# Help with Teak Pen



## mmayo (Apr 17, 2013)

I need to know how to make teak wood look like it is coated with marine spar varnish when used to make pens.

I have been fishing with the Royal Star Sportfishing boat with a group of friends for 15 years.  I though of a unique gift for the three skippers that pilot the boat = pens made from teak wood used on the boat.  I already got the piece of damaged rail and easily cut off pieces for pen tubes.  It looks a sickly green/brown/gray.  On the boat most of the doors, molding and anything wood is teak "brightwork" covered in a thick two part epoxy spar varnish.  This material is naturally very yellow and thus gives the teak a amazing wood finish.

The original piece of wood rail











Blanks cut from the wood (top one "stained" in teak oil as a first effort to get color)







How do I go about getting the teak to be pretty?  I can make it shiny and smooth with CA, but how do I match or approximate the color I want?

This is a genuine mahogany pen made from rail for another boat called the Vagabond; to me it looked great with just CA.






Thanks in advance!


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## Justturnin (Apr 17, 2013)

I wonder if a coat or two of blonde or amber shellac would give you the color then you can just CA over that.  If you try make sure it is an Nonwaxed shellac.


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## jttheclockman (Apr 17, 2013)

The product is called stain. Find a color you like and stain the wood and then top coat. You have to remember the wood on the boat has been through weather and has taken on a patina from years. You got the wood to its natural color so now stainit whatever color you like. Try a few samples. No one can tell you what color to get because each person has their own taste. Any oil such as Danish oil, teak oil, blo will give it a darker color. You have that already. Plus don't forget your pen size is alot smaller sample to look at than a cabin door. Good luck.


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## mmayo (Apr 17, 2013)

Yes I have many stains, but have never needed to stain pen blanks yet.


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## RMayoIII (Apr 17, 2013)

I work at a marina and so I deal with teak frequently. John T. is right about the color issue. There are so many treatments for teak that it's very difficult to achieve a matching color to another piece without knowing exactly what was used on that piece. And even then, the color changes with time so that even using the exact product yields different color variations. 
I think that just the fact of having a piece of that boat will mean more to the recipient than an exact color match anyway. Just my .02


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## BSea (Apr 17, 2013)

Do you have any scraps big enough to turn & experiment with different finishes?  But if not, I'm with RMayoIII, the fact that if was originally a piece of the boat would mean the most to them.


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## Haynie (Apr 17, 2013)

Why not just use Marine Spar Varnish?


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