[llanitojacks]

Hi guys,

I have have a slight problem with my bosses decks !!Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I have recently joined a 50m 1930's classic motor yacht based in France.
The previous deck crew had left a generator on the aft deck leaking diesel
onto the teak for a few months. Now the teak has a nasty stain right beside
the owners entrance on the aft deck. I have tried two step teak cleaner to
remove the stain and also oxalic acid with no joy. Apart from sanding down the
deck do you have any ideas on how this stain can be removed??

Thank you!!

 

[negrini]

Same here, but from a much beter accident. I got some stains of wine. Can it be removed without sanding ?

 

[llanitojacks]

2 step acid for teak decks should get that stain out.....

 

[DwayneSpeer]

Time cures all evil, even stains on teak decks. It may take a few months in the sun but it will bleach out.

 

[oceangirl]

Dwaynespeer is right,
In my previous life I was a varnish lady and took care of teak decks (now I am a nurse-go figure). Anyways, one of my customers dropped a greasy slimy pizza on his beautiful, well maintained (cause I took care of it) teak deck . The following Monday He commanded I remove the offending stain. I had to give him the old "it will take time" speech. I cleaned it with Tide w/bleach (my favorite teak cleaner) using a scotch brite pad and then I let the teak go to work. Within a month the teak deck was back to her perfect glory. I'm sure there is a scientific explanation but you won't get it from me, I'm a simple varnish gal happy that it does what it does. A diesel stain of your magnitude may take 6 months or so but it should go away.

This is the part where the princess varnisha in me comes out and must give a lecture on teak care..ready?

1) Never use a bristle brush on your teak. Brushes dig out the soft grain and then dirt collects in that space which makes it an ugly gray. Have you ever been on a slippery teak deck? The soft grain is the natural nonskid in teak. I can't stress enough how damaging it is to use even the softest brushes. Always use a scotch bright pad, (white is best) it wont dig out the soft grain and the sun will bleach it to beautiful silver

2) Sand it smooth ONCE (if it has been abused by a bristle brush)-you should only have to do this once a decade as long as you don't ever use a bristle brush again.

3) Scrub it down once a month or so with Tide w/ bleach or Murphy's oil soap depending how dirty it gets. Murphy oil soap is good for fiberglass too.

4) Salt water bath- give it lots of salt water. I had to make up salt water to spray on my customers teak decks once in a while because the marinas were so polluted. It sounds a bit extreme but my customers had the prettiest decks around.

ok lecture over for now...
Thanks for letting me get on my soap box

Erika

May the Lord welcome you in Heaven, at least an hour before the Devil knows you're dead.
Irish Toast to the Deceased

 

[DwayneSpeer]

Before I learned how to properly keep my diesel fill from burping every time I filled her I got lots of diesel stains on my teak deck. I can tell you from experience that diesel stains will go away. The red died diesel for marine use (no road taxes added) takes longer but it too will go away in a few months.

Don't try to sand it away. It is soaked into the wood and if you manage to sand it all away you will end up with a easily distinguishable dip in the wood. Just apologize to your Boss then sit back and enjoy a cool one while you wait for Mother Nature to do her stuff.

 

[wwilson]

Time cures all evil, even stains on teak decks. It may take a few months in the sun but it will bleach out.

Concur. In this case do nothing is the best advise.

Now, how do I get the teak out of my deck?

Wayne

 

[negrini]

Guys, it's amazing. Thank you for the tip. llanitojacks, thanks for the ride on your thread.

 

[llanitojacks]

Varnisha u are now officially my goddess!!!

Thats great advice. I have been told bits and pieces of what u have told me but by far that is the best explanation i have ever had on teck maintenance.
I did have a drink with a fellow that owns a company that imports a high percentage of teak for the yachting industry into europe and he told me you should only use chemicals on the derck maybe once a year best thing to do is just scrub down with saltwater using.....a white scotch pad!!
I do have another question..... In the yachting world(white boats i mean) its common to use 2 step teak cleaner(acid-alkaline) with a brown scotch pad that tends to be really rough. So many yachts tend to do this 2-3 times a season!! What do u think of using these products??

Thanks so much for your help guys!!!

llanitojacks

 

[jarcher]

So is the wealthy boss going to accept a 6 month wait to get his teak back into shape?

 

[llanitojacks]

Well he hasent got much choice! he been cool about it nothing much else to do.