teak covering boards

Yeah, BLEACH. It will give them that bleached white look. You can use it 50/50 with water, mix in a little dish soap to keep it from running off if you'd like......brush it on, let it sit 10 minutes, rinse off.

Bleach will cause splits and cracking in that teak over time. Not a bad idea to work linseed oil into your program.

Sikkiens also has a " Natural" finish now that is much better looking than the old brown coating.

I just used the natural on a boat, and it looks pretty good actually.......We did 2 coats of the natural, then 2 coats of the clear. That way you can re-sand when it dulls a little or damage and not get into the color of the natural and put another coat of clear on.......


What does the linseed oil do? Just put oil back into the teak? Does it change the color of the wood at all?

CaptJ

Exactly. Puts oil back in. The teak will darken up when first aplied. Best to thin it a bit so it penetrates. Most good teak oils have linseed oil as one of their components. Apply it a couple of times a year between the bleach and soap washing. I used to do the covering boards and the cockpit sole in an Egg Harbor we owned this way, and it worked out pretty well for us. Varnished everything else. So glad the only teak I have now is inside the cabIn!

Does the linseed oil darken it as like the natural color of the teak is darker....such as freshly sanded over teak that's been sun lightened......or does it do it in an odd color sort of way?

Why not just use teak oil to put oil back into the wood instead of using linseed oil? What advantage does Linseed oil have over teak oil? What do you thin it with and what percentage do you thin it to?

I usually only use bleach to clean teak if there are mold spots. Otherwise I generally use Ammonia and then Gary's Golden Teak.

CaptJ

Linseed oil has less of that golden brown color of most teak oils so it's less darkening IMO. I didn't keep my covering boards or sole regularly oiled because I thought it trapped too much dirt. I thinned it by about 25% with mineral spirits, I think it was called. Its like a turpentine. Straight linseed oil seemed to stay on the surface too much rather than really penetrate the wood.

Yes, the Natural is much better looking than the light and does not have that orangey look that both the light and regular have. Use 2 coats of natural and then a few coats of the cetol clear, and you'll be happy with the results.

would that be considered a sealer?

can you varnish over the clear?

No, Cetol Marine is a Eurethane. The natural has a little color in it, so you only want to put 2 coats on otherwise it changes the look of the wood too much or hides the grain too much. You can then put 2 coats of clear and that's usually all you need, I think Cetol Marine recommends 3 coats total. BUT, the clear allows you to be able to sand it without getting into the "natural" coats, and put additional coats of clear on. Otherwise when you sand the natural it will get blotchy looking and you might as well strip it. The Cetol Marine is more durable than varnish, and takes a lot less coats, and is easy to work with. So if it gets dull after a year you can sand it and add a coat of clear. If you just use natural and it starts messing up/wearing after time you pretty much have to strip it. Cetol Marine is a 1 part product like Varnish, you just open the can, stir it, and apply it.

I had one owner that used the Cetol Marine on his teak deck, he had only 2 coats done, it looked very good, and it would last over a year, but, you'd have to strip what was there to refinish it everytime.

You could also use just the clear, if you like the look of the wood itself. The clear is very clear, and does not darken with each coat like varnish does.

Unless they changed the formula recently, the manufacturer suggested you do not use the clear alone becuase it does not have the UV protection of the light, natural and original colors.

We used the light on toe rails with three coats clear over five years ago.
The toe rails still look pretty good although the places where they are spliced has cracked.
We had vasrnished the toe rails previously.

Cetol is not as pretty as varnish.
It is much easier to lay down than varnish.
Unless your familar with varnish, you'd think it WAS varnish from 10 feet or so.
It lasts much longer than varnish with less maintenance.

Both are as slick as snot when they are wet.

Chesapeake 46

Slippery as snot is an understatement.. I've seen covering boards that look like glass. I would hate to try to board those boats on a dewy evening, post cocktails. JerryD has the right idea, IMO, as to how to treat horizontal teak

I use Semco on a 60 Spencer and never had to sand covering boards in 4 yrs

Starbrite tropical teak sealer in light, 2 coats would be durable and not slippery and would be ideal for covering boards. It lasts about a year and looks closest to oiled teak

I'm not sure, I think a strong teak cleaner removes it. But no, it does not finish like cetol. you can still feel the grain through it, it's more like a stain.......