Ski platform - refinishing

[peteSki]

This is a pic of the wood platform. The previous owner used some type of stain to finish it. You can see from the pic the places where it's still dark are where the stain is still ok, and the light spots where it's worn off. I continue to use Maguires teak oil on it and it does make it look great, but only for a day or so and then it's back to the state shown in the photo.

I want to completly refinish the platform and need some advice on the best procedure and products to use after I finish sanding it down.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Pete

[81nautique]

RE: Ski platform - refinishing

Peteski,
Looks like the PO sealed the wood with polyurethane or varnish. All you have to do is strip it and oil it up with the Maguires. I did mine last fall, used an orbital sander (not rotary) with 80 grit and worked my way up to 150 grit. After it's all stripped I used a brass wire brush to open and raise the grain again before oiling. You can use the Brass brush or brass wire wool but make sure you always work in the direction of the grain never across. Then oil it up a few times before getting it wet, after that I oil mine once a month. The Maguires will make it look like new

[peteSki]

Thanks 81nautique. How many applications of Maquires oil would you use each time... 4 or 5 maybe?

Would love to see a pic of the rest of your boat!!!

Pete

[G-man]

Here's a link to an article a friend of mine wrote. He taught me a lot.

http://207.170.215.108/eMarketing/C...Id=1&ConId=5919 team mc site

[sperbet]

wake_fun has a post somewhere in these forums. His looks as good as any I've seen. Search and you shall find.

[derby]

Pete,

I had the same issue with my platform. The previous owner used a varnish on it fo twenty years. I used a citruis based stripper from home depot to get the old crap off. It took two applications to get it off.

To get the scratches out I used an orbital with 120. To finish prepping I used a scrapper. The scrapper works great because it doesnt leave dust in the grains. By the way a finish scrapper is thin piece of 5x3 metal. You can make on or buy one.

Then its 4-5 coats of the oil. I used Watco Teak Oil, but its up to you what oil to use. The platform turned out great. I can post some pics if you like.

Have fun,

Derby

[97sport]

Peteski, Your platform looks just like mine. I was told to use a stain stripper on it, which I did and then used a product from Flood company. (by the way don't use this product) it turned my platform a orange hew color. When I'm ready to get the boat out in the spring I plan on stripping it down again and using teak oil. Don't oil the teak until a drop of water soaks into it.

[TRBenj]

My dad uses a similar method to 81Nautique. He cleaned with starbright cleaner and a brass brush, so it is actually rough to the touch (even when finished). This picture doesnt do it justice- its beautiful. I hope to get my platform looking this good- it seemed to be covered in some sort of varnish, so sanding was involved.

[peteSki]

I finally found some time and got to work on my platform following most of the instructions above. I did quite a bit of sanding using an orbital sander to remove the varnish that was there, starting with 80 grit and working up to 150. I then brushed the wood with a brass wire brush to open up the grain and then hit it with Maguires Teak Oil using a paint brush for the first 2 applications.

The after photo below is after the first 2 applications of the teak oil, will hit it with one more tonight and then after using the boat tomorrow evening.

Thanks to all that posted, your contributions have truly helped make my platform shine!

Pete

[TRBenj]

Pete, it looks great. Mine was covered in varnish as well, so I know how much work went into it!

[ScarletArrow]

Pete - how did your refinishing project hold up through the summer?

[peteSki]

Pete - how did your refinishing project hold up through the summer?

Not too bad. I found that I had to re-oil it quite frequently, once a month was the recommendation but twice a month seemed to work better for me. A couple of the pieces of teak seem to lose the oil quicker than others, which isn't due to sun as the platform is covered when not in use.

A few new scratches from skis etc, so might give it a quick resurface this winter.

Pete

[SkiBlue]

Thanks for all the posts! They all come in handy when working on the boat.

[other1]

Quick question, I removed my teak to refinish it and install removable platform brackets. Any advice when I go to reattach it? I noticed a little play in a couple of the bolts/screws. Can I fill the holes with some epoxy and then redrill? Trying to make sure I don’t get any water in there. Also, what kind of sealant would I use when I put the bolts in? Apply it to the Lag bolt and then insert it? or just fill the hole with it and then put the bolt in?.... Hope to have some pics next weekend of a freshly oiled teak!

[east tx skier]

Quick question, I removed my teak to refinish it and install removable platform brackets. Any advice when I go to reattach it? I noticed a little play in a couple of the bolts/screws. Can I fill the holes with some epoxy and then redrill? Trying to make sure I don’t get any water in there. Also, what kind of sealant would I use when I put the bolts in? Apply it to the Lag bolt and then insert it? or just fill the hole with it and then put the bolt in?.... Hope to have some pics next weekend of a freshly oiled teak!

I had some screws wiggle on me a little bit last year to the point where I could not remove my platform without unscrewing the bracket on that side. Here is what I did. Sorry if it's a little too specific.

1. Buy some teak plugs (found mine through google).
2. Drill out your holes to just a little smaller than the size of the plugs.
3. Pour a little bit of mineral spirits in the holes (teak is naturally oily and you want to dry the holes out as much as possible before you apply adhesive. After you let it soak a bit, let it drain and use cutips if necessary to get any excess out.
4. Put some epoxy in the holes and around the sides of your plugs.
5. Drive the plugs in the holes with a rubber mallet and wipe away any epoxy that gets pushed out.
6. Let the epoxy set for however long it needs to (I think I waited at least 24 hours).
7. Sand down the plugs and reoil the platform (or at least around the plugs.
8. Put the loose bracket on the boat and set the platform on top of it (presumably one of your brackets is still attached to the platform.
9. Get it like you want it and mark your holes.
10. Remove the platform and drill pilot holes.
11. Reset the screws.
12. Reinstall platform on boat.