What's in Teak Oil?

PaulJ

PaulJ

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What does "Teak Oil" consist of? Prices seem to vary enormously......... B&Q have Teak Oil at £3.98 for 500ml, My local Chandlery has Starbrite Teak Oil for £19.98 for 475ml and another Chandlery near here has the International stuff at £12.98 for 500ml. So, what is in Teak Oil and why should I pay any more than £3.98?

Paul
 
FIRE RISK - a warning
Don't be tempted to store the old teak oil rags (what ever mixture) as the dried rags can spontaneously combust whilst sitting in a locker - this is especially so in the Mediterranean.
 
The more expensive versions will have some additives which may enhance performance marginally, but probably not proportionally to the cost! Personally, I think teak oil is filthy stuff and is best avoided completely. Use Boracol instead.
 
There are so many proprietary teak oils and most with their hidden additives and very difficult to find a pure, unadulterated product. Teak oils are primarily either linseed oil or tung oil. Linseed oil tends to darken the teak, but it is cheaper. Tung oil doesn't darken the wood, and it is more water resistant than linseed oil. Whatever type of teak oil is used, re-application is unavoidable - the oils soak in over time and need to be constantly re-applied.

The main differences between the proprietary teak finishes rest on if, and how much, additives are added and no manufacturer seems to admit just what the constituents are. I found a product of teak oil from Voss Chemie that both oiled and introduced a fungus inhibitor (propinylbutylcarbamate) with a varnish or sealer content - although this was not advertised on the container. But this caused a very hard, patchy darkening; perhaps due to the unannounced varnish ingredient and I ended up sanding back to the bare wood.

Since then I have been using a silicon sealer only. The first was SEMCO sealer - they have various teak products, including a cleaner. Having finished my 2 litres of that and being pleased with the result, I wanted to expand the teak renovation to the handrails I have on dog-house and cabin top. SEMCO is not available locally in Italy where I am berthed but 'Teak Wonder' is. I bought a 1 litre can for 19 euros - half the price I paid for a litre of SEMCO from the UK on-line shop.

The contents seemed identical to SEMCO. It applied identically too and the result looks similar. It has all the same physical attributes - appearance, smell, consistency and applies with the same ease, soaking in as though water based. The active sealing ingredient is advertised as silicon and it seems to work just as well as Semco. I would never use any oil-based, so-called 'teak oil' product again.
 
Gentlemen, thank you for your responses....... Sailorman, that article was very informative and useful and I think a little experimentation is called for. Thanks too for the fire risk warning, I would not have thought that possible though I think the risk is fairly theoretical in my freezing cold shed. Looks as though the old rags will make good firelighters for the woodstove though!

pvb, I Googled for Borocol but the smallest I could find was 5Ltrs and at £42 I felt it was a bit over the top for job I have in mind but thanks for the suggestion.

Barnac1e, thanks for the suggestion. I will investigate "Teak Wonder"....... though after reading the article suggested by Sailorman, I am inclined to experiment with a "home brew", perhaps with some added silicone?

Paul
 
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PaulJ said:
Gentlemen, thank you for your responses....... Sailorman, that article was very informative and useful and I think a little experimentation is called for. Thanks too for the fire risk warning, I would not have thought that possible though I think the risk it fairly theoretical in my freezing cold shed. Looks as though the old rags will make good firelighters for the woodstove though!

pvb, I Googled for Borocol but the smallest I could find was 5Ltrs and at £42 I felt it was a bit over the top for job I have in mind but thanks for the suggestion.

Paul
Click to expand...
dont leave rags "scrunched-up" lay them flat outside or better still soak in water & lay flat.
I was on a house refurb, i told the fellows applying oil to the Fired Earth tiles what they should do with the rags. after i left they burnt the garage down..
 
For cleaning of exterior teak consider Wessex cleaner and brightener (two stage treatment) and for protection Semco sealer. There are some videos on the following link............
http://www.marineteak.co.uk/teak-cleaner-renovator--semco-sealer-duo-pack-669-p.asp

I have used the cleaner and it performs as claimed. I bought the sealer but haven't used it yet. However I have seen it used on teak decking - applied with a rag and results look good and doesn't appear to attract dirt like oil. After 6 months re treatment was required.

Expensive stuff but seems to do the job.

.
.
 
Thanks to all for your input. I have decided to try a home brew of linseed oil, some kind of solvent (possibly white spirit) and maybe some silicone if I can find something suitable. I will try different combinations and see which fares best at the end of the season....... or maybe after only a few weeks!

Paul
 
sailorman said:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5022505_make-own-teak-oil.html
Click to expand...

That's very interesting and informative.

Incidentally, the traditional wood treatment that local boat builders applied to the frames while construction was in progress consisted of a 50/50 mixture of linseed oil and kerosene. This was applied very liberally and allowed to soak in thoroughly before work proceeded. The same mixture was applied to the planks that formed the bilges. It seems quite similar to what is written in the article.
 
Be careful with chandler's teak oil although it doesn't say so on the pack it contains linseed oil which UV turns black, as we found out havinge to sand all our teak, best to buy pure teak oil but it isn't cheap.
 
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