Geenish teak

[C&S]

I'm helping out my BIL with refinishing some teak trim for his sailboat. We decided that a couple of the pieces were a bit too weathered to restore so he bought some teak from which to mill some replacement parts. The new teak has a distinctly greenish cast. It appears that the newly milled faces of the stock are the most green.

Is that normal? is it wet? needs oxygen? or did he just buy an ugly, overpriced chunk of wood?

I'm new to teak. I know that the natural oils are a concern when gluing. Is there any special prep I should do before applying marine varnish?

Thanks,

Steve

[matthew silver]

IMO, yes - do not varnish it. Once you put a coating of anything on it, you will continually have to maintain it, until you have had enough, and then have to clean it off (sand, scrape, whatever) There are some products to bleach teak - to make it look like 'new wood'. A light sanding will help. Usually, teak goes to a grey state in a year or

2. Unfinished teak has a good non-skid quality, which can be useful on a boat. Most coatings will give it a slick(er) slippery finish.

If you really must finish it, wiping it down with acetone will help remove the oil from the surface, to help in a better bond for the varnish

Matt

[dadiOH]

sailboat. We

restore so

It is normal. Many woods have a different color when freshly cut.

[Max Mahanke]

[Tom Dacon]

Put it out in the sun for a while. It's likely to change color to a dark brown after a few days. I'll put out fresh teak on sunny afternoons for a few days in a row, taking the wood in at night. The irregularities usually even themselves out after a while, and they ordinarily brown out nicely.

I remember cutting a bunch of plugs out of a teak board one day. The plugs came out of the plug cutter a bright salmon pink. I was working outside at the time, and just flipped them into a box on the bench that was lying in direct sunlight. Within no more than a half-hour, they were the same dark brown as the surface of the board that I was cutting them out of.

For surface prep, wipe the wood down with a rag moistened with acetone just before you put on the first coat of finish. Don't drench it - you just want to remove the surface oils. If you're using varnish, thin the first coat maybe 30% so it gets a good chance to penetrate. Later coats can be either slightly thinned or full strength.

Some people use a clear penetrating epoxy sealer as a base coat. Smith Brothers' CPES is one of the best, in my opinion.

Tom Dacon