im thinking that a freestanding table/pedestal arrangement which I can slide out of the way when necessary will be the answer. I have put enquires out to the companies suggested by jfm. Any experiences? Im a bit concerned about scratching the teak if continually sliding the thing about.
Click to expand...
Surprisingly, if you get a pedestal with a decent sized foot plate and rounded corners to the plate, it can be slid around without scratching your teak deck. Mine is always being slid around, and I get no scratches. I have no rubber pads under the plate - just the metal plate itself sitting on the teak.

I mean a pedestal along the lines of this (as just one example) http://www.besenzoni.it/product/t-237-mg-2/?lang=en

Separately, I see that marineteak are now offering on their website teak tables without caulking. :encouragement:
 
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