Naked teak

[FrankSchwab]

OK, tomorrow I start applying some StarBrite - my question is, reassemble the platform first, or apply a coat or two and then reassemble?

My platform was a mess - the previous owner left the boat in the water for at least a year. There was some kind of black organism (mold/mildew) in all of the joints on the platform, and it looked like hell. I decided it would be easier to simply disassemble the platform and sand it down than to try to get into all of those tiny cracks. It may not have been a good decision, but it's done. (Know how many pieces of wood there are in a 1998 Maristar 200VRS platform? 53. Know how many screws hold the whole thing together? A whole lot more than that.)

So, I've got all the pieces drying after my second full day of sanding, then a quick rinse to get everything cleaned off. Tomorrow, I start the finishing process. Any advantage to putting a coat or two of StarBrite on before reassembly? Or should I use some glue on the joints to help strengthen the platform, and StarBrite it after the glue dries?

As a practical matter, it probably won't make a great deal of difference - as abused as this platform was, the wood hidden in the joints appeared to have nothing on it except possibly some 7 year old assembly glue, and it was in fine shape. But, I've got it this far taken apart, and want to put it back together as well as possible.

TIA,

/frank

[JohnnyB]

Since the joints were already glued, I would do that again. You want this platform to be weight-bearing and take some abuse so you want it as strong as possible. I would not oil it and then hope to get a good glue bond. Glue the joints, re-assemble the whole thing and then oil it. Remember teak is naturally impervious to rot....should be ok with the joints not being oiled. My :twocents:


Sounds like a heck of a job....pics would be cool....unless you're like me and still don't own a digital cam ;)

What are you going to use for glue? The 1st thing that comes to mind for me is liquid nails -- I can say, if you use that for adhsive (calk tube version) you will never get it apart again....not that that is bad.

[FrankSchwab]

Yeah, I've got pics. I was gonna post my experiences as a warning to others, so I've documented most of the steps I've gone through.

As far as glue, I was going to use a waterproof wood glue - nothing fancy. Most modern glues on most wood are stronger than the wood already - but I'm not sure that's the case with Teak.

Any other opinions out there?

/frank

[JohnnyB]

Bump.....any updates?

[aerojt]

I agree with the glue comment, the glue is usually stronger than the wood itself.

I would say let it dry for at least 48 hours before applying oil/sealer. I just read this in waterski mag, and mine is drying as we speak. I want it bone dry before I put anything on it. Just bare wood right now. Goodluck!

-JT

[FrankSchwab]

Update -
Don't do this. Really.

Figured out how to screw everything back together. Kind of a pain, really, with lots of problems:
1. The short pieces between the long slats are all identical, except the screw holes are all in slightly different places. I spent an hour moving them around in different orders trying to get the pieces to visually line up before I gave up, lined 'em up, and created new screw holes.
2. I sanded the sides of the slats to clean them up. Now, there's a visible gap between all the pieces that used to fit tightly together. Long-term, this is going to look bad as all the short pieces loosen up and rotate randomly CW or CCW.
3. The teak didn't clean up very well at all, even with the sanding and teak cleaner. It's blotchy, stained, and the color doesn't match well at all.

It is much stronger than it was before; some of the screws along the back edge had stripped, so I had a chance to rework those. All in all, not very happy about the results.

/frank

[PapaJoe]

Somebody once told me to mix a little transmission fluid (red color) with the teak oil, and it stops those blauchy spots??? I have never done it, because I never cared that much... My swim platform gets abused every time I go out... Last weekend was a rough one on the board.... But, its doing OK now...

Just a thought???

JOE

[brianaw26]

sand it down some more.....

[FrankSchwab]

It was 90 degrees last weekend. Time to stop screwing with the platform and go skiing. Maybe I'll consider sanding next winter. Lake Havasu this weekend.