The varnish will come off easily with a heat gun and a good scraper.

Raw teak does just fine. Use "sudsy ammonia" and give it a gentle
scrub. Finish with salt water rinse.

Varnish ain't that hard to keep up. Check out "Epithane's Wood Finish".
Follow the directions on the label. You need about 9 coats, but since
you don't sand between coats and a good foam roller puts it on smoothly,
it goes pretty fast.



Roger Long wrote:
The teak trim on our boat was heavily varnished. Can it be stripped
down and returned to oil finish or is the grain now hopelessly filled
with varnish?

Any other suggestions? I hate varnishing.