Removing finish on exterior teak

[brackish]

I'm in the process of starting over on the exterior teak.  Particularly the main sliding hatch rails, handrails and trim pieces are scaling and flaking fairly badly so I want to remove it, clean it, brighten it, then refinish it using Bristol finish this time.  

The remove it is the questionable step.  The teak is currently finished with Waterlox Marine, which is not a two part urethane, so it shouldn't require heat to remove, but what types of chemical removers have any of you used successfully that won't stain or discolor the adjacent gel coat but will get it off effectively?

[Steve Ullrich]

When I refinished my teak I didn't use a chemical stripper at all.  I used 80 grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander.  Cut the finish off pretty quickly and really cleaned up the wood.  Used 120 grit after that before refinishing with four coats of Cetol Marine.

I'm in the process of starting over on the exterior teak.  Particularly the main sliding hatch rails, handrails and trim pieces are scaling and flaking fairly badly so I want to remove it, clean it, brighten it, then refinish it using Bristol finish this time. 

The remove it is the questionable step.  The teak is currently finished with Waerlox Marine, which is not a two part urethane, so it shouldn't require heat to remove, but what types of chemical removers have any of you used successfully that won't stain or discolor the adjacent gel coat but will get it off effectively?

[brackish]

When I refinished my teak I didn't use a chemical stripper at all.  I used 80 grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander.  Cut the finish off pretty quickly and really cleaned up the wood.  Used 120 grit after that before refinishing with four coats of Cetol Marine.

Don't want to take the rails and such off and not sure I want a power sander working so close to the gel coat.  Were yours done while they were still on the boat?

[Steve Ullrich]

I took the rails off.  Not difficult to do, just drilled out the teak plugs and unscrewed them.  Replaced the screws after cleaning up and filling the original holes. Set the new screws in a small goober of 5200 for luck. Replacing the plugs was easy to do too.  Glue them in, pound them in a bit, sand them flush after the glue sets.  I used Gorilla Glue... I was a bit concerned about getting the sander too close to gel coat too.  Though about buying a fine point sander to do them on the boat but I wanted to clean up and seal the bottom sides of the rails too.

When I refinished my teak I didn't use a chemical stripper at all.  I used 80 grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander.  Cut the finish off pretty quickly and really cleaned up the wood.  Used 120 grit after that before refinishing with four coats of Cetol Marine.

Don't want to take the rails and such off and not sure I want a power sander working so close to the gel coat.  Were yours done while they were still on the boat?

[Salty19]

Brackish-

I would encourage you to remove the teak first.  It will be a tedius, potentially sloppy job otherwise. 

Hutchins will sell you the teak plugs if you ask.   

I used a small dab of Interlux bedding compound on the teak at the screw fittings.  Eventually they will need to be removed.  3M 5200 is a bear to remove and not needed for this application, IMO.   

Just did all the woodwork over the winter on my 19.   Lookin' good!

[brackish]

Thanks for the advice, maybe I will break a longstanding rule (if it don't leak, don't mess with it) and remove the teak.  Salty, I have a set of plug cutters so I can make my own out of scrap.

[Bob23]

Brack:
   Take dem rails off, mon! On the 23, they come off from the bottom...real easy. And the hatch rails do too. It made a big difference in the finished product and I was able to finish the bottom before reinstalling.
   Bedding compound gets my vote, too.
Bob23

[Salty19]

Brack-  Plug cutters?  What don't you have in that shop of yours?    Cool!!!

A Tip:  Be gentle sanding wood on the interior of the rails (where the doors slide).  Remove too much material and the slide becomes difficult to move.

P.S. Starbrite Teak Cleaner and Starbrite teak Brightener-rubbed in with a 3m scotchbrite pad, followed up with 320 sandpaper on handheld orbital sander made them refinishable in no time.  Within an hour I had everything cleaned up and ready to oil/seal/cetol/varnish.  As you rinse the cleaner off with water, in reality I had to wait a few days for everything to dry before refinishing.

P.S.S.  Don't you have a china cabinet to complete first? 

[brackish]

Salty 19, conspiring with the Admiral whispered the following:

P.S.S.  Don't you have a china cabinet to complete first?

LOL, I've been working on it most of the morning, taking a few breaks to watch what I think is my sail being built at Doyle/JSI.  My random orbit sander broke down, so it's quit the woodshop for the day and cut the grass.

Thanks, all for the info.