Teak restoration: rubrail and toerail

The work on cosmetic improvements continues, with a focus on the rubrail and toerail this time. Much like the rest of the teak when I purchased Freya, the rubrail and toerail were gray and dull. They were structurally sound though, I saw no need to remove and rebed them like I did with the eyebrows and handrails. I therefore decided to clean and sand them in place, followed by the usual application of 3 coats of Cetol Marine Teak followed by two coats of Gloss.

The pictures below give a good idea of the process and I’m very pleased with the results. It was a time-consuming but not particularly difficult job. The work had to be spread over several days to allow each coat at least 24 hours to cure. Careful masking ensured there was not a single drip or run on the hull or elsewhere. For cleaning the teak, I simply applied raw Starbrite Teak Cleaner to the wood, let it soak for 5 minutes, then rubbed hard with a scrubbing brush – it really brought the wood back to life. After that it felt like only some light sanding was needed, which I did by hand with a 120 grit sanding pad.