Companionway Drop Boards

The finished companionway drop boards...I only wish that I would have remembered to take a picture of the "before" condition. I am so eager to work on the restoration that I have to remember to slow my pace a bit in order to get some shots of the before, in-progress, and after work. My process for the drop boards was pretty straight forward. My first task was to clean the blighted and silvery-gray surface of the neglected teak. I used a product called TSP (tri-sodium phospate) that I picked up from one of the big box retailers. TSP is pretty simple to use - though caustic to your skin - and relatively inexpensive as compared to what one could purchase from your local marine retailer. I donned rubber gloves, filled a large Rubbermaid bin with warm water and the TSP, and then scrubbed away with a plastic-bristled scrub brush. Each board took two TSP baths, gentle scrubbing, and final rinse. I then set the boards aside to completely dry out. Returning to the boards the following evening, I then progressed from 60 to 100, and finally 220 grit paper on my VS random orbital sander - using my fingers for the tighter areas. I then vacuumed the boards and applied mineral spirits over the surface for a final cleaning prior to applying teak oil. I decided to go with teak oil as opposed to varnish just because I like the natural look of the teak. Sometimes varnish can be a bit over-the-top...just my opinion. Anyway, here is the finished product; I will most likely replicate this for the remaining brightwork.