Teak Looks Like Cr@P!

We put our wakeboards on while on the platform & scuff it up pretty good.

We just touched it up before heading to Green lake, the rest of the time it looks like we use it for it's intended function.

I think the polished one's look great though!

It all started when my wife wanted to re deck the front porch. Enter Ipe.
I had one extra piece and you know how it goes. In a Saturday with about $ 45 (total in wood) and $20 in SS screws I was able to build a new swim platform. It came out the "nines". No special tools...table saw, jig saw, belt sander,planer, armstrong(for the finish work). I wish I could post a photo... but I need help!New may be a better answer than refinish!!

The process is painstaking, but the finish product is worth it. I did mine 2 years ago and only now is it needing the full-up process again. Last winter I only touched it up- no cleaning involved. If my lift hadnt broken for 3 weeks this past summer, who knows how long it would have lasted! It was smooth and looked awesome to boot.

Has anyone used West's brand of teak cleaners and sealers? They are cheap?

WakeSlayer wrote: There was a thread here a year or so ago about a mastercraft guy that had perfected some elaborate process for re-doing his teak deck. It was something like a 16-18 hour process all told. Claimed that it required only light maintenance for a long period after that. If I can find it I will post it. That said, I have not touched mine in years, but may do the Mustang deck in the Spring.

Yeah, that method works pretty well even though it is overkill. I use a modified version of it and only have to touch up my teak in the spring. About every 5 years or so, I'll strip it down and start from scratch.

He basically gets it down to bare wood and a medium grit, oils with the SB teak sealer (cheap stuff in the white bottle). He sands between coats and gets it up to about 2000 grit wet sand. He lets it dry completely in the sun in between coats. The last coat, he puts on with his bare hand (this works really well).

It looks really nice and is very durable, even if you're like me and put your skis on while on the platform. It is also not slick even though it appears to be that way.

My method doesn't use nearly as many coats, but holds up well and looks nice.

/edit. Whoops, seems like this has already been covered. Sorry for the redundancy.

It need to dry between the cleaning and when you start to but oil on it or the oil won't soak in. Then a day or so after your last coat of oil before it sees the water will help it last a little longer. I have the best luck if I clean it on Saturday morning and do the oil on Sunday, this time of year the sun is your friend and speeds the dry times. If the last coat of oil goes on Monday morning, then it should be ready to go Tuesday evening. I prefer to do it when I have even more time than that, but that works well with my summer holiday detail schedual Memorial Day and Labor Day.

"Ipe, lapacho, cortez
Local Name: Corteza, corteza amarilla
Botanical Name: Tabebuia spp"

Ipe is a good choice as a replacement for Teak.

Old and new

Old

New


It was about time...

Wow, that looks great!

I'm trying a product designed for hardwood decks, Messmer's UV Plus. It is nearly water thin in the can, as the carrier flashes off, it becomes more viscous. It penetrates well because of this, I'll let you know the results.

No matter the products I have tried, many very thin, wiped-on, coats last much longer than one or two heavy coats. I lightly sand between coats with a very fine sanding sponge, tack off the dust, then wipe another coat on. Only takes a couple of minutes per coat.

I still use the Starbrite. It can look beat up if people put skis and boards on while on the deck and the fins scrape it. I strip mine and redo it once a year. The color with Starbrite is not as natural as the oil. it looks good, and yes, it is non-slip.

Nice job on the rebuilt deck, TRIP!

Reviving this old thread to ask which type of screw is best used for the deck?
I have to keep my boat in the water most of the time. When I take it out and the platform dries the wood shrinks and some screws have already broken off completely. Stuff is hard to find around here but if I first know what to look for...
Thanks!

I use the 3 step Star Brite, cleaner, bleach, oil. Been done since July '12 still looks good. My pics are too big or I'd post them.
Trip, my father in law used a set of stainless screws that have aggressive threads at the tip, then a blank shaft and then threads at the top, with a torx socket. He uses them on his deck for the same reason, and you can get them at Home Depot.

Nauti87
All of our pictures are too big...we shrink them and post them. Get on board.