Teak – oiled or varnished boat surfaces

Cleaning, protecting and restoring marine teak

Teak on boat decks and fittings weathers to an attractive enough grey, but dirt and pollutants discolour it. If you want to preserve the original beautiful golden colour it must either be oiled, waxed or varnished.

Don’t scrub or pressure wash teak. This removes soft fibres from the wood and raises the grain, increasing the speed of weathering.

Maintenance

Wash gently with a soft brush.

For oiled teak, apply fresh oil as required. Don’t oil dirty teak, or the black stains will be sealed in.

Protection

Use teak sealer to seal in the oil of oiled teak. This seals in the oil and makes it last much longer.

Restoration

Use BoatSheen Teak Restorer, or sand back to a new surface before oiling or sealing

Take great care to keep oxalic acid or teak cleaner off other surfaces.

To restore varnished teak, strip, sand and apply up to seven coats of new teak varnish. Increased coats improves durability, its as simple as that.