Teak Swim Platform care

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

Beautiful. Now keep it oiled! lol

[shaka403]

That is the plan!! I had cramps in my hand for 2 days after all that sanding...I did a lot of it by hand before my dad brought me the electric one.

[talltigeguy]

Watco here I come.

I have been putting some Meguiar's teak oil on my deck and it just has not been getting the wood color back, it looks improved until the first time I get it wet. Then it is back to square one.

Is it because I need to sand also? Although I really do not have any scratches to get rid of, it is just generally whitish brown and old looking.

[shaka403]

I am no expert as this is my first boat, and my first time to do this....BUT I'm sure it couldn't hurt. Don't sand it TOO much, but sanding it will raise the grains and it will take the oil better. Then just oil it, sun bake it, oil it again, bake again, repeat until there are no dry areas. I had a couple of set backs when I was doing mine as it rained a couple of days so after the first coat it set under fans took awhile to dry...the last 2 coats baked in the sun though.

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

Watco here I come.

I have been putting some Meguiar's teak oil on my deck and it just has not been getting the wood color back, it looks improved until the first time I get it wet. Then it is back to square one.

Is it because I need to sand also? Although I really do not have any scratches to get rid of, it is just generally whitish brown and old looking.

Tall, depending on how white and oxidized your teak is, there is no product that will make it look new again. Sanding is the only way. I used a long file (air driven). Teak is amazingly hard wood, so I would recommend at least a 150 grit. Take a pic.

[talltigeguy]

Tall, depending on how white and oxidized your teak is, there is no product that will make it look new again. Sanding is the only way. I used a long file (air driven). Teak is amazingly hard wood, so I would recommend at least a 150 grit. Take a pic.

Will take a pic when I get a chance. I also did not sun bake it like I should have. Other threads like this seem to indicate that when it gets like mine, a little sanding would go a long way.

That is just hard to do, my AC in my garage is way too small and it is 100 + degrees in there. Sounds like a good fall project.

[shaka403]

Hey now no excuses! I live in Texas where we regularly are over 100, with heat indexes around 110! I did mine in the late evening...it was still humid as heck, but if I can do it so can you....I mean after all I'm just a girl LOL

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

did you do it in true Cool Hand Luke car wash fashion? If so, we want pics.

[talltigeguy]

Hey now no excuses! I live in Texas where we regularly are over 100, with heat indexes around 110! I did mine in the late evening...it was still humid as heck, but if I can do it so can you....I mean after all I'm just a girl LOL

A girl that uses Sandpaper and teak oil, and loves a boat enough to do maintenance in 100+ degrees. You are a rare find.

I should just 'man up' (forgive the colloquialism) and get it done. You have inspired me.

[shaka403]

BIg Daady...no I did not...sorry to disappoint Tall Tige', glad I could inspire you!! It wasn't easy for sure, but well worth it!

[talltigeguy]

So I did some work on the Teak this week.

I decided to stick with the Meguiar's teak oil I already have and see what happens if I let it bake in the sun. That made a huge difference. The wood is not perfect, but it held the oil much better after a trip to the lake. Previously, when I did not bake it in the sun, it looked good when I left the garage, and then after pulling it out of the lake, it looked old and dry again.

For fun, on the bottom, I have done half with the Meguiar's oil and half with the Watco Teak oil finish. So far, I cannot tell a difference. Both look golden shiny. Will review once I have it out to the lake. I think the take home message here with the teak oil is that if it has been a long time since it has been oiled, you are going to need to do several coats to get the oil to penetrate, and that it needs to bake in the sun.

[dogbert]

If you don't want to work so hard at sanding, try the product I used in this write-up: Snappy NU

[talltigeguy]

Here is sort of what I am dealing with. I found that the Watco teak oil, is not oil at all! It is a 'Teak oil finish' which is a far cry from the oil itself. Does not mean that it is not good, but it is not the same.

Here is what my platform looked like after I did half with oil, and half with the Watco stuff, and then a trip to the lake. Clearly the watco stuff held the shine somewhat. I would never undertake the 1/2 platform test on the top side for fear of always having an asymmetric swimstep.

My plan is to oil it up good and then finish it with the Watco. The Watco specifically says not to apply when the temp is over 90 degrees, so this project will have to wait until I have a good morning, or later in September. I hope to have her all oiled up by then.

[talltigeguy]

And after 1 day of baking with oil on it in the sun, the top side looks like this. That is a huge improvement, but still a couple of oil layers to go.

[dingleberry]

tall - what is the little trapdoor for in your platform? Access to the wedge?