Sorry State Of Teak Platforms

[AirJunky]

Originally Posted by jrandol

Will that hurt the wood any? Any recommendations on a good varnish for this sort of application?

Actually, it cracks after sitting in the sun. I Traxxed one a couple summers ago that had been varnished. Had it not been for a cover of some kind, or sanding it all off, I would have guessed it was garbage.

[east tx skier]

Tim, you got your boat back yet? Platform looks good. Since I go diagonal in the garage anyway, I just leave mine on the boat. But pretty much everything else is on the wall.

[6ballsisall]

Here is my swim platform after 50 grit paper, 1 coat of teak cleaner, 50 grit paper again, 1 coat of teak brightener, 2 coats of teak oil, 120 grit paper, 3 coats of teak oil. How's it look?

[BriEOD]

Nice job!

[TalleyHo]

Perhaps this is a stupid question, but why the low grit sandpaper? I would think that would just scratch it up. I would think a super-fine, maybe even wet-paper would be the best way to smooth it down. Perhaps start out a little rougher, but ultimately, why do you not end on a really fine sand paper? Does it get it too smooth so you bust your a$$ when you stand on it? For me, oiling it is sufficient enough for that.

[6ballsisall]

Tallyho,

I am kicking myself for not getting a before pic. This platform was really rough. you could get slivers by putting your hand on it. Had to break off all the pieces with the big paper first. I am actually contemplating doing like a 250 grit paper now on it and maybe 2 more coats of teak oil.

[MasterCrafting]

I'm going to give Farmer Ted a 9.0 because i can see where some fin scrapage has lightend the color but overall a very fine piece of wood. Jrandol I am going to give you a 9.0 as well because your teak is older and not fully restored yet. I'm not saying my deck is the greatest either but most decks should be at least a 6.5-10. I'd rate my own about a 9.0 its in the same condition as Farmer Teds.

Keep em comin!

[G-man]

your platform is looking good. Keep sanding and putting coats of oil on. It is important for the oil to dry completely. I baked mine this summer 93 degrees for 8 hours, then sand again. I used to start 150, 200, 400wet, and 1000wet sand paper. after the 200 I put a small amount of oil in the palm of my hand and rubbed it in till there was little residue on my hand. The best oil is one of the least expensive, Starbright in the white bottle. This is a great project in the winter if you get warm enough to put it outside inbetween coats. One of my photos shows my current platform. I still have my show platform from my 93. It was sanded down to a 2000 wet grit. It looks like furniture, I'll make a table out of it this winter.

[ski_king]

Ok, what is the best teak oil to use. For years I used a product called Tip Top Teak. It was not a sealer, just a oil. I would add a touchup coat every other week or so and it looked great. When I finished that bottle, I couldn't find it again anywhere, so I went with a Starbright Product. Over the winter I did the cleaning, sanding and added umteen coats with fine grit sanding in between. It looked great.
Until I actually started to use the platform. The finish was chipping off. It is about all worn off now, and I plan to sand and clean it again, and I am looking for a product like the Tip Top Teak Oil I used to use.
Starbright in the white bottle, Amazon or what?

[G-man]

Starbright in the white bottle. I have put 30 hours on my boat in the last 6 weeks and touched up just the scratches last week. How are people treating your platform when they put on their equipment? Sounds like they are beating it up pretty bad.