when to oil green teak

[wharfrat]

I have to replace some teak pieces on my boat and when it is freshly cut as some may well know it is a very light green and given time it will go brown and then of course gray. My question is when do I apply the teak oil so it will match the rich looking teak on my boat that already has teak oil on it?

If I am supposed to let it sit until it goes brown before oiling; should it be exposed to the elements or just in the corner of the garage?

How long will this take?

If I apply the teak oil just after I cut it while it is green, will it affect the end results?

many thanks to all and any who reply

[Bob Cleek]

God, how "green" is that teak, anyway? I've cut a lot of teak and I've never seen any decent teak that was colored green. Shows what I know, I guess. Teak is harvested by girdling the standing trunk in the forest and then letting the tree die and stand for at least a year, or, in larger stock, two or three years, so that it is completely dry before the tree is even cut. Been done that way for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Teak is too heavy to move out of the forest otherwise. I suppose, if what you say is right, that it is green and then turns brown (can't say it doesn't, but I'm a little skeptical), then you've answered your own question. Let it turn brown. As for oiling, I have always found (after trying just about every brand) that oiling teak is a futile exercise. It looks good for a while, but the oil sits on the surface and just collects dirt and builds up. Better the scrubbed bare look (a little oxalic acid now and then) at one end of the spectrum, and CPES and varnish at the other. Not much else that's come along that does any better for as little money. Fact is, teak has gotten a lot of good PR as a quality trim wood simply because the plastic boat manufacturers used a lot of it to "class up" their products. Since the plastic boat guys have more money than brains, the market has been inundated with various brands of crap to keep them busy fiddling with the little bits of teak that's glued to their plastic buckets. But, "green colored teak"? New one on me. If it really is unseasoned, don't bother putting any oil on it because it will be full of oil to begin with.

[CyberRebel]

I'm no expert on Teak, but I do know a little about tropical woods. Most tropicals will darken quickly with exposure to UV rays. Take your Teak out in the backyard and leave it in bright sunlight for a day. Keep a piece in the house as a control, to see how much it's darkened. I have the opposite problem on the boat I'm building. I'm using Padauk for the bright pieces. It's an African exotic, and is a beautiful bright red color when varnished; bright carrot orange when bare. Problem is that it turns brown very quickly with exposure to UV. I'm coating with Z-Spar Flagship and keeping it covered... I hope it works!

[Scott Rosen]

I just cut a teak pad for some hardware, and I sure don't remember seeing anything green. Like Cleek, I've cut some teak over the years, and green isn't a word I'd use to describe it when it's freshly cut. I would think you get your best finish and richest color when it's freshly cut.

[Bruce Hooke]

I remember seeing a distinct green tint in some teak I was working with a year or two ago. I make a clear distinction here between green color and 'green' as in wet -- I assume we are talking about the former. In my case the green tint went to brown pretty quickly after the cut surface was exposed to air and light. I wouldn't worry too much about when you apply the oil but I don't see any harm in giving it a little time to go brown before you apply the oil. After some time in the sun and maybe a re-oiling or two I think it will match the existing woodwork just fine.

[Bob Cleek]

Could be it's green when it's "green." Dunno. Used to be, when they took the teak out of the forest with elephants, it was necessarily dry before it was cut. Could be now they are using tractor mounted grabbers or something and ripping it out before it's seasoned. I've seen some teak patio furniture at Costco that was so greasy I thought it was still growing! Crappy looking stock, too. LOL Could be that Central American plantation teak is coming on the market about now. It could have been "engineered" to grow fast and maybe there's some new "teak" in the neighborhood. Somebody ought to ask Doc Jaegels.