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How do you clean/refinish your teak ski platform


chefred112

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I have a 2006 Vride and the guy I bought it from had the platform "Rhino-Lined". It turned out amazing and I've even had a few other buddies do it to theirs! Just an option I thought I'd run past you if you're looking for something different that you never have to touch again!

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rhino line a platform? That's sacrilege! I'd pressure spray first, then use a high qulaity teak cleaner with a scrubbrush, let dry completely, oil once a day for 3 days. Will look great. Some people have RELALY done a good job and sanded using a multistep process and while the results were great, you don't need THAT much elbow grease or time to get it looking 90% better.

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Fred, I literally completed this project this weekend. With respect to the other guys, removed the swim platform if you can.

1.) I would not recommend pressure washing as Teak is porous and you could drive dirt deeper into the wood.

2.) Go to West Marine, basic 2 step Teak Cleaner and Brightner. Bought it for $32.99.

3.) Wet the platform, douse generously the wood with Teak Cleaner, let sit 3 min, (turns dark) and then agitate with synthetic brush.

4.) Rinse thoroughly. I had really bad mildew from the summer,so i repeated the cleaner step again.

5.) Once Rinsed, spread the cleaner thoroughly, and agitate after 3 min and Rinse completely.

6.) Let dry completely. Only took a couple hours as i removed swim step from boat and had out in the wind.

7.) Once completely dry, oil generously, i oiled 2 times over the weekend, and will oil again this week.

The whole thing took me maybe an hour to clean and brighten and then i simply oiled in between football games. I have a picture of it, but I'm not sure how to post it. Good Luck with it, makes the boat look nice...

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I use a product called Starbrite Tropical Teak Sealer. I refinished my platform with the following steps and below are the results. The first pic is the day after the last coat dried. The pic behind the boat is two seasons later with just a re-coat between seasons (no more cleaning or sanding). This stuff really lasts. :thumbup:

1. Cleaned deck with two part teak cleaner called TE-KA. This product uses the first part to open the pores in the wood to release dirt (scrub and rinse). The second part closes the pores in the wood. It worked like a champ as my deck was very dirty (black stains) before I started.
2. Sanded clean platform down with a DA electric sander until I was happy - finished with 400 grit hand sand to get all the slots.
3. Applied 3 coats of the Starbrite Tropical Teak Sealer (classic color)
4. After the last coat the deck feels a bit waxy. This is due to excess sealer on top of the deck (I probably put it on a little heavy with my sponge brush). Just wipe the deck down with a clean rag and the excess comes right off and leaves a beautiful color behind (see below).

Happy refinishing. Nothing looks as good as freshly refinished teak! :rockon:


Teak3.jpg

DSC03143.jpg

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Step 1: follow suggestions from the above posts, MA's process or similar worked well for me. I have sanded my platform a few times and it looks really good after that. Take your time, that pays off. I have been happy with Watco teak finish.

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One thing to note, the grit of paper you start with should be determined by how bad your platform is when you start. I started with 80, then worked up to 400. Some guys stop sooner. The finish grit will determine how "slick" the deck feels when finished. I know our Sunsetter has an oiled deck when I bought it and it is wwaayyy slipperier than the Startbrite finish I use. I can't comment on how slippery Teakguard or some of the others are.

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Fred, I literally completed this project this weekend. With respect to the other guys, removed the swim platform if you can.

1.) I would not recommend pressure washing as Teak is porous and you could drive dirt deeper into the wood.

2.) Go to West Marine, basic 2 step Teak Cleaner and Brightner. Bought it for $32.99.

3.) Wet the platform, douse generously the wood with Teak Cleaner, let sit 3 min, (turns dark) and then agitate with synthetic brush.

4.) Rinse thoroughly. I had really bad mildew from the summer,so i repeated the cleaner step again.

5.) Once Rinsed, spread the cleaner thoroughly, and agitate after 3 min and Rinse completely.

6.) Let dry completely. Only took a couple hours as i removed swim step from boat and had out in the wind.

7.) Once completely dry, oil generously, i oiled 2 times over the weekend, and will oil again this week.

The whole thing took me maybe an hour to clean and brighten and then i simply oiled in between football games. I have a picture of it, but I'm not sure how to post it. Good Luck with it, makes the boat look nice...

Fred

When Re-doing and ACTUAL TEAK platform, I like the above too....but I would sand it after you get it cleaned..... To Me it feels more like a new one when you are done, and I feel it uses less oil and stays cleaner longer when it has been properly sanded smooth....

I also let the platform DRY OUT THOROUGHLY after cleaning (at least a week) and then start the oiling process, which I do over the course of 3-5 days....This process is what I use for an old dirty abused platform like what the before picture looks like....

Once you do the process and stay on top of it, a once every 3-4 week touch up is all that is needed to keep it lookin` new!

I mention ACTUAL TEAK, because on my other boat (a Tige`) it has a TEAK -LIKE wood, as they used a different wood species from the factory and I don't really like the natural color of that species, so I use the same Tropical Teak sealer/stain/finish that Martin Archer uses on that boat....as it protects better and looks better than the original wood look in my opinion....

Keep in mind that the boat pics below are on my Barefoot Boat and we all like SMOOTH under our bare feet...haha

I will show before and after pics here....and yes it's the same platform and the 1st picture is what my 94 Echelon looked like when I bought it in November 2011, the 2nd Picture is what it looked like cleaned sanded and sealed with 6 coats of oil on ALL sides, yes I did the top and the bottom....So the after pictures have a different stern Logo, but I assure you it is the same platform...

I just removed the Competition Logo and replaced it with my own custom "Barefooten" logo....It goes on the back of all of my barefoot boats and barefoot suits

post-15441-0-49844100-1358817625_thumb.j

post-15441-0-22275200-1358818144_thumb.j

post-15441-0-94849000-1358818216_thumb.j

Edited by JB-FOOT
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My dealer got me hooked on this stuff a couple seasons ago. http://www.stateamind.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=23_101&products_id=99600212

It is not the cheapest but I just paint it on in early spring and don't do a thing till the next season. It holds the color all summer with only a slight fade. We use to do the platform 2-3 times a year. Highly recommended.

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Guys, there's no way around having to sand the teak. The discoloration is partly due to mold residing in the pores of the wood. You can pressure wash it out of there but that leaves the wood looking pretty rough and grainy. After having worked on teak on sailboats for years there no other option than a) getting it clean with either chemicals or pressure wash, and then 2) sanding, and then 3) oiling with teak oil (Watco is good). Don't varnish it, it'll flake off in a couple years and look like crap, and then you have to get all the remaining varnish off.

Once you have cleaned/sanded/oiled, then re-oil it every few months and it will look good for a long time. You'll have to do the full drill again in a few years but it's not that bad. Ultimately, the wood dimension becomes too small from the sanding and you have to get new wood, but don't worry about that yet.

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Like I said, I use Starbrite Tropical Teak Sealer on my Tige` because their Teak is not REALLY Teak....

While the Starbrite Tropical sealer looks good, it DOES have pigments in it and it does not let the NATURAL look of the wood be true to the eye...

Nothing wrong with it, it is just a DIFFERENT approach to teak maintenance and final appearance...

Hell, a gallon of the Starbrite Tropical Sealer stuff will last you and five of your friends a lifetime for ALL of your swim platforms combined...LOL

Just sayin`

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I picked up a teak oil called watco at lowes and did it 2 times through the season and it still looks really good.

Guys, there's no way around having to sand the teak. The discoloration is partly due to mold residing in the pores of the wood. You can pressure wash it out of there but that leaves the wood looking pretty rough and grainy. After having worked on teak on sailboats for years there no other option than a) getting it clean with either chemicals or pressure wash, and then 2) sanding, and then 3) oiling with teak oil (Watco is good). Don't varnish it, it'll flake off in a couple years and look like crap, and then you have to get all the remaining varnish off.

Once you have cleaned/sanded/oiled, then re-oil it every few months and it will look good for a long time. You'll have to do the full drill again in a few years but it's not that bad. Ultimately, the wood dimension becomes too small from the sanding and you have to get new wood, but don't worry about that yet.

@chefred112: I picked up the Watco teak oil at Lowes also, numerous posts on this site in different threads on people liking it.

@JB-foot: Sweet looking '94!

The Watco stuff has been mentioned 3 times here. It is worth mentioning that purists should be horrified. The Watco stuff is a 'teak oil finish'. Definitely not to be confused with teak oil. You can tell by the way the vapors make you feel nice and light on your feet if you smell them long enough. So a purist wanting to oil their teak would be very disappointed, it is much more like a varnish.

Having made that point, I used the Watco stuff and am in love with it. It is much less maintenance and makes the teak look awesome. Just don't think you are getting teak oil. You are getting a teak oil finish. Very different. It is sort of awesome how it says 'teak oil' in big letters and 'finish' in little letters.

146955.jpg

And here is mine when I got done with the Watco stuff. It has held its luster much better than oil with much less work.

I first experimented with the bottom of the deck. The left side was the Watco side after a few trips to the lake.

2011-08-13075956.jpg

And after a fresh coat:

2011-08-27123609.jpg

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you sold me!!!

I just pressure washed it a little while ago and couldn't believe how much dirt came out of it...I'll let it dry a few days, do a little sanding and then do the Watco...

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