Older style Platforms

[sully]

Just thought I would share some pictures of what I discoverd when I took my swim plateform apart.




This is what I discovered in between the parts that are screwed together. I think discovered it in time .... and all the black comes of with 100 grit sand paper. My plan is to varnish the plateform with Sikkens cetrol. Hopefully this will prevent this rottening in the future.

Sully

[Laurel_Lake_Skier]

It doesn't look like the wood is rotting, just some discoloration from the water being trapped between the layers.

I wonder if you might be better off using teak oil for the refinishing of the deck. I've seen the Sikens used on cedar siding and decking. After a while it can start to peel off and it needs to be stripped and reapplied on a pretty regular basis.

[H20skeefreek]

Originally Posted by sully

Just thought I would share some pictures of what I discoverd when I took my swim plateform apart.




This is what I discovered in between the parts that are screwed together. I think discovered it in time .... and all the black comes of with 100 grit sand paper. My plan is to varnish the plateform with Sikkens cetrol. Hopefully this will prevent this rottening in the future.

Sully

Even as a person who sells Cetol, I would highly recommend that you do not varnish your platform with Cetol. As Laural Lake said, it will eventually peel and flake off, and requires much maint. I would highy recommend oiling. If you insist on varnish, you must properly seal the teak with a teak wood sealer before varnishing. Teak is a very oily wood, and will cause the varnish to peel much earlier than on other woods such as cedar.

also, cetol has a bit of an orange tint to it that I don't think you will like.

and the black you see is actually some sort of growth. mold/mildew/algea/funk. teak doesn't rot unless it is wet ALL the time.

Sully; This cracks me up! Now what would have you taking apart your teak deck? Thinking I've missed some maintenance item. Below from the web.

Teak is one of the most valuable timbers, "the king under the timbers", in ancient times considered as "a royal timber". Teak is world wide recognized for its durability and stability, The timber is immense stable, has a high oil content that works as "built-in" natural water repellent and is therefore virtually immune to rotting, fungi and harsh chemicals. Teak is one of the few timbers that can withstand the heat of the desert and will not readily catch fire.
Untreated teak can be left in the open for more than 30 years whilst becoming an attractive soft silver color. Teak is one of the timbers not susceptible to termite (white ants) attacks.

[dmac]

Originally Posted by Leroy

Teak is one of the most valuable timbers, "the king under the timbers", in ancient times considered as "a royal timber". Teak is world wide recognized for its durability and stability, The timber is immense stable, has a high oil content that works as "built-in" natural water repellent and is therefore virtually immune to rotting, fungi and harsh chemicals. Teak is one of the few timbers that can withstand the heat of the desert and will not readily catch fire.
Untreated teak can be left in the open for more than 30 years whilst becoming an attractive soft silver color. Teak is one of the timbers not susceptible to termite (white ants) attacks.

Teak 101 I should say.

Thanks Professor, learned some things. I too am curious on the reason for disassembly.

[Dean Witmer]

I have used cetol on several platforms and have never had any peeling problems. One caution - Cetol is a glossy surface and can be slippery so be careful not to put on to much. I have it on the platform of my fishing boat and it haas lasted five years with no peeling and looks like new.

[sully]

Well I decided to take my swim platform apart because when I was sanding it and prepping it I noticed the mold (I would agree it is mold and not rotting) in between the slats, and decided I wanted to remove the mold from there also. Well on thing led to another and I kept finding this mold ... next thing I know my swim platform is almost completely apart. I think this will actually work out better. I can get the varnish in between all the parts creating a better finish and less chance of peeling.

[AirJunky]

Be careful with varnish. We had a guy on Sammamish who tried it & a few years later he had to belt sand it all off. The stuff flaked & cracked badly & looked like hell.

[sfitzgerald351]

Isn't Cetol a bit different than varnish? I used West Marine's Wood Pro (similar to Cetol) two years ago and the platform is looking pretty good. No matter how much I cleaned, sanded, and oiled I couldn't get my platform to stay nice looking. With the Wood Pro it stays looking pretty good. There is a photo in my profile. The only issue is where the skis have scraped it off, but a spot sand, clean and reaaplication has it looking nice. Even if I have to totally sand and reapply in a couple of years it'll still be a lot easier than cleaning and oiling teak every year.

I had the feeling it was one of those jobs, something simple, there is something else to fix and before you know it you have something completely disassembled in a major job.

Originally Posted by sully

Well I decided to take my swim platform apart because when I was sanding it and prepping it I noticed the mold (I would agree it is mold and not rotting) in between the slats, and decided I wanted to remove the mold from there also. Well on thing led to another and I kept finding this mold ... next thing I know my swim platform is almost completely apart. I think this will actually work out better. I can get the varnish in between all the parts creating a better finish and less chance of peeling.