Cabot Australian Timber Oil: non-peeling teak finish

[Bob L]

In anticipation of all my varnish peeling off (a long process, but 3/4 there...) I've been searching for "anything that doesn't peel". I worked at Lowe's and was familiar with Austrailian Timber Oil, a product designed for teak furniture.

So last fall I was chatting with a guy at marina. He had been using regular teak oil, and was oiling his teak at least monthly (he said it would get dark and moldy looking after only 2 weeks). I told him I was thinking about using Austrailian Timber Oil. Two weeks later I stopped by his boat again and he had cleaned and then coated all of his brightwork with the stuff! (Talk about throwing caution to the wind!)

That was September. I've been checking on the weathering process, stopping by his boat every 2 weeks. No change (by mid-February-5 months). It looks like the day it went on. The finish is little more shiny than regular teak oil, but nowhere near that of varnish. He didn't bother to brighten his teak completely and oiled over a lot of the gray, so the appearance is rather dark, but still attractive (much better looking than any Cetol I've seen). At the same time he did his, I oiled a small teak block that serves as my stern light mount. I sanded it bright, then gave it a thin coat of ATO. Still bright and shiny today.

The stuff goes on just like an oil - lightning fast with little attention to detail. Cabot says it lasts 2 years and as long as you don't slather it on and build up surface layer, it should not peel. I'd be happy with 1 year and no peeling. It goes on so easy that recoating is not a problem. The cost is something like $30/gallon, $11/quart.

I was going to wait 18 months or so before posting this, but I thought I'd spill the beans now. If you are interested in this, I would recommend going to Lowe's, buying a sample can (be sure to get "natural") for $4 and treating a scrap of teak. Leave it on your deck for a year and see how it does.

Now if I can conjure up a sandstorm to finish stripping my brightwork, I'll be in business.

Bob

[David VanDenburgh]

Out of curiosity, where is your boat located?

David

[Bob L]

Wilmington, NC - no chance of sandstorm, rats...

[Bob L]

I just checked on my neighbor's teak... 10 months now and the finish looks great - slight wearing at points where the dock lines touch, but the large surfaces seem barely changed since he has applied the oil.

Unfortunately, my old varnish hasn't peeled itself off since my last post. Looks like I'll have to do it myself :(

[Rachel]

We found that the solar method worked in the tropics. Best to go for about a year ;)

R.

[heartofgold]

Interesting to read that. Any idea how well it would work on mahogany? I presume not as well, as teak has such a high oil content to begin with, and mahogany does not. I need to redo everything on mine which is mahogany and I would consider something like this if it is as good as you have observed.....