Teak cleaning

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westdelta

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Jun 6, 2006
RO Number
21652
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105
A little background:

My dad's had this sailboat for 25+ years. I'm not sure when it started, but he ran into overheating problems. He took it out less and less to the point that it was maybe once a year, and he'd have to spend all day Saturday cleaning it all up and doing routine maintenance to it just so he could take it out on Sunday. It sat untouched in the marina for a few years. Over this time, the water in the bilge slowly came up to the level of the cabin floor. The carpet was a little damp, and some teak seats got discolored near the bottom. I believe this discoloration is some sort of mold or fungus.

I'm now fixing the boat up, and I want to try to get that teak looking good again. All the "teak cleaners" at West Marine sounded like they were for exterior teak, and required that you hose it down after applying and scrubbing. I'm not really interested in spraying a garden hose inside the cabin, so I'm looking for some other solution to this problem.

What can I do to get this teak looking good again that doesn't require me to hose it off?
 
Not alot, Teak has a very high natural oil content,so the only way to return it to a golden color is to "bleach" it,unfortunately,the chemicals used to obtain this are caustic, and need to be rinsed to get all the dirt/mold/old oils off,the other option is sanding,alot of sanding,you might want to get a sump pump,place in bilge,cover all you can with plastic sheeting,clean/wash-off,then place a fan inside to expedite drying.Keep in mind ,no matter what finish you use (sikkens-varnish ect)unless the teak is clean the finish you get will look "dirty" good luck.
 
You don't say how big an area it is, or if it is flat wood vs curved trim pieces. You can often sand or scrape off surface discoloration on teak. The question is do you have access to use something efficient to do it. On my swim platform I use a random orbit sander with 60 grit paper instead of chemicals and it works great, but I doubt you have a large enough flat area to do that. I have in the past been able to very gently use a paint scraper on trim pieces and get down to clean teak. But you have to be very careful not to gouge it. There are also the brass brushes which might be useful in your case they sell those in most marine stores.

Try an out of the way spot and see what you can do to sand or scrape it clean. If it works, then extrapolate to the full size of what you have to do and decide if your arms will fall off before you are done.

I definitely do not think you want to unleash all those chemicals inside, especially with a carpet there.

Is another option to hide it? You can buy teak trim pieces, can you just cover the stained areas and make it look like a "baseboard"? I can't really picture your situation.
 
Never sand with the grain; only use cross motions or the grain will be removed and leave small pockets which will collect more dirt, etc.
 
Can I ask a few questions too? Dont mean to hyjack your thread.

Never sand with the grain? Against the grain then? I would have thought with.

These chemicals if I use them on the out side, how does this not hurt the gelcoat when I rinse? I assume to rinse alot and do small sections at a time, but still I would think as it is running off the boat it may settle somewhere.

Should I use a teak cleaner first, then sand? Or just go right to chemical?

Sorry for all the questions...just bought the boat and there is thin trim pieces all over and steps (with grooves) and they are very dark and dirty looking and I want to get it to a shine or gloss. I see these older boats go by with wood up and around the whole gunwale. Wonder how they get it to look so good.

Thanks,

Luhrs 400
 
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