black spots in teak... again?

[h meyrick]

Lately I've been sanding all the bits and pieces I could drag back to the folk's house, in preparation for refinishing. In some of the more high traffic areas, like the board that covers the engine under the companionway, there's nasty black stain ground into the pores of the wood. An earlier post identified black specks as mildew, but I'm of the opinion that in this case, its just run of the mill dirt. Any suggestions as to how this filth might be removed? I don't feel much like sanding till it (and my arm) falls off!

thanks for any help here!



hmeyrick@ameritech.net

[Larry DeMers]

I still think it's mildew. Sanding does not remove all spores, so if you leave a few critters there, and they get moisture to live on, they will explode into a colony and you will see black specks or worse. To prove which contaminant it is, try the bleach trick to kill the mildew off. If the stain persists..ie; does not disappear or lighten, then it might be the dirt you speak of. I would then use local scrubbing with a stiff brush and a surfactant and water..basicly soap will work here. That should remove it. If not, then try acetone locally applied, which would remove most tars and paints.
If it IS mildew, realize that you must complete the bleach treatment, washing and rinsing and drying and then sealing with a varnish (we use a satin interior latex based varnish that dries in 20 minutes -Valspar makes it) in one contiguous step with no time delays between the drying and sealing parts. Otherwise, the wood will reabsorb moisture, and you start over in a month.

Cheers,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30
~~ With a few of those 'black spots' to take care of myself...~~

Lately I've been sanding all the bits and pieces I could drag back to the folk's house, in preparation for refinishing. In some of the more high traffic areas, like the board that covers the engine under the companionway, there's nasty black stain ground into the pores of the wood. An earlier post identified black specks as mildew, but I'm of the opinion that in this case, its just run of the mill dirt. Any suggestions as to how this filth might be removed? I don't feel much like sanding till it (and my arm) falls off!

thanks for any help here!

demers@sgi.com