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Old 04-23-2018, 05:59 PM   #1
MichaelB1969
Guru
 
City: San Francisco
Vessel Name: Speedy Charlotte
Vessel Model: Beneteau Swift Trawler 44
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 679
Teakdecking Systems Cleaner(s)

Just bought their ECO-100 powder and their ECO-300 liquid to try out on my decks which had a coat of Semco applied about 8 to 10 months ago. They were starting to look a little tired and definitely needed a new coat of Semco.

I didn't want to use the two-part cleaner/brightener from Semco, or any other acid based product because I didn't want to strip off any Semco that remained or remove any of the soft wood fiber from the teak.

So I tried the Teakdecking Systems products because they do not contain acid and they are supposed to be gentle on the teak. Here is info:

The World's Leader in Pre-Manufactured Custom Teak Decks - Teakdecking Systems®

The World's Leader in Pre-Manufactured Custom Teak Decks - Teakdecking Systems®

I should note that all of their marketing materials about the powder state that it "cleans and brightens without removing the soft fibers of your teak", while no such claim ever seems to appear on the marketing materials for the liquid.

Yet when I contacted them, the representative said "the cleaners have identical chemical makeups, so use the one that suits your preference".

In any case, I tried both, with the following used for the application:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WZ6ZSE

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ROP5XG

I must say the powder worked amazingly well. The teak cleaned up really nicel - better than I expected. Unfortunately, I don't have the "before" photo, which I realize would have helped.

I didn't think the liquid worked as well. One reason could be that the powder was easy to distribute fairly uniformly since you could spread the powder out with the scrub brush, while the liquid kind of just landed where it landed and didn't seem to spread out so easily after squirting it on. I suppose if I had mixed the concentrate with water in a bucket and applied that way it might have made a difference.

In terms of how I applied the powder, I just wet the teak, sprinkled it on directly, spread it around lightly with the cleaning pad, then scrubbed across the grain. I made sure to keep the teak wet, and hosed thoroughly after cleaning each section.

So I bought a few more of the ECO-100 bottles and will now be using it every 3 months or so to give the teak a good yet gentle cleansing.

I should also add that while the teak was dirty, aside from the swim platform it still wasn't graying thanks to the Semco. Love the stuff.

Here are some photos, the first one is after the cleaning with the Teakdecking Systems products (the area shown I cleaned with the powder), the second after the application of 2 coats of Semco (a mix of 50% "Natural" and 50% "Goldtone").
Attached Thumbnails
IMG_0825.jpg   IMG_0864.jpg  
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