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1996 Sunsetter Lx Teak Platform Rehab


New2Texas

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This was my 1st attempt at re-finishing a teak swim platform for my 1996 Sunsetter LX. It turned out nice, but in hindsight, I should have taken it apart and worked on each piece individually. Anyways, I enjoyed the project and have a better appreciation for teak swim platforms. I used the many forum discussion from this website as a foundation to complete the work, it took about 4 hours with 3 different grades of sandpaper and 5 or so coats of teak oil.

Take a look at the photos below:

1996 SUNSETTER LX TEAK PLATFORM REHAB

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This was my 1st attempt at re-finishing a teak swim platform for my 1996 Sunsetter LX. It turned out nice, but in hindsight, I should have taken it apart and worked on each piece individually. Anyways, I enjoyed the project and have a better appreciation for teak swim platforms. I used the many forum discussion from this website as a foundation to complete the work, it took about 4 hours with 3 different grades of sandpaper and 5 or so coats of teak oil.

Take a look at the photos below:

1996 SUNSETTER LX TEAK PLATFORM REHAB

The link isn't working for me.

You saved yourself a lot of time by not disassembling. That said, I was happy I disassembled when I did mine last winter. The original glue was long gone; I think re-gluing probably made mine a bid more structurally sound.

Any platform rehab is a relatively easy repair and well worth doing.

1997 Response Platform Rehab

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The link isn't working for me.

You saved yourself a lot of time by not disassembling. That said, I was happy I disassembled when I did mine last winter. The original glue was long gone; I think re-gluing probably made mine a bid more structurally sound.

Any platform rehab is a relatively easy repair and well worth doing.

1997 Response Platform Rehab

try the link now?

clearly your photo's have a better finished look <beautiful girl in the photo>

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try the link now?

clearly your photo's have a better finished look <beautiful girl in the photo>

Ha ha. I like to put my wife in pictures of my finished projects to distract from the shoddy workmanship.

The link works now. Looks great!

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I re-did my 95's last off season too. Took it all apart. Sanded, mulitiple coats of Teak oil from Home Depot(watkins maybe?).

Looked great first time out or so. Then the big uh-oh....

The finish started coming off, especially as people got in from the water, dragging it into the boat. By summers end, the teak oil was all gone, and teak had turned that nasty grey.

I'll bet the platform sat for a month in the garage after oiling, until season started. So I think it had time to really soak in, but apparently didn't. Granted the time sanding was worth it, and I have re-oiled (with the same oil), thinking maybe it just needs to set longer.

But, I'm guessing it's going to come off again. I think I started with 80 grit, then up to 400 or so?

Maybe it's crappy teak oil? Guess I'll find out, but either way, your platform looks awesome.

Steve B.

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I re-did my 95's last off season too. Took it all apart. Sanded, mulitiple coats of Teak oil from Home Depot(watkins maybe?).

Looked great first time out or so. Then the big uh-oh....

The finish started coming off, especially as people got in from the water, dragging it into the boat. By summers end, the teak oil was all gone, and teak had turned that nasty grey.

I'll bet the platform sat for a month in the garage after oiling, until season started. So I think it had time to really soak in, but apparently didn't. Granted the time sanding was worth it, and I have re-oiled (with the same oil), thinking maybe it just needs to set longer.

But, I'm guessing it's going to come off again. I think I started with 80 grit, then up to 400 or so?

Maybe it's crappy teak oil? Guess I'll find out, but either way, your platform looks awesome.

Steve B.

So.... I used the same oil from Home Depot... :(

I will keep you posted.

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Texas - looks good, but you are missing some wood! Do an internet search, you can get a few small pieces of teak, or you might find it locally. If not, go to any local Lowes/Home Depot/Walmart and buy a piece of teak furniture (like a little end table) and use the wood from that to cut and fill. I don't mean to knock your boat, it's a really good looking boat, so you shouldn't skimp on the teak.

I re-did mine last spring. I did not disassemble, just sanded. 80 grit, then 100 grit, then Watco Teak Oil (from Lowes). I put 3 thick coats of oil on it, letting it sit overnight before each coat. I re-coated it 2 or 3 times during the season. It still looks like I just finished it. So don't worry about the Watco, it's good stuff. I found it to be thicker and more durable than the Starbrite, which I used on the old teak deck.

Sorry, no pics, boat is 2 hours away.

Oberon - how's that drywall coming?

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Oberon - how's that drywall coming?

It's not.Sad.gif It was like that when we bought the house and I haven't made it a priority because I dread doing drywall and haven't hired anyone to finish it. Since we've moved in more than two years ago I've landscaped the all the way around the house, painted all the interior walls, hired someone to paint the foundation to cover the previous owners taste in red paint, painted the exterior doors, stained the deck, and installed 700 square feet of hardwood flooring but you noticed the one thing that drive me crazy every time I open my garage door.Cry.gif

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I re-did my 95's last off season too. Took it all apart. Sanded, mulitiple coats of Teak oil from Home Depot(watkins maybe?).

Looked great first time out or so. Then the big uh-oh....

The finish started coming off, especially as people got in from the water, dragging it into the boat. By summers end, the teak oil was all gone, and teak had turned that nasty grey.

I'll bet the platform sat for a month in the garage after oiling, until season started. So I think it had time to really soak in, but apparently didn't. Granted the time sanding was worth it, and I have re-oiled (with the same oil), thinking maybe it just needs to set longer.

But, I'm guessing it's going to come off again. I think I started with 80 grit, then up to 400 or so?

Maybe it's crappy teak oil? Guess I'll find out, but either way, your platform looks awesome.

Steve B.

Did you use teak cleaner? When you sand wood the natural grain will get filled with sawdust; teak cleaner removes sawdust and other stains which opens up the pours of the wood and allows the wood to absorb teak oil or other products and release it's own natural oils.

When you use teak oil you should plan on re-applying it on a fairly regular basis, as needed, during the season. I don't live where my boat is docked and while I don't mind doing a little work every now and again I looked for something a little more durable than regular teak oil when I rehabbed my platform. I went with TeakGuard after some research here because it is supposed to last longer than oil and be very durable. Toward the end of last season the platform started to show a little wear on the edge from dragging our tube over it so I put on another two coats. It took less than an hour to take the platform off the boat, apply two coats, let them dry, and re-install the platform. In hindsight, taking the platform off was overkill. It only takes 15 minutes to dry and goes on much easier than oil because it has the consistency of water.

Teak oil is fine but you'll have to re-apply more often if you want it to look nice.

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Did you use teak cleaner? When you sand wood the natural grain will get filled with sawdust; teak cleaner removes sawdust and other stains which opens up the pours of the wood and allows the wood to absorb teak oil or other products and release it's own natural oils.

When you use teak oil you should plan on re-applying it on a fairly regular basis, as needed, during the season. I don't live where my boat is docked and while I don't mind doing a little work every now and again I looked for something a little more durable than regular teak oil when I rehabbed my platform. I went with TeakGuard after some research here because it is supposed to last longer than oil and be very durable. Toward the end of last season the platform started to show a little wear on the edge from dragging our tube over it so I put on another two coats. It took less than an hour to take the platform off the boat, apply two coats, let them dry, and re-install the platform. In hindsight, taking the platform off was overkill. It only takes 15 minutes to dry and goes on much easier than oil because it has the consistency of water.

Teak oil is fine but you'll have to re-apply more often if you want it to look nice.

Good point, and that reminds me that I did use some Borax or something like that to clean the wood after sanding and prior to the Watco stuff.

Ditto on re-applying. I did mine while it was on the lift, dry from sitting overnight. Pack the car, get the house buttoned up, and hit the teak deck with a coat of oil right before leaving. Nice and dry the next weekend we are there.

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Did you use teak cleaner? When you sand wood the natural grain will get filled with sawdust; teak cleaner removes sawdust and other stains which opens up the pours of the wood and allows the wood to absorb teak oil or other products and release it's own natural oils.

When you use teak oil you should plan on re-applying it on a fairly regular basis, as needed, during the season. I don't live where my boat is docked and while I don't mind doing a little work every now and again I looked for something a little more durable than regular teak oil when I rehabbed my platform. I went with TeakGuard after some research here because it is supposed to last longer than oil and be very durable. Toward the end of last season the platform started to show a little wear on the edge from dragging our tube over it so I put on another two coats. It took less than an hour to take the platform off the boat, apply two coats, let them dry, and re-install the platform. In hindsight, taking the platform off was overkill. It only takes 15 minutes to dry and goes on much easier than oil because it has the consistency of water.

Teak oil is fine but you'll have to re-apply more often if you want it to look nice.

No, I didn't use the teak cleaner. I did rinse with water, waited a few days, then used a tack cloth. I thought about re-applying, but didn't want fresh oil on it when I went out. I didn't want the girls to go "ewwww". ha.

Steve B.

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No, I didn't use the teak cleaner. I did rinse with water, waited a few days, then used a tack cloth. I thought about re-applying, but didn't want fresh oil on it when I went out. I didn't want the girls to go "ewwww". ha.

Steve B.

You did the right thing. You should re-apply oil when it can sit for a while, preferably a few days. Fresh oil equals a slippery surface.

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You did the right thing. You should re-apply oil when it can sit for a while, preferably a few days. Fresh oil equals a slippery surface.

:oops: I do all my teak work in the off season for this reason. When I first got my Bu and refurbished the platform I did a mid summer recoat the day before going out. People were sliding all over the place and getting in was made difficult to say the least, down right painful on at least one occasion. I wont be doing that again.

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I re-did mine last spring. I did not disassemble, just sanded. 80 grit, then 100 grit, then Watco Teak Oil (from Lowes). I put 3 thick coats of oil on it, letting it sit overnight before each coat. I re-coated it 2 or 3 times during the season. It

I think it is worth mentioning that the Watco stuff is NOT teak oil. Reading the can carefully, it is Teak oil finish. That is why it warns about applying in a well ventilated area and such. It adds a finish to the teak rather than deeply oiling it. I am sure it stops the water from penetrating it, and that contributes to it keeping the nice sheen.

It looks great and I have seen guys talk about the Watco stuff on other forums. I will be applying it this spring after getting it all oiled very well with true Teak oil. I am not sure that it would really make a difference, but I have seen some Teak purists talk bad about finish products, and talk about only using oil. I have been using the Meguair's teak oil and it looks very nice...for about 1-2 trips, so I probably have not gotten it deep enough. That is why I will put the finish on there.

In the fall, I did half of the bottom of the deck with Teak oil and the other half with Watco teak oil finish and then after 1 trip to the lake, this is what it looked like: So it is easy to see that the Watco side definitely held some of the nice teak color. And that was with only 1 coat. I should mention that the sides looked almost identical in lustre and shine before the first trip to the lake. I did the bottom since I considered this an experiment.

2011-08-13075956.jpg

And here is what the top looked like before and after being oiled, but without any trips to the lake yet:

2011-07-31195014.jpg

2011-08-27123609.jpg

Notice how the 'finish' is in much smaller print.

020066117917lg.jpg

Edited by TallRedRider
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Does that Watco off-gas or what?

I did mine in the garage, and was worried it was going to ignite from the water heater's pilot light. Man that stuff stinks.

Thanks tallred,

Steve B.

Yes :)

I did mine outside let is sit until after dark. When I moved it into the garage it still stunk up the place,

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After reading the last few posts I am really happy I went with TeakGuard. It is really easy to apply and looked great all summer. I only re-applied because there where a couple small wear marks on the edge from dragging the tube over it. There are no fumes.

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After reading the last few posts I am really happy I went with TeakGuard. It is really easy to apply and looked great all summer. I only re-applied because there where a couple small wear marks on the edge from dragging the tube over it. There are no fumes.

I like the maintenance free that Teak Guard offers but I prefer the coloring that teak oil provides.

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Any of you heard of using tranny fluid on teak? My dad always had big Chris Crafts with teak decks, he would always use tranny fluid to bring the color back. I would never use it on a swim platform, but it did work!!

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