Teak Wonder

[tt65]

Teak Wonder, claiming to be "the best treatment for teak"

Has any one got any personal experience with this product that they would like to share.

I would like to brighten up my hand rails, toe rails and rubbing strake. 27 years old and it shows now.

 

[reeac]

I tried it some years ago but only once. I didn't like the orange colour that it gave to the wood - not at all teak-like in my opinion.

 

[ksutton]

Have used Teal Wonder on yachts I have owned over the last 12 years. Having also tried others, I consider TW the best "off the shelf" teak cleaner and brightener.

I have used my own self mixed Oxalic acid in the last two years which is as good, but still carry a bottle of the TW cleaner and brightener on board for emergencies, (good when a bottle of red wine or coffee goes over on the cockpit seating or deck).
I cant understand the previous comment about the orange colour, (was that not the teak sealer which did that?), I am a teak cleaner and hate dark and dirty teak on a yacht but I am not a fan of using a teak sealer.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Teak Wonder, claiming to be "the best treatment for teak"

Has any one got any personal experience with this product that they would like to share.

I would like to brighten up my hand rails, toe rails and rubbing strake. 27 years old and it shows now.

I have used Teak Wonder for many years, and as a "Teak Cleaner" myself I have also tried all the other products i.e. Semco, Wessex and a couple more. My views are:-

1. The cleaners themselves are all pretty much the same. Whilst they do change the colour of the teak, actually most of the colour change comes from the scrubbing which removes a little of the teak every time.
2. The next stage is the brighteners. These again are all pretty much the same. I like to do this as it does a good colour restoration job.
3. The next stage is sealant, which I know some people do not do. In the past, this always had a pigment in it, which, as the sealant itself wore off left a yellowy tinge, which can be unsightly. Unless carefully applied it can also leave a sticky residue on the decks sikaflex. We also had some areas of quite new sikaflex that started to crack and I did wonder if it was a reaction to the sealant. Never really found out.

The attached pictures shows decks cleaned with Teak Wonder, and a few months after that - still clean but yellow from the pigment.

I have recently found out that Semco now do a clear sealant without the pigment, and there is also one available from Holmenkol, which purports to the the latest in nano-technology and has a price to match. I will be running a trial on a small area with both of these this year before committing myself any further.

 

[Playtime]

Teak Wonder, claiming to be "the best treatment for teak"

Has any one got any personal experience with this product that they would like to share.

I would like to brighten up my hand rails, toe rails and rubbing strake. 27 years old and it shows now.

I've used both Teak Wonder and Semco products.

As previously stated the cleaners and brighteners are much the same; hard work but the results are spectacular. However, not to be repeated too often or too vigorously as the process does remove wood as well as muck!

Regarding the sealants, the colour of Teak Wonder sealant looks 'artificial' IMO and goes patchy as it wears off.

Semco 'Natural' looks much better and wears well. I am currently using this and a quick coat every 3 months or so (takes no more than 2 hours for a 38 foot deck) keeps the wood clean and looking good.

I haven't tried the Semco Clear but would imagine it only works well on wood that has been previously well cleaned and brightened.

 

[Leighb]

I am a very satisfied Teak Wonder user.

When we bought our yacht the teak was all grey/green/dirty and a friend suggested this to sort it out. We followed the instructions carefully including a lot of fine sanding, and the results are terrific. After a season the colour fades back to a pale browny grey, and a very light sand and a further application of the sealer brings it up again.

I have not tried any other products by way of comparison.

 

[Monique]

I use nothing at all. Excepting cleaning once a year with a Clothes washing detergent; then a fresh water rinse when needed.

My boat is largish so teak treatments is a serious chore...

 

[angelsson]

I have found the best is the one made by Wessex Chemicals, its a two step claener and brightener.
Teak should NEVER be scrubbed, it will ruin it, nothing more than a sponge should be used.
if you search for cleaning teak there is a very good message about it. My experience with the above is purely as an end user.

Hope this helps

Mike

 

[simonfraser]

i have used Sikkens cetol marine wood-oil varnish as sealant, looks very similar to the right pic from solenboy, but slightly yellow.
the yellow color blocks UV thus protects the wood.
easy to apply, and repair, not too slippy yet, certainly not like varnish

 

[TradewindSailor]

Scrubbing teak with the grain will remove the softwood and hence leave a ridged surface. If you must scrub teak, always do it across the grain.

 

[rudolph_hart]

I have found the best is the one made by Wessex Chemicals, its a two step claener and brightener.
Teak should NEVER be scrubbed, it will ruin it, nothing more than a sponge should be used.
if you search for cleaning teak there is a very good message about it. My experience with the above is purely as an end user.

Hope this helps

Mike

Another vote for Wessex Chemicals. Used it for the last 6 years.

Treat it once at the beginning of each season, using a big sloppy sponge (NO SCRUBBING) wash it off then leave it alone. Teak is 16 years old and looks like new.

I've just used their GRP Restorer (I suspect it's the same stuff) for the first time. The results are just as rewarding.

Again, no connection - just a satisfied customer.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

I use TW on the bathing platform and rubbing strake "wings". Its good at getting rid of bird mess. I have, I admit, had to scrub a few times, and leave the brightener on overnight, but have managed to retore the original darker/lighter alternating strips which I (and more importantly SWMBO) rather like.

 

[sailtones]

After many years professional sailing on classic yachts with far to much varnish and teak, I can recommend using oxalic acid.

I have tried all the off the shelf cleaners, some work, some don't, but nothing is as reliable as Oxalic.

Use about 1/3 cup for every liter of water, mix well and continue to mix as you use it.

A light scrub on the teak with a green scratchy making sure to keep it on the teak only!

Let it dry.

Scrub and rinse with heaps of water. And take care to wash it off the topsides otherwise it might leave streaks if you have dark paint (although not as bad as other off the shelf teak cleaners I have encountered .....but that's another story)

Experiment with the concentration for best results on your teak.

Incidentally, if you need to clean really green tarnished brass, hit it with the same mix and it will get the worst of the tarnish off in minutes.