# What is the best interior Teak Oil?



## Petar (Nov 20, 2005)

Never mind the price, looking for the best quality and protection. Heard that Watco Danish teak oil from Home Depot is pretty good? Any suggestions on brand and best application method?


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

All of my interior teak is varnished. Frankly, not sure I would want it oiled. On deck is not too bad. I redid my interior with "Top Secrete" spar varnish, I would assume any other brand would work just as well. This brand did not have the yellow tint like some brands of spar varnish has.

marty


----------



## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

Watco is a brand...


----------



## jlenox (Jan 18, 2006)

Not sure if it is technically appropriate or not, but I used lemon oil on the cabin teak. It gave the cabin a nice smell and seemed to refresh the wood.


----------



## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

*conditioning teak*

So this may seem silly and I'm all ears when it comes to alternatives but, when I owned my last boat I treated my teak with Johnsons Paste Wax. Yes, the stuff that comes in the yellow can that you can buy anywhere.

I'd put a glob in my hand, or on a non-absorbent fabric, and rub it into the bare teak until it was smooth. It conditioned the teak, made it repel water and moisture, kept it smelling nice and made the teak grippy, especially on your hands.

I did it for three years. The teak always looked great and an application lasted quite a while.

Did I mention I could buy it at almost any store and it was tres' cheap?


----------



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

I just use regular old orange oil and it comes out looking and smelling great. I tried buying expensive special teak oil at the marine store and it doesn't work half as good. Also I don't know about your boat but sometimes on mine I get a little whiteish in color mold that forms on the interior teak and makes the wood look dry and worn out. I go over the entire surface of the interior cabin with a cleaning solution containing bleach to kill the mold and to clean the wood. I then follow up with the orange oil and it really transforms the boat, makes it smell great and keeps the teak in good shape. 

I have also heard simple lemon oil works great as well. Save your money on the expensive stuff. 

Nick


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

Teak is a naturally oily wood that resists decay. This is why is is used in marine applications and why it must be wiped with acetone or laquer thinner prior to varnishing to remove the surface oils and allow the film finish to dry. There is no reason to put oil on an oily wood. Even if that wood is a veneer. The only reason to put any finish on teak at all is to protect it and keep it clean. Oils that are applied to teak act to trap dirt and grease.

On both our boats, I had to strip years of grime and Murphy's Oil with acteone followed by a light sanding and 6 coats of satin urethane. High traffic or UV areas received gloss urethane. The result is a finish that needs no maintenance other than a wipe of a mild soap from time to time.

VICTORIA (and her mistress)


----------



## tomwatt (Dec 11, 2009)

Watco wood oil is primarily a furniture-quality finish. I don't think it would fare well on outdoor teak. And in-cabin teak would probably fare better being varnished. Just my opinion, but I spent a few years in the paint industry and sold and used quite a bit of that stuff.
A boat interior is generally about the same environment as occasional-use patio furniture... fair amount of moisture, etc. And varnish is mfr'd. from the same kinds of oils that are used as wood finishing oils... I would be concerned that oiling the wood wouldn't hold up as well as several coats of varnish, especially if you've got a moist boat interior (some are better than others - mine tends to get a bit wet inside).


----------



## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

On my previous boat the spring routine was to wash all the interior teak with Murphys Oil Soap and then apply teak oil. Teak looked great. I used West Marine and other brands. Didn't see much difference between brands.

My new boat has varnished interior teak. I love the look but hope it doesn't take a lot of time to keep it up. If it was oiled, I would continue my old routine, not bother varnishing it.


----------



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

While your opinion may certainly be good advice it does not mean it is the only way to do things. Teak is a great type of wood for the marine environment and while it does resist decay better than other woods it also doesn't mean it is permanatly immune to decay/drying out. I have been on plenty of boats where the teak looked like crap both on the inside and outside due to lack of care. Varnish in the cabin is also great but takes a lot of time and precision to do a whole cabin especially one with a lot of teak such as the boat I have. I feel a twice a season application of rubbing in a light oil after thoughrough cleaning makes the interior teak loo and smell amazing as well as keeps it fresh looking.

I am not saying this way is the only way to do things but I do know it works for me as well as many other boat owners I know. I don't mean to come off as confrontational especially on something as simple as teak oil discussion but I didn't agree with your post that there is only one right way to go about it.

Regards
Nick

A couple of Pics of the cabin of Capricorn, my Morgan 323





















Sabreman said:


> Teak is a naturally oily wood that resists decay. This is why is is used in marine applications and why it must be wiped with acetone or laquer thinner prior to varnishing to remove the surface oils and allow the film finish to dry. There is no reason to put oil on an oily wood. Even if that wood is a veneer. The only reason to put any finish on teak at all is to protect it and keep it clean. Oils that are applied to teak act to trap dirt and grease.
> 
> On both our boats, I had to strip years of grime and Murphy's Oil with acteone followed by a light sanding and 6 coats of satin urethane. High traffic or UV areas received gloss urethane. The result is a finish that needs no maintenance other than a wipe of a mild soap from time to time.
> 
> VICTORIA (and her mistress)


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

As I mentioned earlier, my boat is all varnish, probably equal to the pics by nk235 in my Jeanneau. When I revarnished everything 3 yrs ago, it was the first varnish added to the interior since it was manufactured in 85, so 22'ih yrs! Not bad if one asks me, not that any of you did. And what I did, still looks good. Exterior, from trying to keep the varnish on that the original owner did. not worth it! Time to sand off what varnish is there, add some oil, let it go gray!

My 02, nto that 02 is worth much these days!

marty


----------



## tomwatt (Dec 11, 2009)

In case there's any confusion (and I hope no one think's I'm trying to get into the middle of a disturbance here) I'd like to point out that "oiling" and using a product like WATCO Danish Wood Oil, etc. is really not the same thing. WATCO is a rubbing varnish basically. The oil/varnish product dries, just like varnish, requires proper prep just like varnish, and because it dries more slowly than varnish can be prone to problems in high-humidity areas. I used to have to troubleshoot this product for unhappy consumers who had used it expecting miracles. It's a great product in the proper application. Just make sure you're not expecting miracles!


----------



## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

An oil finish on interior Teak will eventually turn dark as the oil/wood oxidizes over the years. 
My choice for the 'best' oil finish for interiors is a 'resinated' oil finish: 25% oil-based varnish, 75% oil. Resinated oil finishes are easily stripped, as easy as stripping any other oil finish, with TSP, etc. 
A commercially available 'resinated' oil is: NuTeaK by Marykate, but virtually 'front line 'teak oil' sources also offer 'resinated oils'.

You can apply this thin like traditional oil, or for best results brush it on thick - like varnish. Resinated oil finishes when dry/cured can be flat sanded and then hand-rubbed for a gloss shine that exceeds the gloss of straight varnish. With a bare/clean hand, use Rottentstone and water to rub into a gloss finish, or Rottenstone and oil for a semigloss ... or pumice and oil for a 'true' hand rubbed satin finish. Rottenstone is available in all paint stores. 
You can also wax over a cured oil finish to make it 'last longer'.


----------



## lancelot9898 (Dec 30, 2008)

I have a varnished interior on my tayana 37 built in 1985 and have used Old English furniture "oil" on it from day one. Still looking good after all of those years.


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

> Varnish in the cabin is also great but takes a lot of time and precision to do a whole cabin especially one with a lot of teak such as the boat I have.


It does take a bit of time, and I was depressed when I thought of the acres of teak in Victoria. So I broke the project down into small areas like the V Berth, head, etc. I worked on an area and them moved on to the next. It took about 3 years to get it all done but I'm glad that I did it because from this point forward, there is virtually no maintenance except to wipe off any dirt.

Certainly there are many finished for teak and other woods, and I don't mean to offend with a strong opinion. In my experience building furniture (some of which is teak), I feel that a urethane finish is the easiest to apply and maintain. There is virtually no maintenance except on high traffic areas like the cabin sole. I've tried Watco, most of the oils (even Mineral Oil - what a mess), and just like urethane. Sorry if I offended anyone.


----------

