One of the advantages of teak is that left unfinished, it ages gracefully to a gray (silver) with no care. While you could sand it down and apply a finish, it will be a finish that needs to be regularly renewed (read: at least annually).

Resist the temptation to apply Helmsman Spar Varnish as it will not last more than a few weeks in a sun-rich environment.

thanks, I guess i will just except it

If you want the new wood look, you must use Smith's Penetrating Epoxy and/or Epifanes Marine Varnish. Sand off the current patina before applying.

I'm not familiar with that brand of epoxy, but these would fall into the category of "finish that needs to be regularly renewed" Poke around a marina and look for a boat with a teak brightwork and ask how often they need to refresh it.

If you are in Tampa, FL, you are going to get a lot of sun.

> If you want the new wood look, you must use Smith's Penetrating Epoxy and/or Epifanes Marine Varnish. Sand off the current patina before applying

Any kind of finish is going to "renewed" the question becomes how often. I think it was Fine Homebuilding that gave the nod to Epifanes for durability but in the end they're all going to require maintenance.

Have you ever seen any boats with teak finished with Smith's Penetrating Epoxy?

It's not going to need to be renewed that often. We've never had to renew it yet. Everything in Fine Woodworking's test, in all climates, looked pretty much perfect after one year; and every other teak finish looked pretty much like c**p.

We have spearguns 15 years old used heavily in California sun and sea, look brand new.

As a boat owner, my teak gets 4 coats of Epiphanes twice a year on average. Cetol is another product people like, more of a synthetic finish, but can give teak an orange cast. Simple solution might be to sand it and give it a couple of coats of teak oil on a regular basis.