sealing weathered deck caulking

[blue-max]

The edges of the teak are caulked with black  sikaflex where they abutt the gelcoat and smears terribly  when cleaning the fiberglass. Is there any way of applying a sealing layer on the caulking to  stop  this problem?

[tiger79]

I think it's just poor quality caulking, which degrades in UV light.  Scrubbing the caulking with a brush whilst washing the boat seems to remove a lot of the loose surface particles.

[IslandAlchemy]

The only real answer is to dig it out and replace it.

[Odysseus]

Dont use sikaflex, use CT1 much better lasts longer and no black smears.

Odysseus
Bav38

[Yngmar]

Not much you can do with the UV degrading PU based stuff (like Sikaflex 291, which is just plain wrong for the job). Scrubbing it off will help briefly but it will just expose a fresh layer to the sun to turn crumbly. Cutting it down with a blade and applying UV resistant sealant over the top is the proper fix (assuming you want to keep the teak deck for a while).

If you want it to last, use a deck caulking product, such as TBS SIS-440.

[LinTeal]

I am in the process of removing the caulking edging the teak and replacing with SIS 440 due to smearing...The remainder of the cockpit caulking does not smear.My theory is that the previous owner when cleaning the abutting fiberglass used some cleaner that got onto the caulking and degraded it. This might explain why the rest of the caulking not abutting seems fine ?

[tiger79]

I am in the process of removing the caulking edging the teak and replacing with SIS 440 due to smearing...The remainder of the cockpit caulking does not smear.My theory is that the previous owner when cleaning the abutting fiberglass used some cleaner that got onto the caulking and degraded it. This might explain why the rest of the caulking not abutting seems fine ?

No, it's just lousy caulking by Bavaria.  The teak panels are pre-made and pre-caulked by Wolz, and Bavaria only have to glue them on to the deck and caulk around the edges.  My 2014 boat has the same problem, so it seems Bavaria have been using lousy caulking for a long time!

[blue-max]

I was hoping I could go  over the caulking with something to stabilise it.  I don't fancy digging it out  - that could lead somewhere I don't want to go!

[geoff]

I treated mine with teak oil and a small paint brush . Its a bit fiddly but it worked [3+years] Geoff