Which Teak Oil

[GruntzenGrones]

I'm getting ready to oil the deck on my 42' Sea Voyager and was wondering if anybody has recommendations on what's the best brand or which ones to avoid. Also wondering if anybody has an idea of how much it's oil likely to need. Judging by appearances, it hasn't been done in a while.

[Paul]

Have you considered using a finish like Cetol as opposed to teak oil? It's alot less maintenance.

[Stripermann2]

Here is a thread on the subject-

http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewt ... light=teak

[summer storm]

On the 115 footer we use the cetol. First we use the 2 part cleaner/brightner on the wood. After it is a golden brown and dry we put 2 coats of the cetol, one a day. This will look good on the boat for 6 to 8 months, on a smaller boat it should last longer, less foot traffic.

I am not a big fan of the oil, to me it seems to collect dirt and needs more attention. The cetol is more like spread it and foget it.

[dollarbill]

You will find all opinions all over the place but here is my method and I get some pretty good compliments on the teak.

Note: My teak was not in that bad of shape. The dark spots were minimal and were reduced by the following procedure. I am under full covered slip. I like GLOSSY teak. Also.. I have never fully refinished my teak.. ie stripped and sanded.

Soapy water - I used Dawn with a little Ammonia thrown in there also and scrubbed with a Scotch Brite pad.

First Application: Original Cetol - I used the Original (yes it is brownish) to reduce any of the dark spots in the wood that may be left and to give a good base. You have to be CAREFUL and clean up any cetol that gets on the fiberglass (wood). It is brown.

Second and Third and Fourth applications - every 3 months for me and my preference. Minwax Gloss clear polyurethane with UV protection. Great finish. Cheap. Easy to use and not as bad a problem if it gets on the fiberglass (wood). After your second application of the Minwax - the Cetol brown tint starts to lessen but you still have the coverage. Depending on how good the finish is - before applications I clean teak with just soap and water. If the finish is not as smooth as I want it to be I will use the scotch brite again. Areas like the bow pulpit and swim deck - you may have to give special attention to - but the Minwax is pretty easy to throw on there with a foam brush.

5th Application - Back to square 1 with the Cetol. This is the 4th year and I still have not had to refinish. Knock on teak.

Just my method. Taking advantage of the Cetol coverage of dark spots and the shine, finish and ease of the Minwax and after time the brown tint of Cetol original starts to disappear.

My dock is full of new Sea Ray's and Carvers and the owners like to come down and look at a real boat with real teak and classic lines.

Best of luck

[alexander38]

HEY ! I've got teak... I added it

[rbcool]

Cetol is the way to go!!!!

[rossjo]

John Greviskis showed a method on Ship Shape TV where he sanedd down his wood, put on a couple coats of Varnish - then added about 3-4 coats of Clear 2-part Polyurethane. They said they use this method all the time in FL, and it holds up well, and all you have to do is add a new coat of clear each year, rather than sanding and re-varnishing. Interesting - anyone else tried this?

I put some clear epoxy on the corners of my swim platform to try out ... anyone tried this?

[k9th]

I use Cetol and am happy with it.

Doug's suggestion of the two-part cleaner/brightener followed by two coats of Cetol is spot on and lasts a long while.

[randyp]

Cetol, only way to go IMO. If you get the deck really glossy, consider some anti-skid additive. It'll take some of the shine down, but save you a bundle in lawsuits from folks who go skating across or over the deck.

[GruntzenGrones]

Thanx y'all. Looks like I'll be buying Cetol. I'm all for anything that requires less maintenance -- I already have plenty of other work to do on this old girl.

[dollarbill]

After further review... I did not know what type of boat you were referring to.. Wooden boat owners are kind of "picky" about how they refinish their wood.

We have some wooden boats in the family and my use of Cetol is scoffed at highly. I would definitely not use Cetol original due to the tinting. Also go ahead and get a decent brush. I use a foam brush - but for that much wood - and that type of boat - a foam brush will not give you the results desired.

Best of luck

[GruntzenGrones]

Thanx again for all the responses. I got to looking at my deck more closely and noticed that the boards on the bow appear to have shrunk a bit so that the black sealer(if that's what it is) between the boards now sticks up above the boards a bit. I'm wondering if Cetol will solve that problem as well or if oiling the boards first would cause them to swell back to their original thickness, after which I could apply Cetol? If I had to, I guess I could sand the sealer(?) down so that it is even with the boards.

[randyp]

Sand it down. Sounds like the only reasonable option. Use the Cetol but use the natural (the newest one). It leaves a really nice "honey" tone to the teak at it's semi-gloss, which is what I think you'd want for your decks. Other brightwork that won't see traffic or a lot of sun you can use varnish, but for the big jobs Cetol is the stuff and requires very little maintenance. I did my teak swim platform in the original and it had an orange hue. Then I took off the platform, sanded the whole shebang down and used the new natural, 3 coats with a final coat using some non-skid addiive in a salt shaker. Do that when the final coat is still tacky. Let it set and then brush off any excess non-skid (the directions are on the can). It's been two years since and maybe next spring I'll do some touch up sanding and apply one coat. Great stuff IMO