Teak maintenance issues

Q:Will teak change color if it is not maintained?

A: If left untreated, teak will age to a pale silver-gray color, but it usually does not age evenly like that. Instead, it forms some dark brown patches. At first, some boat owners think this is what they want, but soon they will realize that keeping teak clean means frequent and repeated scrubbing with a brush (two to three times a month).

Q:In what environment is teak prone to change?

A: Boats moored near large towns, industrial areas or airports will have more serious problems. Air pollution makes untreated teak extremely dirty and does so in a very short time. So, if you don't want your boat to look shabby, you have to clean it frequently. Indeed, an untreated deck is more stable to stand on than one treated with oil and wax, but it is also much harder to keep clean. Food scraps, fish blood, beverage spills and other foreign substances that fall on the deck will quickly penetrate the porous, unsealed wood, making cleaning very difficult.