Refinishing Teak

First and foremost, there is not that much wood on the Coronado 25. It is mostly fiberglass, but the teak we did have, we wanted to look good! We also added a teak table in the galley.

Teak is an interesting wood. I grew up with Oak antique furniture and a wood-burning stove, so I was familiar with refinishing hard woods and lugging cords. Teak is a whole different beast.

Teak is a hard wood, but it sands easily and seems much softer than Oak. Per wikipedia, "Teak, though easily worked, can cause severe blunting on edge tools because of the presence of silica in the wood. Teak's natural oils make it ideal for use in exposed locations and termite and pest proof, where it is durable even when not treated with oil or varnish."

Teak is universally used on boats. Varnishing it is highly controversial. Most teak is just maintained with teak oil. But, we went for the controversial look. What can I say? We are newbees at this whole thing, we are city folk, and we like the shiny glow!

We tried a few different methods for applying the varnish that we researched online. Applying a coat, letting it dry to the touch, sanding with high grit paper (180 or above) and then starting over for 6 coats worked well but took far too long. Instead we stuck with applying 4 coats in rapid succession not allowing each coat to fully dry, then sanding after the 5th and 6th coats.

We might have to refinish it frequently. The clear gloss coat that we put on it seems to wear off easily. Wearing off is ok though. We were more worried about it yellowing in the sunlight. I can report no yellowing after 4 months. We will have to report back to you in another year.

~Captain and Crew