Stripping old stain from teak?

[duped]

Previous owner used, from what I can ascertain, Minwax Polyshades, or a similar 2 in 1 stain on a good majority of the teak on my Sea Ray. Most of it has held up good, and I strongly prefer it to the old bleaching and oiling every three months or so!!! However, the grab handles on top of the cuddy are starting to look weathered and the "stain" is peeling in sheets on some spots ( leaving grey bare teak under ), so I was wondering what the best product would be to remove the remaining stuff ( and please dont tell me sandpaper... )

I plan on re-staining, so I dont need it to be 100% clean...it's not that important. Would just like a general direction to start in. Some searching comes back inconclusive, and I figured if anyone would know it would be here! Thanks!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Stripping old stain from teak?

I'd try Citrus Stripper

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Stripping old stain from teak?

Good sharp scrapers and yes some sandpaper ..

Why stain Teak ..

YD.

 

[BWT]

Re: Stripping old stain from teak?

The process I do for these jobs is a heat gun and detail scraper to get majority of it off, then depending on the finish I am applying either sand it or apply a water based stripper (my pref is aqua strip) then finish off with sanding.. ultimately you're going to need to sand, no way around that. Being a wood guy I gotta agree with YD, teak is too nice to cover up with stain

p.s. since the old finish was "peeling off in sheets" you're going to need to use a stripper of some sort to get a good bond (with whichever finish you decide to go with). anytime "sheets" are peeling off there is residual stuff in the grains preventing a good bond.

Never used the citrus stripper so can't comment on that. Lots of experience with aqua strip though.....
Good luck!

~BWT

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Stripping old stain from teak?

Teak has a lot of oil in it. Make sure to acetone the heck out of it befor applying any kind of finish to it. This helps to neutralize the oils and allow the stain/varnish or what ever to bond.

 

[BWT]

Re: Stripping old stain from teak?

Teak has a lot of oil in it. Make sure to acetone the heck out of it befor applying any kind of finish to it. This helps to neutralize the oils and allow the stain/varnish or what ever to bond.

This is certainly true, however I've had issues beyond the teak oils interfering with bond (only about 20% of the time, but it's always happened on large projects; never the small stuff ) Now my standard is to use a stripper like the ones mentioned above just to be on the safe side (I hate having to re-do stuff).

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Stripping old stain from teak?

Teak has a lot of oil in it. Make sure to acetone the heck out of it befor applying any kind of finish to it. This helps to neutralize the oils and allow the stain/varnish or what ever to bond.

Actually .. Acetone does not Neutralize it per say .. it evaporates it. Yes .. doing this does help with the initial bonding IMO.

While doing larger jobs I would wipe with acetone ( not dripping wet ) as I go for the first coat.

I still dont know why you would want to stain or Sikkens it ( takes all the depth out of teak ).

YD.

 

[duped]

Re: Stripping old stain from teak?

Well, I dislike the maintenance really. My mooring cover doesn't go up over the bow, so I feel in the hot sun they would be dried out in no time. They are the most exposed pieces of wood on the boat, and also very noticeable, so when they go grey, it makes the whole boat look poorly maintained.

Unless there is a better oil I could be using that actually holds up for more than a month. I use deck wash, and then several coats of the basic Watco teak oil on my swim ladder steps, and although I agree it starts out better than stain, it loses its looks rather fast. But those I cant stain anyways because I think constant foot traffic would wear it out quick.