household bleach for teak

[seattleboatguy]

I'm going to re-do my exterior teak this summer. I don't know what combination of varnish and paint that previous owners have put on it. So far, I have just been using a heat gun and scraper. I'll start sanding the first section soon, and I'm wondering if some teak bleach would be in order before the Cetol is put on. I have used the 2 part teak bleach before, but I hear you can also use household bleach. Anyone have any experience with the household bleach option?

 

[rwidman]

If I were you, I would save the household bleach for my tighty whities and use wood bleach on the teak. You can buy it at paint stores, hardware stores and home centers.

 

[sdowney717]

Oxalic acid is a good wood bleach, removes the grey color. Makes it look a light tan.
The cheapest way to buy is a bag off Amazon. Otherwise, a hardware store.

Chlorine bleach will turn the teak white like color.

 

[Scratchnsaw]

I have used Sudsy Amonia for a long time to clean and freshen up raw teak. That's what many of the regular sportfishing boats use for a freshening up. I have never stripped varnish off with it. Just keep everything really wet as you are scrubbing it. Let it bubble up as you scrub it and work it in and sit for a bit on the wood for a few minutes. Then scrub back over the area and rinse. Of course keep your face out of the bucket. as its kinda strong. But its surely cheaper than all of those "Marine Bleach" kits too.

 

[Egregious]

My teak was that bad or worse. We used a heat gun on the old varnish and underneath tended not to be gray. But where the varnish had flaked off as in your first picture I used a combination of some household bleach and Wisk in a bucket of water. I had been using Starbrite teak cleaner and brightener but this works just as well. Scrubbing with a scotch brite pad and the soap/bleach removed so much dirt and grime it was amazing. That was really the easiest part.

 

[sdowney717]

teak deck - surfacing

I will have to try the sudsy ammonia.
I mostly let it grey.

 

[Marlinmike]

TE-KA, water down by 80% in bucket (follow directions), then let dry after a day or two and light sand.

What you do after that... would be a LONG debate.

 

[Larry M]

What ever you use will raise the grain so save the sanding to last. Is there an area you can test? Under a section of the rail maybe?

 

[seattleboatguy]

What ever you use will raise the grain so save the sanding to last. Is there an area you can test? Under a section of the rail maybe?

Yes, lots of areas that I could test. The whole thing will need serious sanding, so I will hold off on sanding until I'm finished with my cleaning/bleaching experiments. Thanks!

 

[Lobstah]

And btw...what anchor is your favorite?

(just couldn't resist that)

 

[Acheron2010]

Oxalic acid.

 

[seattleboatguy]

Oxalic acid.

I'm going to give this stuff a try. I ordered a 2 pound bag of the powder today from amazon. Any tips or cautions when I mix up my first batch? Would a Scotch Brite pad work okay? I assume it will not burn a hole through my foot, my fiberglass deck, or my metal fittings?

 

[sdowney717]

I'm going to give this stuff a try. I ordered a 2 pound bag of the powder today from amazon. Any tips or cautions when I mix up my first batch? Would a Scotch Brite pad work okay? I assume it will not burn a hole through my foot, my fiberglass deck, or my metal fittings?

The acid is weak, won't hurt your fingers or SS or the FG. If you have a cut, it will sting like vinegar.
Oxalic acid is poisonous, it will clog your kidneys, so do not drink it.
I have mixed it with hot water as when hotter it is more reactive then cold water. You can supersaturate the solution, if so all the crystals will not dissolve, just add more water. If you let the water evaporate, it just reverts to white crystals.

What I do is paint it on the wood, let it sit and scrub a little, then let it dry.
Then wet it with water and scrub a little and let it dry, then rinse it off.

As it dries , it concentrates, gets stronger, works better. Sometimes I mix in a little dish soap. It is only reactive when wet.

 

[seattleboatguy]

The acid is weak, won't hurt your fingers or SS or the FG. If you have a cut, it will sting like vinegar...

Got it. Thanks very much for the info. I look forward to trying it. It sure can't make the teak look any worse than it looks right now.

 

[rwidman]

I'm going to give this stuff a try. I ordered a 2 pound bag of the powder today from amazon. Any tips or cautions when I mix up my first batch? ..................

Here's my tip:

Read and follow the directions on the package, especially the safety instructions.

 

[alormaria]

TE-KA, water down by 80% in bucket (follow directions), then let dry after a day or two and light sand.

Another vote for TE-KA.

 

[Nomad Willy]

The book "Brightwork" by "Rebecca Whitman" will be a great asset. This book is often refeered to as the bible of varnishing.

 

[Turner]

I have had great results from Messemer wood cleaner wash followed.by a wood brightner to bring faded wooed to it's original color, make sure there is no metal that it will come in contact with, then I brushed on and wiped down a coat of Penofin Marine oil, came out great. Need to wipe down the exterior teak every 6 months to maintain the color, easy to apply, great results!

 

[Capt.Bill11]

With proper stripping, scraping and sanding you may not even need to bleach the wood.

 

[clyde]

do as a friend did, and paint the teak rails with brown deck/porch paint! worked for him in the south pacific!...clyde

 

[Turner]

do as a friend did, and paint the teak rails with brown deck/porch paint! worked for him in the south pacific!...clyde

Excuse while I disagree with the paint suggestion, noooo, no, no!!! Just spent a week of continuous sanding getting all the peeling porch paint off my Sundowner, what a mess!!! Sanded all the teak trim down to bare wood, used a cleaner and brightner followed by 2 coats of Penofin Marine Oil with a western red cedar stain in it, looks fantastic, just wipe more oil on it twice a year and you have easy maintenance and great teak look.

 

[HiDHo]

I've been removing paint and posible varnish from PO, lucky for me just borders have it on it. I used a soy based remover that works really well. Just lay on a thick coating, let it do all the hard work. Once it crinkles up, the coating and paint can be removed using a putty knife.
I also recommend using sudsy ammonia scrubbed across the grain with a 3M green pad. I use a pole sander, you don't want your nose any where near the ammonia.

 

[koliver]

Have you already sanded? From your photo, I don't think you have, or at least not very much. I think you will be surprised at the results if you were to bleach some of the very damaged wood, versus just sanding it. You will likely find you have to sand after bleaching, to get down to good wood. All the bleach is likely to do is to change the colour of the damaged wood that has to come off in any event.

I hope the purchase price was discounted significantly for the ruined Cetol finish.

If you are putting in the time and sanding to good, smooth wood, don't ruin it by painting over with Cetol again. Use Epifanes Varnish. By the time you get enough Cetol on to look good for the first year, you could have the same number of coats of Epifanes and it will last longer and give you much more pride, so you won't feel bad about recoating (one coat will do it) next year.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Rebecca dosn't support strong chemicals on teak.
Vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda is what my wife used to bring teak back from black. Our cap rails were actually black.

 

[BruceK]

Pic 3 is looking good, HiDHo. It`s personal choice to take it further, but new teak costs. Primary test: Is it looking better? Sure is.
You`ll remove much more material to get to "green teak", and then it greys again. To avoid sanding too much on nameboards I use a teak stain on smooth sanded wood, before varnishing with Cetol TGL Gloss Plus,just a tip, it won`t work for decks.
Soy paint remover? I`ll be more careful at Chinese restaurants! Normally I use a heat gun and scraper, but heat could be violent to caulk, so best not.

 

[Hotrod]

Better know what your doing when using a heat gun. Big problems , if wood gets burned. Also I would use the weakest acid, cleaner, first. There is only so much wood, and you cannot put the wood back on the rail. Same goes for scraper, always pull towards you, learn how to properly sharpen. Be very careful not to catch the corner of the scraper. If possible sand across the grain, in EARLY stages. Remember, less is more with grade of sandpaper, as high as number practical, always, better more labor than less wood. In med stages, ALWAYS sand with the grain, to the end of sanding. 220, for final sanding before, first thinned coat of varish.if you decide, to vanish, ask , I have an excellent way of knowing how to thin. In my opinion, most important step in Appling vanish, but many other important steps also, including but not limited to, weather, wind, dew, brush, time of day, etc,etc. I like to start with less coarseness than 80, if possible, 100, 150,220. Ask away , a lot of very experienced people on here, that can save you a lot of agg.