Teak Step refinishing

[rgracyk]

Hi all,

It is that time of the year. I'd like to freshen up my swim step made of teak.

Can anybody recommend a product or system to make it look good? And, recommend a good place order it?

Thanks a bunch,

Archie

[Ronnie]

I haven't used this product yet but I have seen a few boats it was used on. I will try it out this spring on my boat unless I run across anyone who has had a problem between now and then. I've not heard of any problems with it yet.

Teak Guard

[Mechmaster]

I had the Teak Guard system on my '88 (done by the previous owner) and it was very durable.

When I redid the teak on the '98 VLX, I just used Starbrite Teak oil.

This is the same deck when done. Note: I added the wedge door during the restoration.

In my opinion, it looks better with the traditional oil, but there's much more upkeep. The Starbrite teak oil is very easy to find (I can buy it at Wal-Mart) and it's cheap.

Edited January 28, 2008 by Mechmaster

[Ronnie]

That's pretty much what I have always done in the past. With our boat on a lift 24/7 the teak oil finish doesn't last long. I'm hoping the Teak Guard will do better.

[sunscapeJeff]

When we bought our boat, there was some sort of crap that was on there from the previous owner. It looked great, but it was really, really slippery. We had several people hurt themselves by falling on it. I don't know if it was Teak Guard or not, but I've seen other people put Teak Guard on their swim decks and it had the same effect.

I sanded all of mine off with 80 grit paper and now I put teak oil on it every couple of months. It looks great (especially when wet), and it is not slippery anymore. I would NOT recommend putting anything on there that would make it slippery.

[Malibu16]

I had a teak platform on my old Malibu and used the following products-

Teak-A (two step refinishing process that strips away all of the old "stuff" on the platform and bleaches it to a nice blond color)

Sea-Fin Teak Oil (makes it look brand new) It has a slight gloss to it, but is not slippery and seems to last for quite awhile.

My boat was 16 years old when I sold it and the platform looked like it was new. I would highly recommend the above two products.

[Ronnie]

When we bought our boat, there was some sort of crap that was on there from the previous owner. It looked great, but it was really, really slippery. We had several people hurt themselves by falling on it. I don't know if it was Teak Guard or not, but I've seen other people put Teak Guard on their swim decks and it had the same effect.

I sanded all of mine off with 80 grit paper and now I put teak oil on it every couple of months. It looks great (especially when wet), and it is not slippery anymore. I would NOT recommend putting anything on there that would make it slippery.

Interesting, I have used Amazon's Golden Teak Oil (got it at Waterski America) and it's very slick. I've busted my a$$ several times on it!! One of the properties of the Teak Guard is it is NOT slick. The first platform I saw it on was Bradb's. He raved about it and it looked as good as my freshly oiled platform did. I do know the teak oil doesn't last on the lift. The oil did pretty good when we stored it indoors.

[Mechmaster]

That's pretty much what I have always done in the past. With our boat on a lift 24/7 the teak oil finish doesn't last long. I'm hoping the Teak Guard will do better.

I'd agree with that - after all the work I did to restore the deck, I oil it each time I put the boat away to keep it looking good.

[sunscapeJeff]

When we bought our boat, there was some sort of crap that was on there from the previous owner. It looked great, but it was really, really slippery. We had several people hurt themselves by falling on it. I don't know if it was Teak Guard or not, but I've seen other people put Teak Guard on their swim decks and it had the same effect.

I sanded all of mine off with 80 grit paper and now I put teak oil on it every couple of months. It looks great (especially when wet), and it is not slippery anymore. I would NOT recommend putting anything on there that would make it slippery.

Interesting, I have used Amazon's Golden Teak Oil (got it at Waterski America) and it's very slick. I've busted my a$$ several times on it!! One of the properties of the Teak Guard is it is NOT slick. The first platform I saw it on was Bradb's. He raved about it and it looked as good as my freshly oiled platform did. I do know the teak oil doesn't last on the lift. The oil did pretty good when we stored it indoors.

I wonder if the sanding with 80 grit keeps mine from being slick? Don't get me wrong ... it's slippery-er than a fiberglass platform with some really good grip tape, but we don't get people slipping and hurting themselves anymore. You should've seen our boat in the party cove with that other stuff on there. It was almost funny (but embarrassing, for me) to see people make their way across the sundecks and swim platforms of all the boats then wipe out on ours!

Bradb's is similar to what ours looked and felt like with the other stuff on there. I haven't been on his boat too much while it's wet, but that's the key. While it's dry it feels great. When it's wet and your bare feet are wet, that's where things get a little dicey!

[footnlongline]

Completely remove old finish and oxidation (grey)with a random orbit sander @ 120 grit . Apply any product that has high linseed oil content. The key to keeping your deck looking fresh is not keeping it out of the water but out of the sun. All products

claim to do this or that better but the bottom line is you will be the most satisfied with the one that has the highest linseed/ tung oil content.

[McMiller]

Completely remove old finish and oxidation (grey)with a random orbit sander @ 120 grit . Apply any product that has high linseed oil content. The key to keeping your deck looking fresh is not keeping it out of the water but out of the sun. All products

claim to do this or that better but the bottom line is you will be the most satisfied with the one that has the highest linseed/ tung oil content.

I used the teak gaurd last year - I only sanded with 80 and it was a little slick and the finish scratched off in a bunch of places so after about 2 months of heavy use it needs redone - i am just going to re-sand and use oil this year

[uk_exile]

I don't know if you can get this in USA but it's working great for me

http://www.endeavourmarinetimberfinishes.c...ngoil_aunz.html

see http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....80&start=80 for pics of results

[spinxt]

Semco Teak Products!!! It consists of a 2 step finish restoration process followed by a teak specific stain of your choice (go with Natural Brown). It takes few good hours and some elbow grease to get it done, but you will be pleased with the results. I don't think I'll ever use teak oil again. It just clogs the pores in the teak and gums up. You'll be surprised how much gummed up teak oil this product will remove. Wish I had before and after pics for you, but my camera was broken at the time I did the restore.

[jmadden]

I loved the Teak Guard system. Minimum prep, easy to apply, long lasting, and easy to touchup damaged or worn spots later. I didn't think it was any slicker than the various teak oils avalable.

[BBeakley]

I've used both Teak Guard and the StarBrite teak oil. I loved the Teak Guard cleaner but I wasn't impressed with the Teak Guard finish. It seemed to scratch off and look pretty lousy with minimal use. Every time a fin moved while someone was putting on their board or ski there was a visible mark both when wet and dry. We've ended up using the Teak Guard cleaner at the beginning of each season and just apply a few rubs of regular teak oil a few times through the season.

[Arctic Slalom]

i use regular teak oil.

wetsand with soapy water, let dry and the apply teak oil. then wetsand again once it is dry with twice as smooth wetsand paper. do this with 200/400/800; it will be nice and smooth, but not slippery, and the finish will stay for several months.....at least in minnesota!

later

[skislut]

I did the TeakGuard thing too and felt the same way as BBeakly does.

I sanded it before last season and used some teak oil. My boat sits outside on the lift so what I did to keep the sun off it was to have a "pocket" cover made for the deck. It cost about $100 to have my local shop make it and it slips on in about 10 seconds -- still needed to re-oil half way thru the season but it definitely didn't fade as much as before.

[Intense]

I had the Teak Guard system on my '88 (done by the previous owner) and it was very durable.

When I redid the teak on the '98 VLX, I just used Starbrite Teak oil.

This is the same deck when done. Note: I added the wedge door during the restoration.

In my opinion, it looks better with the traditional oil, but there's much more upkeep. The Starbrite teak oil is very easy to find (I can buy it at Wal-Mart) and it's cheap.

You're deck looks great! Can I ask where you got the hardware for the latch?

[Malibudude]

I had the Teak Guard system on my '88 (done by the previous owner) and it was very durable.

When I redid the teak on the '98 VLX, I just used Starbrite Teak oil.

This is the same deck when done. Note: I added the wedge door during the restoration.

In my opinion, it looks better with the traditional oil, but there's much more upkeep. The Starbrite teak oil is very easy to find (I can buy it at Wal-Mart) and it's cheap.

You're deck looks great! Can I ask where you got the hardware for the latch?

Here is the SS latch.

[Intense]

I had the Teak Guard system on my '88 (done by the previous owner) and it was very durable.

When I redid the teak on the '98 VLX, I just used Starbrite Teak oil.

This is the same deck when done. Note: I added the wedge door during the restoration.

In my opinion, it looks better with the traditional oil, but there's much more upkeep. The Starbrite teak oil is very easy to find (I can buy it at Wal-Mart) and it's cheap.

You're deck looks great! Can I ask where you got the hardware for the latch?

Here is the SS latch.

Cool! Is this the hinge you bought?

Hinge

[Mechmaster]

Cool! Is this the hinge you bought?

Hinge

That looks about right. You need to get hinges that have the 2 'leafs' as short as possible as the hinge pivot needs to be flush with the top of the deck, and the screws more or less in the middle of the thickness of the deck planks.

Edited February 12, 2008 by Mechmaster

[Intense]

Cool! Is this the hinge you bought?

Hinge

That looks about right. You need to get hinges that have the 2 'leafs' as short as possible as the hinge pivot needs to be flush with the top of the deck, and the screws more or less in the middle of the thickness of the deck planks.

Cool, thanks for the info!

One more question, did you pull the planks off the swim platform before you cut them? And where did you get the extra teak to reinforce the platofrm?

[Mechmaster]

Cool, thanks for the info!

One more question, did you pull the planks off the swim platform before you cut them?

All the modifications were done with the platform assembled.

And where did you get the extra teak to reinforce the platofrm?

I friend of mine is in the wood business, and picked it up for me at a specialty shop (can't recall the name). Be aware: teak is expensive!

I can send you a pdf of the measurements and sketches I used (and aquired from a '05 VLX) if you like.

[Intense]

Cool, thanks for the info!

One more question, did you pull the planks off the swim platform before you cut them?

All the modifications were done with the platform assembled.

And where did you get the extra teak to reinforce the platofrm?

I friend of mine is in the wood business, and picked it up for me at a specialty shop (can't recall the name). Be aware: teak is expensive!

I can send you a pdf of the measurements and sketches I used (and aquired from a '05 VLX) if you like.

That PDF wold be awesome!

There's gotta be some place online that sells teak....here comes Google!

[nemalibu]

I was wondering if anyone has experience with the two step teak treatment sold by Overton's under their Gladiator brand. They are currently selling leftover cleaning products from last year and I think they have the two step teak product for $2 (yes I did mean $2 - it is usually ~ $20 from them).