There’s nothing more beautiful than a boat with well maintained teak decking. It not only looks amazing, but it helps hold up to the harsh marine environment if it has been properly treated. So, as beautiful as it is, it does require maintenance. If you are familiar with teak decking, you already know you will need to perform needed restoration work from time to time. In order to get great results from your teak wood maintenance and continue to enjoy its beauty in the future, consider these tips for teak restoration.
When Is It Time To Restore Your Teak?
Restoring teak is necessary, not just continue to make it look nice, but to also to protect your wood. You need to know when the time is right. Restoring teak does take quite a bit of time and effort, so you don’t want to go through all of that when it’s not needed. The first way to tell when it’s time is observing the color of the wood. If your teak has turned to a shade of grey or looks brittle, then it’s time to start restoring. Because it is a little more than just slapping some protectant on the wood, it’s important to have a plan before you jump into action.
Start Slow
Jumping in and being too aggressive is probably not the best idea. It’s also important to be careful with what products you choose. Harsh chemicals are not the way to start. You can actually damage your teak if you jump right to cleaners with a lot of abrasive chemicals, and those harsh chemicals are usually not even needed. We suggest you start with our Teak Brite Powder Cleaner. It can deliver amazing results without damaging the wood grain. After using the Teak Brite Powder Cleaner it is important to make sure you let the wood dry completely before continuing. If you find this is not a strong enough cleaner, you may need to move on to a harsher cleaner.
Scrub Scrub
Using the right tool while cleaning your teak is important. Our Life Scrub-All is a heavy-duty continuous filament marine stainless-steel scrubber which is perfect for teak and other hard wood. It has a lifetime guarantee not to corrode, wear out or disintegrate. Be sure to get a scrubber designed specifically for this job will avoid damaging the teak.
Protect Your Teak
Restoring your teak does require quite a bit of effort. Don’t waste all of that hard work by not sealing up the teak after you are done. The critical last step of your restoration should be applying a teak oil and sealer. If you skip this step, your great looking restored teak surface will return to its weathered look. Be sure your teak is completely dry before you apply the oil and sealer. We suggest using BoatLife’s Teak Oil & Sealer. Our oil is the most advanced teak oil and sealer available. It delivers long lasting protection even in tropical climates. You might have to wait an extra day to get back out on the water, but the oil coat will not soak in properly if the wood isn’t dry, so be patient!
For more boating tips and our full line of products, be sure to visit our website at www.boatlife.com.
