Good morning Tom,
We used three coats of Sikkens last season, and plan on giving it another coat this season. It is relatively easy to apply, but be sure to mask off any adjacent areas. It is difficult to get it off fiberglass. It looks great and does not add an unnatural look to the teak. One quart goes along way. It seems to me that we used less than two quarts total to apply 3 coats on our 32 (we applied it to every interior wood surface).

Assuming the teak has thus far been left bare, you have a number of options depending on the "look" you're after.

For the areas around the sink, if you have black spots from water damage, I'd suggest first a good teak cleaner (Amazon is my preference) which is a mild bleach solution, followed by Amazon's Teak Prep, and then a good oil. If there is no water damage, a good cleaning with a product such as Murphy's and/or a light sanding should give you a surface suitable for finishing.

As for finish, I prefer an oiled look to the interior -- nice looking and easy to maintain. Any good oil such as boiled linseed, polymerized tung, or teak oil will all give you a nice finish. Linseed will darken the wood a bit more than tung. If you use teak oil, keep in mind that most do not contain driers so you may want to add your own (such as Japan drier). Before you apply any oil however, make sure the wood is absolutely dry, otherwise black spots will occur.

Another nice option is Danish oil. I make my own with equal parts spar varnish, tung oil, and turpentine. Just wipe it on with a rag, let it sit 15 or 20 minutes, and wipe off the excess. Give it another wipe every hour or so until no more excess comes to the surface. Three coats of this stuff (with a very light sanding in between) will give you a beautiful finish and is more durable than oil alone.

Ross,
The strips on the exterior are probably teak. The grey color is the result of weathering and the specks or streaks of black are mildew. Bleach is a good mildew eradicator and used with a cleaner will give good results. Some cleaners have bleach in them.

Any off the shelf cleaner will restore the golden color to the wood,then it's up to you to protect it.

As far as cleaning, I use 409 diluted 1 part to 4 parts water. any scrubbing on the teak will remove the soft portions of the wood and leave the hard ridges so don't scrub to hard.

Recently, most people on our dock have been using Sikkens finished with good success ( Lake Superior water is very forgiving ).

If your teak is "well worn" you can still save it for a while, even if not museum quality. If it is very "stringy" looking from repeated acid cleanings, the best you can do is scrape it with a SHARP paint scraper to lower the raised grain, sand it, scrub it and treat it with a good 2-part teak cleaner (most are OK), and give it five or six coats of Armada gloss.

If it is still reasonably smooth, use the scraper more lightly and still sand to smoothness, scrub and treat and Armada. Armada is a super product that gives a varnish-like shine (if you use gloss) with virtual no buildup. A quick pass with the 180 grit sandpaper in the spring and fall and a cover coat or two and you're in business for the season.

With regard to interior teak, there are three possible ways the teak was finished by the factory (I'm not familiar enough with C&C to know whether they used one, two, or all three of these methods over the years, so these comments are general).

First, and perhaps the most common approach, especially on bulkheads and cabinets, is a relatively light coating of a polyurethane. This coating is sprayed on and "polished" mechanically. The result is a flat finish which is not completely sealed (i.e. the grain of the wood is still evident at the surface and allows teak oil to penetrate the surface). Most Danish furniture is finished in this way and is designed to be teak oiled from time to time. The teak in my C&C 39 (1974) is finished in this way and I have seen it in many other boats.

Second, the teak is finished with a heavy coating (usually multiple coats) of a polyurethane or other type of varnish. The grain is completed sealed. This type of finish is usually satin, semi-gloss, or high gloss and is not intended to be oiled. Used frequently on cabin soles and sometimes on high traffic areas such as railings.

The third is an oil finish, another option for the cabin sole (mine is oil finished).

Finish #1 and #3 can be renewed with teak oil. I would recommend a furniture grade teak oil which is mostly a mixture of boiled linseed oil and turpentine, applying with paper towels or triple fine steel wool where needed (rubbing with the grain) and thoroughly wiped dry with paper towels or clean cloths. You must remove the excess or the surface will get sticky.

Finish #1 can be repaired or refinished by light sanding to remove any small scratches and spraying a new coat or two of polyurethane (available in cans, a flat or semi-gloss will probably match the best). Don't apply too thick, as you want to leave some of the grain exposed (see above). You can rub with triple fine steel wool and a little teak oil when you are done to help blend the repair into the surrounding area.

Finish #2 will not benefit from teak oil or any other oil-based product. It can be cleaned with mild cleaners (several have been mentioned in other emails) and, of course, refinished by removing the old finish and reapplying multiple coats of polyurethane or other type of varnish.
Hope this is of some use.
Nikos Singelis (former Scandinavian furniture salesman, and very happy to be "former") C&C 39, 1974 "Hanau"

Practical Sailor for March has tests and discussion of Teak Treatments. They are biased towards long lasting treatments so oils didn't make the grade. They highly recommended Honey Teak and Smith & Co. gloss plus Cetol semi gloss and Armada.

Muphry's Oil Soap, then your favorite teak oil. I have a 1974 30. Have you rebuilt your maststep yet?
Davey Stowers - Outlaw '74 30-1 Lake Erie

I've used Murphy's Oil Soap for about 5 years now and have had great results. I also recommended it to other people on the dock and they have had the same results. It also removed some mildew that I had and for some reason that I am not sure of the mildew never returned.

Kate
I am not sure what C&C used from the factory on the teak. But to take new teak and match the old teak.Try Minwax Mahogany Stain, on a small sample piece. You should find a close match. Then oil with your favorite teak oil.
Larry

Howard,
I made a winter project of this a couple of years ago. Removed all the sole boards and took them home to do the work. Used a gel type varnish stripper to clean off the old stuff. Very light sanding. Then several (I think about 7) coats of marine varnish. Also coated the edges and back side. Has stood up very well. Cleans up now with just a damp cloth.
Frank Walczak 'Felicity' C&C32

I have a '76 C&C 33 and I am refinishing the cockpit step over the engine compartment. does anyone know what kind of finish the factory used on the teak? It doesent seem to be a varnish but it is hard to tell; and what was used on the teak bulk heads? I called the factory (pre-problem) and they told me they used Sickens Cetol Interior Clear on the cockpit sole of my 1990 34+. I refinished it three years ago with the same material and I'm pleased with it. I also used it on the interior table with very good results.Also, on the cockpit table, I've used three coats of Sickens Exterior, and then three coats of Sickens Exterior Clear, and it has held up very well. I am a former varnisher (?) using Captain's, and I am much happier with the looks/work ratio of Sickens.
Bob Rudarty Grand Slam

I'm doing the same to my interior but it had no coatings (ie. varnish)just oil. I wiped down the wood with acetone, then lightly sand (with the grain) to even out the color, then re-coat with Behr Tung Oil. This UV enhanced product penetrates the wood vs coating the wood like Cetol or varnish. I apply up to 4 coats to give it that patina look. If you like, you can stain with something like Zar to help match new wood to the older, sun damaged wood. Staining also covers a multitude of problems around well worn areas like fiddles and also improves the look of scratched or other surface blemishes.

I redid the interior of my boat with Interlux #60 Rubbed Effect Varnish about 10 years ago. Except for touching up a few wear spots , I haven't done anything else. It has the look of oiled teak. I'd do this again if I ever have to do an interior again. Cetol is also very good. Friends of ours did their Tartan 42 with Cetol. The Interlux looks better in my opinion,but I know that the Cetol will require little work to patch or add a coat.
Dave " Webfoot "

The problem with this solution is that even if you get the color close to the original wood (which I don't think I've ever managed to my satisfaction) the resultant wood+epoxy composite doesn't absorb finishes the way wood does. When you oil, varnish or whatever, the surrounding wood darkens but the plug stays the same lighter color, which makes it REALLY stand out. I've seen situations where this "fix" made the holes more visible than they were before filling. My own preference is to drill out the old holes and insert plugs made from the same wood. You can buy a reasonably inexpensive device that works with a drill to cut a plug from a teak board from a wood workers'supply shop or catalog (or a good hardware store). Make your plugs, drill out the old screws to fit the plug diameter, use just a touch of glue to hold the plugs in place (don't get glue on the wood surface, or it will seal the surface and you'll have the same problem as the epoxy treatment). Leave the plug surfaces standing slightly "proud" above the wood surface. After the glue sets, carefully level the plugs with a sharp chisel and sand lightly to get them level. (Be very careful here if you're working on veneered lumber.) I find that a slightly raised plug will disappear and look fine as long as its "faired in" to the surface, so you don't need to get nuts about getting everything perfect.The plugs will show, but they'll harmonize with the surface, and lookfine.

Sorry to hear that it took you so long to strip your teak. The process that I use is to apply Aurora Teak Shield, recently renamed Burma Teak Oil, to a pad comprised of fine bronze wool and a sponge. Each spring I rub down the interior teak with this combination. It removes the dirt and hand grime on the rails and hand holds and leave a soft shine, much like Danish Teak Furniture. The oil is synthetic and dosn't smell like linseed based oils. It penetrates into the wood and protects it all season. I have been using this system successfully on myboat for the last 6 years. It only takes me a couple of hours. For more info on the oil, visit the Aurora web site: auroramarine.com
Richard