Look No Further
Teak Master specializes in professionally addressing your concerns and solves the challenges associated with protecting and maintaining exterior wood surfaces. We have over 20 years of hands on experience performing teak refinishing and deck refinishing and have mastered the unique weathering characteristics of exterior wood surfaces. The unwanted changes in the appearance of your valuable teak furniture, wood deck, wood siding, or any other exterior wood surface can be restored and brought back to its original condition. With proper care and maintenance, your exterior wood investment can look perfect for its entire life.
Inventor of the Clean, Sand, Brighten, Seal Method
We recognized the need for a service specifically addressing exterior wood care way back in the mid-nineties. We were flat out discouraged by the degree of misleading information available at that time. We also realized that specific exterior services were extremely scarce and techniques differed widely. What were you supposed to believe? At that time, we did not have an exact process or method that would address the exterior wood care. We did have basic refinishing knowledge and also had the unrelenting will to find a more established and better way. Below is the most comprehensive way to refinish exterior wood surfaces we invented. This process has been often imitated but never duplicated to the Teak Master level!
Cleaning
At one time, we used brute force to refinish exterior wood surfaces. We would essentially grind off all contaminants including oxidation, mold, miles, algae, and previous coatings by sanding. We quickly realized that if we could remove these layers of contaminants, sanding would be easier and the visual results would be enhanced. Power washing was always thought of as damaging to wood and cleaning solutions were always thought of a harsh to the grain. We researched the best power washing systems and refined a technique using the correct pressure and tips to safely remove contaminants and deteriorating coatings. After using dissolving agents we quickly realized the runoff onto other surfaces would not work. We established the first step in our process, cleaning. Make no mistake, cleaning alone is not refinishing.
Sanding
Sanding is absolutely necessary for all older and new wood. Sanding will remove mill glaze on new wood and will restore older unkempt surfaces. To skip the sanding process on refinishing older wood leaves a layer of dead cellulose fibers. Essentially, skipping the sanding process will leave a barrier of oil wood that makes penetrating and adhering of the sealer more difficult. Sanding has always been the most important part of our process because it unearths brand new wood. Over the years we have incorporated use of high end paper and various sanding tools including Festool and Clarke American Sanders. Sanding will ultimately remove weathering and coatings cleaning won't.
Brightening
Ah, the really important step no one heard of until we came along. Wood brightening agents have been used in marine environments for a while. It is effective in removing mold and algae. It is sometimes called oxalic acid which is a bleaching agent. After we clean and sand, we wanted to achieve an even higher level of refinishing. Employing the use of wood brightener/oxalic acid promotes the natural grain and color and also eliminates and helps prevent mold, mildew, and algae. After we bring in the "big guns" and do the hard work, we want to make sure it is prepped for the coating. This means eliminating and contaminants still embedded in the wood. Brightener also helps with new wood by removing mill glaze and marks from the milling process. It will also help with black marks from metal and screw and nail bleed. It has many uses that we take advantage of!
Sealer Coatings
Surfaces that have horizontal areas such as decks and outdoor teak furniture need periodic maintenance to keep them in tip top shape. We realized the best way to protect and maintain these surfaces is with a coating that seeps inside the wood and protects from within. Overtime the sealer will eventually dissipate but it can be reapplied with relative ease. This means the wood can be constantly replenished to keep it looking great and stay protected. We tried all types of coatings through the years that look great and lasted a decent amount of time but would blister and peel over time. These types of coatings are not maintainable. The old school oil penetrating sealers are still best for enhancing and maintaining most exterior wood surfaces.
Yeah, the process may sound simple but it isn't. It has taken years to narrow down a process that addresses everything Nature throws at us. Many attempting to do this type of work simply do not have the knowledge or the will to employ this type of detailed work. Our clean, sand, brighten, and seal method has been applied to thousands of our projects with proven results for over 20 years.
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