Refinishing teak

[JustMrWill]

Re: Refinishing teak

This is in a "protected" area and doesn't get constant sun exposure...so it was in the best shape of any of the pieces I did. Most of my teak was solid grey and came out looking as good as this piece. <br /><br />I only waited about a day to do the oil...I am impatient . First coat...I saturated (with a paint brush)and let soak in for about 20 minutes...wiped excess off...then did the next coat I applied with a rag...let sit about 10 minutes...see if it soaked up more..wipe excess (if any)..repeat until I got tired of it, it looked good enough or the wood wouldn't hold any more oil. <br /><br />I'm gonna take pictures of my other teak before and after this year. Over the winter it greys abit...but nothing like it was when I got the boat.<br /><br />-JMW<br /><br />edit: I found a picure of the back of my boat before I did anything to it...not a great pic..but gives ya an idea...<br /><br />

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Refinishing teak

Originally posted by KaGee:<br /> Jack you are absolutely correct about making sure the wood is dry before applying the oil. In the hot sun, 24 hours is usually enough. Otherwise, it may take 2-3 days.<br /><br />The OXICLEAN will not damage the wood fibers like bleach can. I won't kill out your grass either, should you be cleaning near it. Per ounce, it's alot cheaper than the "marine" teak cleaning products.

Gotta second KaGee w.r.t. oxyclean type products instead of bleach. Won't damage the wood, and alot more environmentally friendly. Let the oxyclean mix set for 10-30 minutes to work into the wood. Don't let it dry out though, keep wetting it with more of the mixture if needed. <br /><br />Then scrub if needed and rinse. You can add a small amount of detergent to the mix to help break down any oily stains that might be present on the wood.<br /><br />BTW, the active ingredient in these products is sodium percarbonate, with soda ash usually comprising the remainder of the product. The proportion of sodium percarbonite contained varies across different brands. I've researched this a bit, and from what I can tell, Oxyclean contains between 50-60% sodium percarbonate. Most brands are similar or contain less. The common brand with the highest proportion of sodium percarbonate I've found is Shout Oxy Power, which contains 75% sodium percarbonate. You can find a couple of specialty items on the web with higher %'s (or even get 100% sodium percarbonite from a place that sells chemicals), but my guess is that the best value from a price & availability perspective might be the Shout product.<br /><br /> Tips: <br /><br />Mix 6-8 oz of sodium percarbonater per gallon of hot water and give it at least 5-10 minutes to disolve thoroughly before you apply it.<br /><br />Don't store oxygen bleach after it's mixed with water in a closed container as it builds up pressure & can explode! (sprayers with pressure release valves are fine)<br /><br />Use within 5 hours or so after mixing (preferably sooner) as it loses it's potency the longer it's exposed to air.<br /><br />Oxygen bleach products work well for cleaning most woods (including decks) but if you're working on badly stained cedar or redwood, you may need a product that contains oxalic acid since they contain natural tannin extractives that can produce dark colored surface stains. Oxalic acid contains the strength needed to strip away the tannin bleed as well as rust stains from nail bleed on cedar or redwood. <br /><br />For anyone living in the Southeast that has black stains on their roof, sodium percarbonate also works well w.r.t. killing the algae that causes the stains. A problem is the that algae encapsulates itself in a black coating of some type that can be a pain to remove. Might require scrubbing with a push broom or somethig similar to get the algae off your roof even after you kill it with the oxygen bleach mix.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Refinishing teak

LakeLivin,<br /><br />Great information. I will try your approach of putting the oxyclean on for 10-30 min. <br /><br />JustMrWill <br />I found that too much oil and the surface gets gummy. Did you have that problem?

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Refinishing teak

Originally posted by Jack L:<br /> LakeLivin,<br /><br />Great information. I will try your approach of putting the oxyclean on for 10-30 min. <br /><br />JustMrWill <br />I found that too much oil and the surface gets gummy. Did you have that problem?

Never had problems with oil getting gummy. Did you wipe off the excess after letting the oil soak in for awhile?<br /><br />Or perhaps apply the oil in direct sunlight? <br /><br />If neiither of the above caused the 'gumminess', I'm guessing you may have a problem with insufficient rinsing of whatever you used to clean the teak or perhaps a problem with the ph levels of your teak after cleaning. I read a rather comprehensive web article about how different cleaners effect the ph level of wood; some leave it overly acidic, some overly alkaline. Unfortunately I didn't bookmark that article, but I do recall it's important to ensure the wood has a fairly 'neutral' ph (or whatever the baseline should be; might not actually be 'neutral' but there is a normal ph for wood you want to stick close to) before applying ANY finish coat product.