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Deck Work |
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The first step was to rip out the old caulking. There's a tool at west marine that is a red plastic thing that is shaped just right to push along and rip out the caulking. It seemed to work perfectly on most all the seams - sometimes I went over the area with a little pen knife to clean out the loose ends. I also ripped out all the bungs on deck because a lot of them were already missing and new ones weren't going in because the deck had worn away too much. (side note - never sand a teak deck!!!!).
The first step to restoration involved taping over each plank with masking tape that was the perfect width. Then I shot in the goo - I used Sikaflex some places and 3M teak deck sealant in other places. I shot a bead on each seam then used a putty knife to smear it in all the way. After 1 to 3 hours depending on heat, I ripped off the masking tape and didn't walk on the deck for another 12 hours or more. You want the stuff to be set up so you don't rip it out when you pull the tape off but you don't want the masking tape stuck in there either. Then it came time to cover each bung hole in goo (that sounds obscene). I put tape over the plank again and used a #2 grommet hole cutter to punch a hole in the tape for each bung. Again I shot in the goo and putty knifed over it. It looks great and has held up perfectly for over a year already. Finally, I oiled the hell out of all the wood with Daly's Seafin Teak Oil. It's great to use on the deck itself and makes it even more non-skid than grayed teak. It has a certain sheen to it and is a hell of a lot less work and cheaper to deal with than varnish. I would rather sail my boat than varnish it anyday so the workboat finish is good by me.
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