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Whether it be a lovely piece of
teak furniture sitting elegantly on the aft deck of a luxury
yacht, or a 12 by 12 inch pad under a sheet winch on a daysailer,
there's just something about teak that says "salty."
Nothing so brightens the nautical appearance of a boat so
much as well maintained teak. Having made such a sweeping
generalization we are now faced with the numerous variations
on just what makes up well maintained teak.
If our boats lived in clean air we could let the wood weather
naturally to an attractive ash gray and go on to other things.
Unfortunately the assault of modern-day air pollutants and
the proximity to water, quickly turns bare teak nearly black.
Scrubbing only removes some of the stains leaving a mottled
look.
As beautiful as Long Islan Sound is it only takes a few days
here to see the effects of air pollutants and intense sunlight
on anything left outside.
That gray coloring, which teak gets if left to it's own devises,
is brought about by the oils and waxes drying out and the
cellulose that is left behind reacting with oxygen in the
air.
The other characteristic associated with older teak is the
washboard appearance brought about by extensive scrubbing
with harsh chemical cleaners or, heaven forbid, pressure washing.
There is a big difference between the hard grain, called
winter wood, and the softer, between the grain, summer wood.
Harsh chemicals combined with over-enthusiastic scrubbing
and/or pressure washing will remove the softer wood leaving
behind the ridges of hard wood.
Read on...
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