posted 07-19-2009 09:05 PM ET (US)        

On the reversible pilot seat back I tried a well worn 60-grit on a Bosch orbital sander. It worked well and gave a little margin of error to first time effort.

Is there a problem and loss by cleaning up super-roughness before the chemical cleaning? Sanding takes more than two-thirds down to raw teak, or at least the hard part of the teak.

posted 07-20-2009 07:06 AM ET (US)            

After all the reading, and now the hands-on experience, I've found that cleaning badly deteriorated teak first with some kind of product (I've been using the two-part Snappy Teak) is probably the best way to go. After I've removed all the dirt and stains with the cleaner, I then start sanding.

I use an orbital sander on the flat parts, starting with 80, then moving gradually up to 220. I don't touch the curves with the orbital - I use my hands, or I use a nail file.

posted 07-20-2009 07:41 AM ET (US)            

I'd caution against using steel wool. Small pieces of the wool will invariably be left behind - somewhere on your boat - and will start to rust. Go with brass wool instead.

Good luck.
Dave

posted 07-20-2009 09:01 AM ET (US)            

My teak was in very good condition and nicely oiled just two seasons ago. It has already deteriorated. In the grain of the wood a black residue builds up. I believe it is mildew. This may be more of a problem in fresh water than in saltwater. I see many large sport fishing boats in saltwater with gray teak, but I don't see the back mildew in the grain. Their teak just looks uniformly gray. My teak still has a golden wood color, but the grain is filled with black streaks.

I don't know if my approach is the best, but I usually proceed like this:

The initial step is to scrub the teak with a cleaner. I tried two different cleaners recently. Oxalic acid is mentioned as a cleaner. I had some BAR KEEPER'S FRIEND powder which has Oxalic acid. I tried it, but the results were not particularly great. Next I tried some liquid teak cleaner. I used the WEST MARINE house brand one-step cleaner. This was not particular amazing, either.

Because the black mildew is in the grain, I found that removing it was difficult with a scrubby-sponge. I switched to a scrub brush. I tried three different brushes before I found one whose bristles seemed able to get into the grain and remove the black streaks.

Giving the wet wood a hard scrubbing tends to raise the grain and make the wood softer. After the wood dries, I follow up with some Teak-Treatment, a product that says it helps to remove any cleaner residue and prepares the teak for oil. It is a light and volatile liquid, probably has some mineral spirits in it. I wipe the teak with this solvent and let it dry.

Next, I sand the teak. I try to keep the sanding to a minimum. Each sanding is removing wood, and if you kept sanding the teak eventually you would reduce its thickness noticeably. I also find that teak sawdust is quite an irritant. I don't have much scientific information to add about sanding. My technique is probably poor and could easily be improved with mechanization and better quality abrasives.

Using a cleaner before sanding gets rid of a considerable amount of the black streaks in the grain, all but the very deepest. I suppose if you scrubbed relentlessly you could get to those deep grain areas, too. I don't know for certain that it's true, but it seems to me that removing the black mildew before sanding is a better approach. If you remove the mildew by sanding you could be sanding the mildew into the remaining wood.

On the other hand, wetting the wood and scrubbing it does seem to raise the grain of the wood, so more sanding is needed to get the surface back to smooth and level.

posted 07-20-2009 09:30 AM ET (US)            

Speaking of sparkling teak, I was at the local Evinrude service center here in Barrington, RI, last week, and noticed that the yard's run around is a 20'(?) Outrage of mid-80s vintage. What struck me is the varnished teak (well, to be frank, the entire boat is immaculate). I had planned on oiling the gunwhales and varnishing the rest, but after having seen this boat, I'm leaning towards varnishing everything (in addition to which, I have to oil at least once a month in the salt air/water).

Snapped a couple of phone-photos. They're a little dark, but you can see the shine (not just from the teak... what I wouldn't give for that Etec right about now):

posted 07-20-2009 01:33 PM ET (US)         

Using a brush to clean teak with liquid cleaners literally ruins the surface, and will require even more agressive sanding to restore the surface. The more you clean and scrub, the quicker each subsequent job will deteriorate.