Refreshing your teak swim platform

I pulled my swim platform off tonight, lightly sanded it (100 grit), and put a healthy coat of teak oil on it. I am going to let it dry and put another coat on it tomorrow night.

This is the first time, for me, refreshing my teak swim platform. So, my question is...

1) Is it wrong to sand the wood before applying the oil?

2) Are you supposed to put any kind of sealer on the wood when you are done?

Any advise / input would be great - Thanks!

Teak wood has natural oils and it is nessesary to sand the surface to remove the top layer of oil and grime before applying teak oil. There are many products out there but just plain teak oil will work fine. For a lighter finshed look use linseed oil.

I stained my platform before knowing this forum and found out about the teak oil. Please advise on how to remove the stain.

Thanks,
J

I got sooooo tired of my teak fading and having to oil it every other weekend. So I painted on about 12 laters of polyurathane. On the final couple of layers, I mixed in some deck texture grip stuff from Beahr. It looks like powdered plastic, but when on the platform feels like sand embeded in the finish. Gives great grip. For a little added grip and to grip the board a bit more, I put a few strips of gator grip on some of the slats of the platform. Looks great and I have not had to do anything to the teak in 3 years. Every day it looks like it just got a fresh coat of oil. !!!

andy got any pictures?

Yeah Andy...that sounds cool...got any photos of the finished product?

I like the idea of the grip stuff. The main bad thing about teak oil is that it never dries. You track it into the interior of your boat. That is why all the old time turn and burn at 38 off ski dudes never oil their platforms. They let them turn white, then just clean and oil them when they get ready to sell the boat.

Since I like the look of oiled teak, I decided to go a similar route as Andy, using a submersible marine varnish from West Marine. It is not as slippery as polyurethane by itself. I used the recommended three coats on both sides. If I'da been smart, I would have put some of the grippy stuff in there, then it would be perfect. I've only gone half a season with it, but the platform still looks good. I'll probably do it again in a year or two and do like Andy did.

Here's pics of what I did, sanded with 80 grit, then 220 grit, then finished it.

http://www.epicmarine.com/docs/Epic Teak Platform Refinishing.pdf

star brite has a teak oil/sealer its around $19.00 a can and it last longer than just using oil, I use it on my platform and have only put one touch up coat on it in two months. Thats better than every other week.

I will snap some this week and post them on this thread. And you can add the grippy texture stuff at any time. You just mix it in the varnish can and brush it on. You can find it in the stain dept. at the hardware store.

I'm thinking of picking up the Star Brite oil/sealer like Brian did:
http://www.starbrite.com/Prodimages/87916-Tropical-Teak-Oil.jpg

Does anyone know if this stuff is any different than Teaqua?:

http://www.teaqua.com/_borders/1_Quart_TeaQua.jpg

where are the pics!???!???

I did it once...screw it.

I am going to leave it turn white. Its a boat...

I love the teak..I dont worry about any of the metal fins...its timeless.

But, oiling it is stupid. I have a brand new boat...one coat is all it will see until I sell it.

We got ours rhino lined looks great also very functional.

I did the Starbrite oil/sealer and the stuff is awesome! Highly recommend it. I'll try to get some pics soon.

Here's mine. I used a combination of the starbrite kit and pressure washing & sanding. Then I gave it about 3 coats of teak oil.

before

after pressure washing & sanding

used starbrite brightener

after oiling

I refinish my deck, quite often like 2-3 times a year. But Im quite picky about the lok and feel of the deck. I like to to always look perfict. I use Boiled Linseed oil.

I started off by Belt sanding the deck with 80 grit. That took off all the deep scratches the fins from wakeboards and Ski's put in the deck, You dont have to do this everytime you refinish your deck.

Then I went to 180 grit with a disk sander (DA sander)
Then I went with 220 grit with a disk sander (DA sander)

I have used finer grits like 400 and 600 to finish it and it comes out so smooth and nice but its hard for the finishing oil to penatrate. So for most people you can stop at 220 grit. But if you want it like a Baby's A$$ go for the upper grits.

Then just wipe on the Boied Lin-Seed oil. The teek soaks it right up then apply a 2nd coat.

Then all you need to do is keep putting the Lin-Seed oil on when it starts to dry out.

Eventually after about 4 or 5 applications of the lin seed oil the Teek will become saturated with oil and and it will need to be lightly sanded down to remove the old oil.

You can use thinners to break down the oil and it will soak into the wood and then you can re-apply some new oil if you dont want to refinish the deck with sandpaper. But it you have any scratches you will jut be oiling right over them.

I like the Deck to look like its oiled but not feel like it has anything like a shelack or coating on it.

andy were are the pics?????

I am about to do my platform - using SEMCO 2 part Teak Cleaner. The 1st step is an acidic cleaner that breaks down all the old oil and built up gunk; then the 2nd part neutralizes the acid and has a brightener. Then I lightly sand it. It works great, then you apply teak oil.

My boat is on a lift in a covered boat house, but I guess the moisture speeds up the "funkification" of the new oil.

Grant, does the boiled linseed oil last longer than teak oil, and if you keep re-applying it does it stay nice looking?

...And for another opinion on the subject...}

"Teak oils are primarily either linseed oil or tung oil, bolstered by resins to make them more durable. Linseed oil tends to darken the teak, but it is significantly cheaper. Tung oil doesn't darken the wood, and it is more water resistant than linseed oil-a notable advantage for boat use. However, a month or two after application, it may be hard to discern that much difference since both oils carbonize in the sun and turn dark. Proprietary teak oils address this problem with various additives, including pigments, UV filters, and mildew retardants. Some that perform admirably in one climate are reviled in another. If you are going to oil your teak, make your teak oil selection based on the recommendations of other boatowners in your area."
from Don Casey - The Bob Villa of Boat Care...link to: http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/29.htm

Rob : Good Advice

Grant, have you ever used the two part stripping stuff. Its used to get the dirt and other oils out if the pours of the wood. I sanded mine and I still had some spots that were white from where the teak oil didn't soak in. Have you had that happen before.