Teak Oil - Watco? Starbrite? Other?

I have some outdoor furniture with exposed teak. I've cleaned with oxalic acid and want an oiled finish. What are people using? Home Depot carries Watco at about $11/qt. West Marine carries Starbrite which is supposed to be pretty good, but only have it by the pint for $30, s 6x the price. West Marine is nearby to me either.

Thoughts on good, available teak oil?

Thanks in advance -

Peter

Oiled teak requires regular maintenance. Not a terrible job, but not really necessary unless you need a certain look. I have used a few, I don't know that any are tremendously better than others. Amazon has lots of cheaper choices. Personally, I would let it weather gray, zero maintenance. Cetol is a durable finish, but will have a different look than oil. Good luck whatever you decide.

The expensive Star Brite stuff has always worked well on my interior teak. And that bottle goes a long way. The one I've got aboard has been there as long as I can remember and it's still mostly full, despite oiling at least once a year (and it used to be done more often before the teak had absorbed as much).

I agree with oiling interior teak, but outside is a different story. I've done it, and it looks nice, but it's a constant battle to keep it that way.

backinblue said:

I agree with oiling interior teak, but outside is a different story. I've done it, and it looks nice, but it's a constant battle to keep it that way.

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Agreed. If it's a small amount, the every few weeks oiling isn't so bad. But if it's any significant amount of teak, it becomes a real headache.

DALY'S WOOD FINISHING PRODUCTS Seafin Teak Oil

I just did my teak table with red tint Awlwood and it came out great! I finished with the satin topcoat so it doesn’t look glossy wet.
Since it’s up on the flybridge and under a bimini I expect it to last at least a decade before it needs recoating.

There is no standard for what constitutes Teak Oil. But I'm with RonR - I use Daly's Seafin Teak Oil for interior wood. It has proven to be one of the better products and is technically an oil/varnish blend and is made up of oil, resin, solvent, and maybe some other additives (they won't actually tell you). Think very thin varnish. It applies like oil and soaks into the wood, but there is enough varnish that it will eventually build a coat. It is my favorite product for interior wood.

Another option is wiping varnish which is a regular varnish with up to 50% solvent or mineral spirit. I've used wiping varnish on exterior wood that takes abuse (I used in on my small 16' wood Haven sailboat). In that case, I made the wiping varnish myself. It was easy to touch up and looked good. You have to build a lot of coats but you can build them quickly.

I'm not sure I'd recommend teak oil for wood constantly exposed to exterior conditions. My experience with oil in those cases is that it gets dark quickly and tends to attract pollutants that stick to the wood. It just is not up to the task of protecting exposed wood. Of course, it looks great until it doesn't. If it is a table that can be covered when you are not on board - then it's certainly an easy upkeep coating.

I should probably elaborate a little. I used Daly's on my deck. The deck was covered, and the boat was also in covered moorage. I would reapply about every 3-6 months pending abuse. It is very easy to maintain, looks sharp. I am not so sure it would last long if exposed to the elements. I also used it on the interior table. But this time around I am doing a full varnish job on the table as I love the look.

You guys are too hung up on products.
Go to the store and buy products.
I’ve always made my teak oil based on Linseed oil.

But unless you’re in a cold climate it will get a bit sticky. My experience was that when I sat on the cap rail there was a tendency to stick but only slightly and there was never anything on my pants.

You could try a light coat. Perhaps 85% turpentine and see what you’ve got. Maybe 95% terp. I’ve never tried that. Seems like it may be the best compromise. Just doing nothing to keep the teak from weathering is’nt good for the wood. And anything else is too much trouble.
You can brush the oil on the wood but it will run off onto the fiberglass surfaces. One just needs to wipe it up. Probably will need need multiple rags.

With using oil (as in turp and oil) insuring that you use so little oil that there’s no build may give some of the wet look and preserve the wood. I’ve tried Dalys. It has build and is IMO just a light varnish. For some reason sailboaters seem to love it ?? But if you get no build you have no maintenance ... it would seem.

Most people think Tung oil is better than Linseed oil. It may be. But I don’t think it’s worth looking for. Dock talk, other talk and reading has never revealed a clear answer in my travels.

And something else to keep in mind is that an oil finish basically requires the same surface preparation as varnish.

I have used both Watco teak oil and Liquid Gold.

When doing an initial coating for either new or stripped wood I use the Watco oil, several coats.

For mtc. of the finish I then use the Liquid Gold. '

Note however that this is for my interior wood, teak.

The Watco is the somewhat darker of the two.

All the exterior wood is varnished.

So not likely any help from here.

In always preferred it going its natural silver gray. But if for some reason you don't want that, I like Semco the best. You see it used a lot on sportfishermen cockpits and coaming boards where it really takes a beating. A friend's Gulfstar has it in Natural on the railings; looks good and has held up well.

Semco Products

I’ve used several different teak oils. To my eye the Watco looked best. None of them lasted long enough in the Florida sun.

A customer once came into my store and asked my father what is the best thing to put on teak? My father handed him a can of Interlux Salmon Buff paint.

I tried most over the years, Semco wins hands down, folks on my dock stop and look.

Two coats then one every 6-8 months

I've used Cetol and it held up well. Semco looks good. But neither of these are an oil if that's what you really want. My new boat had no exterior teak until the original owner replaced the plastic engine air intake panels with teak. I like the look so I remove them over the winter and give them a few coats of varnish.

Semco does say it's an oil, but sure has the appearance.


Percent by weight: + or - 75%
Proprietary Ingredients

lipets said:

Semco does say it's an oil, but sure has the appearance.


Percent by weight: + or - 75%
Proprietary Ingredients

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Do you mean NOT an oil? From what I read it is a sealer, not an oil. That's not a bad thing, in fact oil on teak is a constant upkeep battle. I only mentioned it because the OP was specifically asking for the best "oil" not the best product.
More info here.
Teak Care

I am concerned about the environment. I am not a true, died in the wool environmentalist tree hugger, just a regular guy who doesn't like to see garbage on the roadside, plastic bags and cups floating in the water, oil sheen from bilge pumps. Things like that.

My boat is plastic (fiberglass) my leisure suit is polyester and I don't have an electric vehicle. In fact I have a Suburban which is pretty non efficient.

I guess as the old song goes, "I'm an old hippie and I don't know what to do. Should I hold on to the past? Should I grab on to the new"?

But...Teak oil, Cetrol, engine antifreeze and caustic bottom paints are just plain BAD for the environment. If any of these chemicals need to be applied very few weeks or few months the quarts and gallons of the stuff goes somewhere. Most likely into the water.

I painted all my teak. Sure it will have to be repainted in a number of years but it will not take gallons of chemicals every season.

I'm not a fan of oiled teak.

pete

Pete Meisinger said:

I am concerned about the environment. I am not a true, died in the wool environmentalist tree hugger, just a regular guy who doesn't like to see garbage on the roadside, plastic bags and cups floating in the water, oil sheen from bilge pumps. Things like that.

My boat is plastic (fiberglass) my leisure suit is polyester and I don't have an electric vehicle. In fact I have a Suburban which is pretty non efficient.

I guess as the old song goes, "I'm an old hippie and I don't know what to do. Should I hold on to the past? Should I grab on to the new"?

But...Teak oil, Cetrol, engine antifreeze and caustic bottom paints are just plain BAD for the environment. If any of these chemicals need to be applied very few weeks or few months the quarts and gallons of the stuff goes somewhere. Most likely into the water.

I painted all my teak. Sure it will have to be repainted in a number of years but it will not take gallons of chemicals every season.

I'm not a fan of oiled teak.

pete

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That's a good point. Oil stays put just fine on interior teak, but it has to go somewhere on the exterior stuff where it needs frequent reapplication. Varnish, Cetol, paint, any of the 2 part coatings, etc. are all better options, as they do a much better job of staying where you put them. It would be an interesting question to determine which one has the least impact over time.