Does anybody have any direction on what steps to take to re-teak my swim platform? <BR> <BR>Should I sand it and clean it and then apply oil? What cleaner and teak oil should I look for? <BR> <BR>Thanks

when my dad re-teaked our deck, he had us sand it clean, then he re-oiled it with teak oil

You have a newer boat, so my guess is you probably don't need to sand. Most marine suppliers sell a 3 part system to restore teak. <BR> <BR>1. Cleaner 2. Brightener 3. Oil <BR> <BR>The first two steps are water based and can be done consecutively. After the platform had dried THOROUGHLY, you apply several coats of oil to maintain the finish. <BR> <BR>I believe if it still needs to be sanded after this, you can smooth it out easily with light sandpaper and re-oil. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by ofwc on August 17, 2003)

My swim step was pretty bad so I used a belt sander with 80 grit, sanded it down about 1/8"-3/16” or until all the fin marks were gone. I then used 120 and onto 220, I like it a little rough so we don't have accidents. After that it’s just a matter of putting some oil on it, very simple and it will look like new, even better IMO. The whole process took less than a couple of hours and if you don’t have a belt sander you should be able to rent one.

Teak looks pretty and all but i would never get it if i was the one gettin the boat, too much work

Teak platforms look great and as long as you keep them covered and oil them after every two or three times out they will look good forever. <BR> <BR>When refinishing the platforms I highly recommend taking it to the car was and using the high pressure sprayer on the platform. It will strip virtually all of the black off the platform. Then sand as needed. <BR> <BR>Good Luck

<BR> Maintianing the teak is too much work? <BR> <BR> Man, if all the jobs were that simple! <BR> <BR>I wash my boat down as soon as I haul the boat out of the everytime I use it. I "maintain" my teak by pouring a little oil on the platform and smearing it around after I have washed the boat. I used to use a rag, but then I had to deal with an oily rag so now I just pour it on, smear it around with my hand. I probably spend 30 seconds a weekend on this task. <BR> <BR>I have had a variety of boats with various different swim platforms: <BR> <BR>varnished mahogany: What a PAIN that was! <BR> <BR>carpet over fiberglass: started ugly, got uglier over time, was a pain when the carpet needed to be replaced. <BR> <BR>"non skid" fiberglass surface: looked nice, until it got dinged. After a few years it was showing a lot of war wounds. <BR> <BR>Teak: It looks great if you take care of it. It looks OK if you don't take good care of it. You can ignore it for years, then spend 10 minutes making it look great again. A few minutes with a sander can erase some pretty major dings that could have destroyed fiberglass. <BR> <BR>

Well mabey its cause my dad has us re teak it after everytime we go out

Sand it smooth.Then use teak cleaner,followed by teak brightner.Instead of teak oil go to your marine store and get sikkens teak finish.If you apply this once a year you will never have to do the first three steps again.

Star Brite has a 3 step system that cost me $25 for the kit and then $.50 for the sand paper and paint brush. My teak went from grey/black to golden.

Thanks for all of the input and suggestions. <BR> <BR>Mark were can I find that Star Brite kit? <BR> <BR>