A teak bridge that suffered during the winter
To do this, we will tackle the teak deck of a 42-foot open motor yacht, which has been wintering afloat. Teak is a wood naturally saturated with oil. Rich in oleoresin, it protects itself and resists well to the assaults of the sun or the salty atmosphere. The only difference is that this wood always ends up greying. Even if this does not endanger it, it is undeniably less aesthetic..
So we're going to give it a little facelift before the summer. After checking that all the deck hatches are closed, we wet the deck with water to remove dust, spider webs and other winter residues. A first shampoo with Nauticlean 09 and a soft brush is done on the whole deck, in order to deoxidize the teak.
Deglazing teak
In a second step, in order to give back its colors to the teak, we will have to degrease it. To do this, we use a 3M hard brush that we couple to a wedge, with which we will rub the deck with Teak Wonder Cleaner which is intended to degrease the teak. The surface will be treated in the direction of the fibers, taking care to brush the entire deck.
Be careful, this product is quite aggressive for the skin and must be handled with care. Gloves and goggles are required. This operation is quite tedious, but conditions the color of the teak for the rest of the season. This product must be applied on a wet teak. To do this, do not try to do the deck in one go, but compartmentalize your cleaning to ensure that the surface is treated properly. After brushing vigorously, a thorough rinse is necessary to remove any deposits that the Teak Wonder Cleaner has brought out.
Restoring the shine to teak
You can then proceed to a second deck wash with Nauticlean 09, to make sure that all the "dirt" emanating from the teak is gone. To finalize the protection of the teak and restore its original appearance, you can apply a coat of Teak Wonder Brightener on each slat.
This solution is to be applied on a wet surface, evenly over the entire surface to avoid color variations. Brush the product into the wood in the direction of the grain (avoid rubbing too much to avoid damaging the teak fibers). Finally, in order to protect the freeboards from dead works, you can apply a polishing shampoo on the gelcoat, in order to protect them from the aggressions of the season (traces of fenders, hangings, salt deposits). This shampoo will reinforce the protection of your gelcoat by limiting the dirt on your hull.
