Care of Teak - beautiful teak

[rmonsma]

Hi Everyone,

I think one of the most beautiful things on my newly purchased 1993 Com-Pac 23-3 is the teak wood that is so liberally used in the cabin.  I just love it.

Does anyone have recommendations on how to care for the interior teak?

I keep reading about oiling, cetol, poly, varnish etc.  I like the rich satin look of an oiled finish but I also want to have a boat that is as easy to maintain as possible.  I also read about lemon oil for interior wood. 

What's the best way to go?

Thanks in advance!

Roger

[mr toad]

i have used lemon oil on the interior teak for many years

has worked very well for me

rdeal

[patch]

the above deck teak on my suncat is pretty worn,from being outside.the grab rails,cabin doors and gas tank hatch.what is the best way to treat this teak.

[Craig Weis]

I wash the inside teak with Murphy's Oil Soap and when dry I oil it with a Danish Furniture oil. Same as lemon oil.

Outside I just wash the wood with Teak brightener [Starlite?], dry and Cetol the wood every couple of years. Pretty easy takes about two days in the spring at the dock. I flip the boat around so I can work on each side from the dock. skip.

[Bob23]

I know, Cetol is the best thing since sliced bread..but...on my 23/2, I went the long route of removing all the exterior teak that I could, sanding all the Star-brite (yuk) off down to bare wood, sealing with wet-sanding with tung oil, and finishing with 7 coats of Flagship varnish. Lots of hard work but I believe in a clear finish. As a test, I also sanded my wood handled framing hammer down to bare Hickory and applied 1 coat of Flagship. Looks great after 2 years and I use it! It's a lot of work, but she's worth it. No wear or dings after 1 season so I'll stick with it. Just a coat or 2 before the season.
Inside, I just do a wipe-down with Teak oil and it lloks great all summer. I have installed a Vetus Solar vent so I keep air moving through the boat all summer. Keeps the molds away.
Another trick is to speak nicely to your boat. My 23 is a real beauty and she likes to be reminded of that regularly. She sure has no problem turning heads wherever she goes!!!

[rmonsma]

Talking nicely to my boat... I'll tuck that one away.  My wife insists that talking to her houseplants helps them grow better.  Then again, she also talks to her car.

Thanks for the tips on the teak.  I don't have any cetol but do have a new quart of top quality spar varnish so I think I'll just sand the exterior teak and put some coats on.  I've always liked the look of varnished wood.  Nothing catches the eye like beautifully finished teak.

Roger

[Gil Weiss]

My CP 16 is all teak inside and I have been using Sikens Cetol on both the exterior and interior teak. It does add a bit of an orange color, but it really looks good and holds up teriffic. I have had this boat 5 years and coated the interior twice. I now coat the exterior every two years. The boat is in the water 5.5 monthe each year and stored under a good cover all off season.

Oiling teak attracts dirt and the teak seems to get too dark as time passes.

My 2 cents!

[john walker]

I know this will turn some people off, but I got tired of fooling around with the teak on my Compac Suncat.  Replaced it all with "Plasteak", and am very pleased with appearance, and thought of no more sanding, varnishing ever.  Google Plasteak, they'll send you a free sample.   Cost including shipping, $135.00  The handrails (2) were $1.00 per inch, 44' long, so $88.00 there. I've had many favorable comments, wife loves it too!  Johnny Walker

[rmonsma]

Johnny,   Wow, I can 't believe I'd ever consider fake teak but your post has made me do just that.  I am ordering a sample to see what this stuff is really like.  I am into maintenance free.

Thanks for taking the risk of promoting this product. 

Roger

[Craig Weis]

I was recently inside of a Nonsuch and boy what 25 or so applications of MinWax does for that wood. Beautiful! Wax on. Wax off. skip.

[john walker]

Regarding my post about "Plasteak", remember, we are all sailing plastic boats.  Johnny Walker

[Bob23]

Hmmm... being a practical traditionalist, I like my plastic boat with real teak trim. That's one of the beauties of my 1985 23/2, plenty of wood inside and just enough outside. I see the current trend in housing is toward vinyl siding, at least here in the northeast. Yuk. Being a building contractor of quality homes and renovations, nothing is more repulsive to me than artificial anything.
   Thanks for the info on Plasteak. I'll pass. I don't mind the work required to keep the real stuff beautiful. The boat is worth it!
   Bob in "Koinonia"

[Craig Weis]

Hear here. The C-P's generally have just enough real wood to keep her pretty and just enough work to keep 'yr' busy scraping, brightening, and spreading Cetol on teak and waxing wood on the inside. skip.

[multimedia_smith]

When we built our new house, I decided to go with low maintenance metal, concrete, vinyl exterior and "organic" granite, cherrywood interior.  I thank myself every year when I pressure wash the outside and it's like new... not like the old house that blasted the caulk from between the weather boards and tore the paint from the wet wood.  As we get older, maintenance becomes an issue.  But we have to balance the aesthetic with the practical.

My boat is kind of like that... the exterior wood (such as it is), has a thick glossy polyurethane varnish that still looks new after years of service.   The tek all over the interior however, is a soft luster of Howard - Feed 'N' Wax a mixture of bees wax and orange oil... it makes the interior look great and it smells pretty nice too.  I recoat the interior once or twice a year.

The name of the product implies the proper "care and feeding" of the interior teak.

Just my two cents.

Cheers to all.

Dale

[Salty19]

The teak on my C16 was in pretty bad shape when I bought it.  The wood was gray indicating that it had not seen varnish in years.

So I removed the teak, sanded it down with an orbital rotary and cleaned it using Xylene. Next, I applied 3 coats of Cetol and 3 coats of Minwax Helmsman spar finish.  I sanded with 320 paper between coats of Cetol and used xylene between coats to clean the wood.  Suffice to say it looks brand new now and should not need another application of spar finish for years to come (stored inside).