mahogany deck caulk

[Rusty]

I need to know the name of the white caulking that is used to caulk the spaces between the mahogany strips on the deck of my boat, and where would I buy it. Many thanks.

[pcford]

sikaflex is commonly used. Get slow set. Fisheries Supply, Seattle.

[islandteak]

You might want to try white Sikaflex 290 DC
Remember to punch out the metal plug at the stern end of the tube. Cut the spout back to the width of your caulking gap. Make sure you leave it for FOUR DAYS before you sand it. Test first to see if you are getting any air bubbles showing after you sand. You can patch these later
if/when you do. White is more difficult to look perfect than black. I am doing the same job at the moment with teak decking on a Grenfel design hull. Good luck

...Ken

[pcford]

You might want to try white Sikaflex 290 DC
Remember to punch out the metal plug at the stern end of the tube. Cut the spout back to the width of your caulking gap. Make sure you leave it for FOUR DAYS before you sand it. Test first to see if you are getting any air bubbles showing after you sand. You can patch these later
if/when you do. White is more difficult to look perfect than black. I am doing the same job at the moment with teak decking on a Grenfel design hull. Good luck Not sure what Sika 290 DC is . Sika 290 is certainly polyurethane. Polyurethanes cannot be effectively sanded. They are harder than the surrounding wood. The more you sand, the more the surrounding wood recedes. Goes on and on. Kinda like chewing bad pot roast.

In any case, the caulk should not stand proud of the deck. It should be nicely concave in the seam.

Polysulphide can be sanded and is normally used for teak teaks.

[Rusty]

Thank you very much for your help. Once again you have saved me from having to tell my wife that I don't know what I'm doing. This is the fourth time that forum has gotten me over the hump. Thanks again.

[Dave G]

I believe that Sika discontinued their deck caulk 290 DC. 3M did the same thing with their deck caulk. I believe they were both having warranty issues. Boatlife has been offering their Teak Deck Sealant BTL-1252 for years (has never been as popular as the Sika).
The latest stuff that many of the boatyards are using is called "Teak Deck Systems". TDS will sell you a complete deck all put together and you just slap it onto your boat. But they also offer their caulking -- in black and white cartridges. The other option is Maritime Wood Products and they just offer a black. You can get all of these at Jamestown Distributors: http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/ak/Caulking/index.html

I would go with the TDS. seems to be the industry leader right now.

[RiverRat]

Try boatLife in the seam, then varnish the entire deck, including the cualk. Then tape off the cualked seam and paint the cualk white. Thats how its done on mahogany runabouts.

[Brahm Thexton]

Arggg,

If you use sikaflex, be clean about it, I've been sanding the stuff for a couple days now. tongue.gif
fun fun.