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Do you know if the wheel has been refinished? Teak is an oily wood to start with and can "bleed" oils when it gets hot. You may be feeling oils that are curing and feeling sticky. (Natural oils cure very slowly, so this can be something that you notice over time.)
First try wiping it down with a mild solvent like VM&P Naphtha which is like mineral spirits but dries faster. That will remove oils that have accumulated on the surface if it's "bleeding", someone used an oil varnish, or just hand oils have accumulated. If that doesn't work, try denatured alcohol. This will also remove oils but will remove shellac if that was used as a finish, so make the wipe-down a light pass, not saturated.
Note: neither of these solvents will affect lacquer or polyurethane finishes.
Last edited by barkingrats; Jul 24, 2022 at 11:19 AM.
I would try mild soap and water, work your way up to mild solvents maybe. Do search to see what will not dissolve origin finish. Do not strip finish if you can avoid doing. The original finish was 3 coats catalyzed urethane sealer and a final coat of clear urethane varnish.
People have different ideas on what to use, or what the factory used to seal teak wheels. For me, I prefer a water-based clear acrylic; (never use oil based). It dries fairly fast and is available in a spray or 4oz. can for hand application. I blue tape the entire front and back of the spokes, and rattle can spray 2-3 light coats to get a uniform finish.. Others may have their preferred refinishing technique, and as long as it’s not an oil based product, it’s just a matter of personal choice. After owning and refinishing a few wheels on and off for forty years, this method seems to meet my needs. To me, vanish can add a little more warmth to the wheel, and to my taste, the teak in and of itself is already a fairly warm toned wood. It’s your wheel, so if you want, experiment a little and see what you like. I’ll attach a couple of photos. You will ready see that I prefer a glossy finish, similar to Mike Lampert wheels.. if thats not you thing, a couple passes of 0000 steel wool will knock it down a tad. As a side note, these photos were taken right after refinishing, and now after a couple of months, the seen as settled down a little and is not an intense of a gloss. To each, his own.
Good Luck,
Mike
Last edited by mblake101; Jul 24, 2022 at 12:16 PM.
I would try mild soap and water, work your way up to mild solvents maybe. Do search to see what will not dissolve origin finish. Do not strip finish if you can avoid doing. The original finish was 3 coats catalyzed urethane sealer and a final coat of clear urethane varnish.
No intention of sounding like a smart ***: water is a mild solvent as well. Just dissolves different things than petroleum or plant-based solvents. Soap in the water assists in releasing grease and oils, but doesn't really dissolve them. If the wood is missing a barrier finish, water can swell and raise the grain of wood so that it becomes fuzzy. Point being, be equally careful with water and wood as any other solvent.
