Teak Question

[dgarland10]

Getting ready to do the 3 steps on my teak swim step and had a question. Do you guys typically do both sides of the teak or just the top?

[thager]

I only do the top on my Nautique swim step. Bottom is out of sun and out of sight anyway.

[dbutcher]

When I had teak platforms, I did nothing to them. Teak oil made them more slippery than I wanted.

[Bill22]

+1 for 3 step top only

[6balls]

I used to treat the teak...looked nice but slippery. I have a Nautique 196 and a Ski Centurion Falcon Barefoot which has a teak mini-platform on each side of the outboard. Used to treat them like crazy....looked nice. Have not treated them in many years...when treated they were way more slippery. Faded now sure but in great shape and very useful. Caveat is I don't live in Florida sun for example...treatment may be more important in such an environment.

[sunvalleylaw]

Just did mine this spring. I did both sides this time, as the boat was new to me, and I wanted it fresh. May only do the bottom every other year or so. I sprayed it down with degreaser, sanded when wet, then used Star Brite Teak cleaner, then the brightener, then the Star Brite color sealer, Classic Teak color. The step had been doused in Thompson's water seal for years and I wanted to get rid of all that and start over. Mine is not slippery.

 

I expect to do only light touch up for a couple few years at least. It is holding up real well. And really do not expect to do much at all to the bottom after doing it this first time.

 

 

 

 

[igkya]

+1 for top only. I would only clean the bottom if/when needed. Leave the platform in the sun for several hours in between coats. May be time consuming, but I never had an issue with oil on my ski or the platform being slippery.

[ktm300]

Our public lake boat is a 1996 MC. Never had teak oil on the platform in over 20 years. Has held up great. Actually provides some grip for the skis.

[TallSkinnyGuy]

I treat mine with teak oil regularly and my deck never gets slippery. I sand it with 80-grit sandpaper and nothing finer. I think this helps it to feel smooth without getting slippery. I have found that teak oil can make spots slippery if I apply too much and don't wipe off the excess before it dries. If I apply the right amount and wipe off excess then it just treats the wood but doesn't "varnish" it. That's my experience, anyway.

[sunvalleylaw]

+1 for 80 grit. That is what I used. Feels nice. No need for anything finer, and is not slippery.

[bradenb12]

I did both sides on mine last year because it was pretty rough...but I would agree that only the top is necessary for maintaining. And don't get carried away with sanding as you can sand through and expose the screws. A little bit goes a long way! +1 for 80 grit

[dgarland10]

If doing top and bottom, do you go through 3 step process on one side then, say the bottom, then do all 3 steps on top?

[Chef23]

I use this on my platform: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/sikkens--cetol-marine-wood-finish--P004_128_002_501?recordNum=1.

 

I used the regular cleaning process then a little sanding and treat with the above product. My boat sits in the water all summer and this keeps the teak looking fresh and it isn't slippery like teak oil. This year the platform still looked good and I was tight for time so I just put it on without treating and it still looks great.

 

Sorry about the long link I did this quickly and couldn't get it right.

[sunvalleylaw]

@dgarland10 ; I did each step at a time, top and bottom. I did it on those saw horses you see in my pic. I did not experience any problems doing it that way. For the final step, I did the bottom first, to make sure I would do the top last, so I could take care of any imperfections up top. I did not need to use a ton of product on the bottom, and it did not leak through for me anyway. I tried to get some product to go down in the cracks from the top only. But again, did not overdo it. Getting it out in the sun was key to getting it to set well. It did not take long but definitely needed the sun. On the Malibu forum, some took their whole platform apart in order to get all surfaces. I did not see the need for that or do that.

[FSSPCat]

I had to sand mine down this summer because the previous owner used a polyurethane instead of teak. I left it a little rough after sanding and it's not slippery at all.

 

[jah81592]

I do both sides using Teak oil. No much more work to do.

[hemlock]

Can you even buy a new boat these days with a teak platform? I think it adds a nice luxury touch to the boat.

I've always used oil and a bit of sand paper to keep it clean. Never slippery.

 

I've heard of guys using pressure washers to clean them, but you are likely to cause damage. So I would avoid that method.

[Broussard]

MasterCraft still offers teak platforms. As far as I know, you can only get fiberglass with the other guys. @hemlock

[slow]

I've pressure washed mine once a year for the last 10 years. Easy

[evolski]

definitely power wash. Oil does make it slippery, not necessarily for putting a ski on, but if you have to step on the platform from the dock and it's wet after you have oiled it -have someone with a video - i've ended up in the lake :)

[igkya]

Like I and others have said, let the platform dry really well between coats, wipe of the excess and you won't have a slippery platform. FYI - be cautious with the power washer, while it can be fast and ez, get it too close and you'll create another problem.

[BrennanKMN]

I never oiled mine. It looks the same when it gets wet anyways. I also don't like to set my ski on it when it was oiled recently.

 

I do wish my current boat had a teak platform. I still don't like the composite ones. A proper teak platform classes up the boat 10x in my eyes.

[adkh2oskier]

On my 89 SN 2001 I oiled the top every year for 23 years and it held up very good, never slippery. Always did the 3 step process. One thing to watch for on older teaks is that over the years the screws start popping up through the teak and can scratch up the bottom of your ski. I had to actually remove several screws and file them down to keep that from happening.