Swim Platform

[chris piazza]

I removed the swim platform when I put the boat in storage this year to bring it home to my shop with the hope of removing all the old varnish on it and re-doing it. Not sure what the PO put on it but i am having a heck of a time getting it off. Read alot of previous threads about restoring teak and alot of the posts stated to stay away from strippers (the paint kind). I don't know how deep I should sand down the wood to get out all the old stain or should I not be that concerned and just stain over it.

Chris
53c

[yachtsmanbill]

If its a 2 part Urethane, good luck !! A heat gun and a sharp wood chisel and scrape carefully. Belt sand with a fine belt to ruff it in. I had to put a small drum sander in my router, with a dimmer switch, to fully clean up between the slats.
Oil it when done-- dont varnish it (teak). ws

[LENZ]

I used "strip ez" to remove the old finish and it worked great, after i removed the bulk of the old finish i power wash it, then put some
CLR on it scrubed it with a brass wire brush, power washed it again then put some clorox bleach on it and let it set in then wire bushed it again, power washed it for the last time, after it dried I lightly sanded it with 240 grit. the biggest thing i found was that you had to kill all the fungus and mold that grows in the teak to prevent it from turning black underneath your new finish. this process worked great for me.

[SKYCHENEY]

I tried some of that new stripper that is "environmentally friendly". The guy at Homeless Depot said it worked great, but I thought it sucked. I got some of the good old Zip Strip and let it go to work. That stuff bubbles it up and you just scrape it off with a big putty knife.

[Maynard Rupp]

I used regular stripper, then the two step teak cleaner stuff that you buy at any marine store. The next step is very important Chris, Let it dry completly. I used Armada on it, and it sucks. People said I don't want a gloss finish on a swim platform. Baloney, I have gloss Bristol Finish on my flybridge steps and the littleladder into the boat from the dock. They aren't slippery at all. I will refinish our platform this spring with Bristol Finish.

[chris piazza]

The stain, or what ever it is, is deep in several places into the grain. I am thinking that the best way to proceed is to use the Zip strip as Sky was saying. But won’t this make the teak “fuzzy”? I guess if it does a light sanding should remove it and than should I use a couple of coats of sanding sealer before the Bristol Finish?

[Boatsb]

Do you have a local furniture refinisher with a dip tank? If it would fit that may be the best way to get it down to clean wood and they recover the used chemical to make it environmentally safe.

[REBrueckner]

If there are a few deep spots with old finish adhering, try Zip Strip and wire brush the section. However, if you leave the bit of old finish, likely the new will be close enough in color that after a year of exposure in the sun, all will be uniform.

[spartonboat1]

Re: sanding the wood, the concept is to remove as little wood as possible. Only remove the old coating/varnish. The woodie people like to use Deks Ole to coat teak, which comes in two difference versions (but not a two-part as such).

Zip-Strips seem to "lift the grain", i.e. remove the softer underlying wood, leaving the harder wood grain raised or exposed. I believe in heat guns, very gentle scraping, and or sanding (as little as possbile). If old stain is there, try lightening it with bleach (oxalic acid?)

I went nuts with my wood/non-teak platform last winter and tried to be very touchy about substrate removal.

my 2cw

[the kuz]

Mine was real bad. After trying most everything mentioned here, resorted to Jasco 5 minute semi paste stripper. Very strong stuff available at Lowes - be sure you don't get any on bare skin. Then used 2 part teak cleaner and lots of hand sanding. 5 coats of Bristol look great and fill in flaws, but only been on for a few months, time will tell. Be sure you get the wood good and dry or the Bristol will bubble. Regards, Bob K