Re: Teak Restoration
Hello,
I have refinished the teak on many boats in the past. I would also strongly recomment Cetol. Very durable, easy to apply and requires minimal upkeep. It is not quite as beautiful as brightwork that has been painstakingly maintained vith varnish, but is much less time consuming. Some advocate teak oil, but it has to be reapplied much more often and it does not stay looking good very long. I worked in a marina and would definately not advocate using a pressure washer to clean teak, however. One boater comes to mind that owned a large Chris Craft. He pressure washed all the teak only to find that it cleaned it very well and brought back the orangish color of the wood, but it also opened up the grain and gave the teak a very rough, porous look. In effect, he blasted out all the softer fibers of the wood between the grain lines and ruined the brightwork. I have used teak cleaner, applied with a soft brush with good results. Do that, let it dry, then sand with 120 grit sand paper. Follow it up with three coats of Cetol and your good for quite awhile, depending on where you store your boat. I have also used Cetol light and Cetol with a top coat of Cetol Gloss which very closely resembles a quality varnish job. I have bought both the teak cleaner and the Cetol at West Marine, though it is available elsewhere. A quart of Cetol runs about $35 which is plenty to do your average boat several times over. Good Luck
