Have removed the teak handrails from cabin top and have stripped all the old possibly original varnish. Have sanded with 80 grit to level off grain ridges. Still have some greyish areas remaining. Have agressively sanded a couple of the gray spots but cannot reach to "pink" wood. Before I start experimenting with various bleaching methods, would like to get some advice on how to proceed. Once I can get the gray areas taken care of will complete the sanding ending with 320 grit and finish with Awlwood.
Today's teak cleaner certainly does not work like the teak cleaner of yesteryear. Before the government got involved, an application or two of teak cleaner would remove every part of discoloring in the worst teak. Today's teak cleaner is more or less anemic and it takes many applications to remove discoloration. To those in the government that focus on those sorts of things, I suppose it is a big win as on paper the materials are not as "harmful" to the environment. To the end user it now takes much longer, many more applications and ten times the amount of stuff to achieve the same results. In the long run I am sure more chemicals are used, not less.
That being said, try some of the two part teak cleaners to remove the last of the discoloration. Another method would be to try oxalic acid to remove the dark staining. Oxalic acid can be found at any good hardware or big box store in powder form.
Experience has shown me not to get to fancy with sanding the wood initially with too fine of grit sandpaper. A little roughness of the surface of the wood for the initial coat of material often helps with the physical bond. After a few coats sanding down to 220 or even 320 will help the overall final finish if the grain is completely filled in. If there are still surface irregularities due to the grain, sanding will tend to remove the product from the high spots and you will have a much thinner surface thickness over those high spots which could result in reduced overall life.
There is sanding and then there is sanding. People ask me all the time which grit sandpaper should they use when approaching a project such as yours. The question I typically ask is what are you sanding with? If you are sanding by hand you will get an entirely different end result than if you are using the same grit paper attached to a high quality (expensive) random orbital electric or pneumatic sander. A good powered sander can provide an excellent surface finish even with 80 grit paper. Obtaining the same surface finish by hand may require multiple applications down to perhaps 150 or even 220.
I have heard some positive and some negative feed back on Awlgrips Awlwood but I have never used it myself. Years ago I did a boat with Awlgrips two part latest and greatest wood finish. It too was a water clear product which is what Awlwood is. The lack of an amber coloring like most varnishes have gave the wood a unnatural appearance something you can adjust with Awlwoods available tints. The product went on like water as well which to a "varnish guy" takes a bit to get used to. After many coats the overall finish was outstanding and it lasted in our northern climate for approximately 5 years. When it did fail it did so in a big way and let water travel underneath and the wood abruptly turned black. It never lost its shine and where it still stuck it was a real bear to get off. Nothing would touch it and short of sanding all of it off it was a pain. My guess is that our freeze thaws up here are the death of most finishes unlike where you are the sun and it UV cook the life out of everything.
Please give us some feedback on the product and like everything, time will tell.
Dale
Obersheimers
Maruska Hull #40
Thanks for the info. Will pick up some Semco two part and give that a try. Am not looking for insane perfection... just want to get it reasonably good looking before finishing. Will report results.
Tried the two-part cleaner with no appreciable improvement. Will go with the teak as is. Maybe after 10 coats of Awlwood it'll be so shiny that it'll dazzle the observer into thinking it looks perfect.
Have started getting Awlwood on the stripped & sanded bits & bobs I've brought home from Amity. Very happy with the results. As Awlwood is not tung oil or polyurethane based, it behaves differently in application. Drys faster than varnish and yields a hard & flexible surface finish. Have gotten 4 coats on the bowsprit thusfar and the appearance is excellent. Will post pictures when I finally find my misplaced camera... Schaefer is fabbing a new S.S bow roller assembly for the bowsprit and expect it to be here after Christmas. If anyone wants the old (but serviceable) aluminum bow anchor roller assembly let me know. Cheers!
Eight Awlwood coats on the helm guard table, shroud rollers, hand rails, bowsprit, companionway boards & Edson wheel teak rim. Product application sheet indicates you can apply another coat after several hours for a chemical layer to layer bond. Have not been doing that since the finish is so glossy I can't see "holidays" when applying the next coat so have been lightly sanding after a 24 hr. cure period. Sands well after that cure period with no gumming in 320 paper. Leveling flow is excellent even using throwaway 2" chip brushes. For the hand rails inside the cabin will final coat with satin. Cheers!