Walter’s amonia and wisk

[PeterPalmieri]

Been using this on my teak deck since I got the boat but I can’t find (my wife) Wisk in the local stores. Online it’s like $75 a bottle. Any idea of what I can substitute? Worried if I just by any old one it’s going to have an ingredient I should be avoiding.

[Tony Meola]

Peter

Looks like wisk is no longer made.

Wisk
https://www.wisk.com
Thank you for your interest in Wisk. We are replacing Wisk with our highest performing detergent available, Persil Pro Clean! Persil is #1 rated by a leading consumer publication based on its Pro …

I would use Tide or basically any of the other detergents. Wisk was a great cleaner. Cut grease easily. Tide should do the same thing. Tide is supposed to be the strongest on the market.

[Yannis]

I have a good friend who was working for Henkel in Dusseldorf.
I can ask him details if you want.

[Stephan]

I have used a little bit of Dawn dish soap - Not enough to make it foamy just enough to break the surface tension so it wets out the wood well. Hot water if you have it on a very overcast day or evening if possible. Also if fresh water is at a premium Joy dishwashing liquid would make suds with salt water for the prewash and scrub then just use the fresh water for the final rinse.
All of it is better than the 2 part, high dollar, wood eating stuff sold at chandleries.
A little Oxalic Acid will lighten any dark staining or rust.
Good Luck,
Stephan

[Tony Meola]

I have a good friend who was working for Henkel in Dusseldorf.
I can ask him details if you want.

Figures. The Germans never understood that the enemy of Good is Better.

[Yannis]

Tony,

Probably when they set out to improve Wisk, eventually replacing it by Persil, they never considered the havoc they would create to the “teak cleaning boat owners’” community !
I’m sure that even today they still remain unaware that their liquid detergent is the main ingredient of a proven teak cleaning solution in the US, used by some ...Bertram owners?

[Craig Mac]

I have been using warm water and sudsy ammonia in a 25% solution with good results----any scrubbing should be across the grain.

You can follow up with a second solution of 25% bleach if you want to brighten the teak.

[Tony Meola]

Tony,

Probably when they set out to improve Wisk, eventually replacing it by Persil, they never considered the havoc they would create to the “teak cleaning boat owners’” community !
I’m sure that even today they still remain unaware that their liquid detergent is the main ingredient of a proven teak cleaning solution in the US, used by some ...Bertram owners?

They should have put the recipe for the teak cleaner on their web page. Then they would have sold more wisk.

[PeterPalmieri]

Yannis,

This is a solution I've been using since 2010. It was recommended by our long standing leaders Capt. Patrick and Walter K. It has worked out very well for my desire to keep a traditional non-oiled, natural grey coloring. My reason for asking the question was a potential for concerns that wisk might not include harsh chemicals that I may want to avoid in some other detergents. The solution is I believe 1 part wisk to 4-6 parts ammonia. Worked in across the grain with a white scotchbright pad, ideally on a wetted deck on a cloudy day where it has time to not evaporate off to quickly. Rinse and repeat, I've only had to do this 3 times per year and it looks great. I will put up some pictures when I get it done this weekend.

Pete

[Yannis]

Yes, Pete, I believe I know, or at least heard of that solution while Walter was still with us, I remember you guys praising him for how well it cleaned/protected the teak decks.
I will call this friend of mine to try to obtain info (if possible) on the main differences in the formulae between wisk and persil and see if there is something useful we can pull out of this comparison.

[Yannis]

Talked to my friend, he said at some point in 2015-16 Henkel bought the american company that was producing Wisk. This was a decision to capture the market faster. They kept Wisk for a while and then for reasons that are rather main-stream for large companies, they substituted it with their world leading brand Persil. While he cannot say whether wisk’s ingredients are better suited for teak cleaning, he said that all these products are more or less the same. Also Persil was proven, in consumer tests, to be performing slightly better that the leader of the segment Tide.