The Zohan

We have some teak furniture that has done two summers so far but now nees some tlc. It is faded and looks tatty

What should i be putting on it to make it look like new again - Burning it and buying new is not an option, cost £ 375.00 so i would like some more wear out of it

It is the last thing on my snagging list before i am off to Dubai!

Many thanks

Paul

Clarebabes

Are you renting your house out then? I was gonna say, if you want someone to take it off your hands like....

Brendan Hughes

I'd have thought a simple "brush off the crap" (I dunno, buffer of sorts) and a teak oil/care product, tenner for a tin from B&Q applied with a paintbrush, would work wonders. Has it been outside all the time, so got a bit mouldy, or was it stuck in a dank humid shed for a year?

BTW, when are you off? Hope all goes well, I'll be fascinated to read regular reports

The Zohan

Hi Clare - Jenny and the girls are staying here until September which gives me time to get settled and sort out a house and work + she has 3 months notice at work.

The Zohan

Thanks Brendan. The furniture was put into our reasonably dry garage at the end of the summer, it is really a bit faded and rain marked.

Will keep you posted on the move and stuff

Paul

little-ginge

Cuprinol do something for teak...

We did ours last summer and it came out like new...

Brendan Hughes

Disclaimer - I'm not an expert. ( )

But our B&Q etc at this time of year is awash with products to renovate your hardwood furniture - buy a tin, "paint" it on. Simple as that. It'll probably cure the fading, no idea about the rain marks though.

Dad has a teak table which he leaves outside all year round, it tends to get a dusty sort of mould on it, but real teak renovates remarkably quickly.

I'd be slightly concerned about real teak (has natural oils) vs some other tropical hardwoods (er...) and what product suits what, but I think the basic products these days apply to both, so it's a worry that the modern clueless consumer shouldn't have. We applied some to our furniture last year, which is made of I don't know what, and it looks fine.

Gordo

Teak oil is useless - it lasts about a month before the effect wears off.

Whatever you put on, you have to clean the teak first. The best way is to gently sand it and remove any dark stains with a teak cleaner. Then, and this is the important bit, apply tropical teak oil/sealer (Starbrite is the brand we found) - have a hunt on the net. Not cheap but it's the only thing we've found that lasts. I found it after hunting through loads of sites on how to look after teak decking on yachts.

We belt sanded an outside table last summer (previous house owners left it behind as it looked so dirty, the normal grey teak goes when left exposed). We are in the process of clenaing and repairing a bench (soul destroying having to hand sand the fiddly bits but it's worth it). Table still looks terrific - we're about to put another coat of tropical stuff on again before putting outside again for the summer.

Good luck!

Gordo

little-ginge

we used teak oil, it's been left outside over winter - with a table cover on, and it looks just as good as when we did it last summer...

David Lock

I used some Cuprinol restorer which you brush/rub on and then hose off with water and a scrubbing brush. But it's a labour of love especially with things like slatted chairs. Works a treat though. Move furniture off patio when you do it though. dl

Gordo

From a teak furniture manufacturer's website:

"Do I need to treat my furniture with teak oil?
We do not recommend using teak oil: it will not prolong the life of your furniture. If you do choose to teak oil your furniture, to maintain the deep colour you must continue to re-oil it every 2-3 months (depending on how much direct natural sunlight the furniture is under). If the wood has already started oxidation (turned a silvery grey colour) and teak oil is applied this will turn the wood a dark grey or blackish shade. This is not recommended. Another solution to maintain the teak oiled look without applying oil that is often used is to cover or store away between using."

Sunlight degrades the oil - it's fine whilst it's covered up.

Gordo

Scooby Soon!

Teak will always go silver/grey unless you actually paint it with a dark wood stain. Teak Oil is not much different than Olive Oil, its great for getting all over your clothes after it has been oiled

Although its almost criminal to paint teak with a wood stain it will give a "tidy" looking apperance for around 3 years with out any other work.

You will find the only people to recomend teak oil are places that sell it

Mog

I always use a power washer every spring to remove the grey crap, takes about an hour to do 4 chairs and a table and looks like new. I have done this for 5 years in a row on the same furniture with no probs.

Mog

David Lock

"Lasts about a month" - I'll second that and I wish I'd known that after spending hours rubbing oil into a new set of teak furniture. Reading your interesting post makes me quite cross that no one thought to mention that I was more or less wasting my time and quite a bit of dosh

I may well try the Starbrite route. Google threw this up:

http://marinestore.co.uk/page/mrst/C...ners-and-oils/

dl

Daryl

Jet wash, followed by light sanding (because the jet wash raises the grain) and finally a couple of coats of Ronseal Furniture Oil, applied with a cloth. A bit time consuming, but if you want to do it properly...