Taking Care of Teak

[365 GT 2+2]

Any ideas regarding taking care of our teak dashboards? Is there a solution or substance that one can use to keep the teak healthy and happy? The teak on my Queen is beautiful but looks a bit tired in a few spots. Maybe you just leave it alone? Don't want to go lookin' for trouble...

[tyang]

Since I have a painted dash, I don't have to worry about this, but what do people think of using tung oil for their teak veneered dash?

Tom

[365 GT 2+2]

I just sent an email to a guy at www.teakmaster.com (yes...it exists!) I provided him with the background on the car and the teak dashboard and will post any ideas he provides me/us.

TB

[afwrench]

Last season I used tung oil to "spruce" up the dash on my TR6. Im sure it is not teak but it did a nice job. Mike

[Keith Milne]

VIsit your local marine supply store (West Marine, etc.) They have a number of teak care products, including all the right oils!

[xs10shl]

For a cheap and effective solution, I've used Watco Danish Oil Finish, Natural color, with good results. It will not restore your dash to a gloss finish, but it will make it look "wetter", and will help protect the wood from drying out.

Apply with rag and wipe off. Use a foam applicator around the dials.

[peterp]

I tried a few teak oils:

1. Meguires - this is pure oil with no polymer additives
2. StarBrite (their spelling not mine) - this has polymer additives and is pretty highly rated in web reviews
3. Watco teak oil - available at Home Depot

Meguires was my first choice because it was a pure oil, but it didn't work very well. StarBrite was pretty good, but the Watco worked best. Watco is applied differently than the others, you let sit for something like 45 minutes and then apply a second coat and let that sit for 15 minutes, so it seems like it absorbs better and protects more once it's done.

The Watco I used was teak oil -- I believe that this different than Watco Danish oil, so I don't know how those 2 compare.

[365 GT 2+2]

Thanks guys - off to Home Depot to pick up a few items, including the oil. I'll take a few pics and post them when done.