Retaining The Original Color Of Your Teak Outdoor Furniture
If you want to preserve the honey/brown color of your teak outdoor furniture, a sealer is recommended. Teak sealers are usually solvent-based and of water-like viscosity, containing protection against mold, ultraviolet light and moisture. A variety of shades are available if you want a color other than the natural one. Sealers are easy to apply and generally must be applied every 6 to 12 months. If you choose to use a sealer, we recommend you visit a marine store and purchase specialty teak sealers .
Prepare The Teak Wood Furniture For Cleaning
Start the cleaning process by sanding the wood surface with coarse sandpaper.
Do not use an abrasive coarser than 80-grit sandpaper because it may cause permanent scratches on the wood surface.
You may use a power sander for this step, but 120-grit sandpaper is also enough.
Using coarse sandpaper dislodges any embedded debris and removes the gray-hued and weathered part of the wood surface.
Sometimes, a pressure washer is just what you need to restore teak outdoor furniture, but be wary about the nozzle spray pattern and the water pressure.
Never use pressures over 2000 psi, and use a spray pattern wider than 15 degrees.
Using a greater pressure and more concentrated spray pattern can permanently dent and damage your teak wood furniture.
After removing the weathered surface, dirt, and debris, set aside your pressure washer and power sander because you wont need them beyond this point.
Refinishing Indoor Teak Furniture: Why And When
Teak wood is one of the most fine-looking exotic wood types. It is very attractive in color and outlook. Their durability has made it immensely popular.
As we know, different woods are best for different uses. For instance, woods that are best suited for basement stairs wont work fine for furniture making.
Hence, teak wood is used for premium quality indoor furniture like tables, chairs, and even beds.
But its quite natural that your teak furniture will leave its vintage elegance behind with time. Hence, you need to treat it accordingly to maintain its splendor appearance.
Well, are you wondering exactly when you should consider rejuvenating your teak wood furniture? Heres the answer-
- When your furniture turns grey or starts getting a greyish top layer
- There are scratch marks all over the top portion alongside water stains
- If your furniture starts to lose its alluring glow and the topcoat or paint starts wearing off
But will refinishing be the best choice for this situation?
As this confusion is quite common. Lets just consider whether refinishing or refurbishing is what our situation demands-
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Why Is Teak Furniture So Valuable And Why Do People Like It
Teak wood can be found in Thailand and Burma, and it is wood made from a tree from those tropical areas. It’s one of the MOST VALUABLE type of timber in the world and one of the most sought after! Some of its characteristics that people love include:
- It’s natural oils ensure that it isn’t prone to dry rot.
- Since it is a dense wood, it is less prone to warping, bending, and splitting.
- Furniture made from teak timbers have natural resign with a rubber-like product, which acts as a repellant from bugs.
Teak has a beautiful honey tone that makes it the perfect material for outdoor patio furniture.
I wanted to share with you our experience and sanding the used teak furniture that we got off of Craigslist for under $150 and what it looks like when its sanded. As a hardwood, teak does really well with different and varying weather conditions.
When you refinish outdoor teak furniture and structures, you’ll bring back a honey-brown, tropical color.
Applying The Wood Sealer
The reason for sealing your teak wood is to preserve its beautiful brown color. Ideally, you want a layer that will protect the teak from the harmful sun rays without altering the wood color.
There are many products in the market to choose from. In our case, we recommend using a semi-transparent water-based wood sealer for the best results. It is light and closely matches the color of natural oiled teak wood.
Consider using a paint sprayer to apply the wood sealer. It is quick to use and applies the sealer evenly across all the surfaces reaching those nooks and crannies with desirable precision. The sprayer can cover significantly large surfaces pretty fast.
It is important to work in an open space, with a large plastic drop cloth covering the ground where you are working. It should be large enough to provide room for your pieces.
Start applying the sealer from the underside of each piece of furniture, and finish at the top. You may want to have a couple of wooden blocks on the drop cloth for anchoring your tables and chairs while spraying.
You could also consider keeping pre-filling extra paint containers by your side to save time. It will be quicker to simply switch them up rather than have to stop to refill a container.
Be sure to adjust the flow of your sprayer accordingly before you begin your project. You can always test it on the underside of your furniture or a piece of wood, adjusting it until you get the desired coverage.
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What Exactly Is Teak
Teak is unique to other woods and not only is it a strong, durable hardwood, it produces its own oil and has a high wax content. It is the ideal material for outdoor furniture as the teak oil makes it waterproof and undesirable to wood-eating insects. This means it can withstand being left outside in the rain, wind or sun. It is worth the investment as not only is it an eye catching addition to your outdoor set, it is extremely long lasting with the proper care.
Harbour Outdoor pieces in particular are built with a unique style and are able to withstand any weather conditions. Look through a variety of collections all featuring their solid Indonesian A-Grade teak frames, such as the MLB, ORA or Pier Teak Collections.
S To Refinishing Teak Outdoor Furniture
Today, Im sharing my three steps to refinishing teak outdoor furniture. I love my teak outdoor furniture. Its sturdy, its lasted 7 years in tough Florida heat and weather and its comfortable. What I dont like about it is the weathered worn out appearance of the wood. Its just not pretty and its definitely not inviting. My previous attempts at refinishing my wood and teak furniture all looked great at first, but they didnt last. Not even for one summer! Below youll see how to clean, prep and seal your outdoor teak and wood furniture easily and with products that last.
Sending out a big thank you to HomeRight for sponsoring this post. Of course, all creativeness and opinions are my own. I also use affiliate links in this post, if you make a purchase Ill receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep H2OBungalow going!
You guys have all seen my awesome backyard makeover I finished earlier this year. Ive never gotten around to sharing how I refinished my teak furniture. We still have plenty of summer left and for most of you that means theres plenty of time left to enjoy your outdoor spaces! Refinishing teak or wood outdoor furniture is an easy process, you can do it in a weekend with just a few hours of hands on time.
This is what my outdoor furniture looked like before I refinished it.
Look close and you can see algae and white spots on it, the wood is weathered and looks awful.
Supplies youll need:
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How To Apply A Clear Coat To Teak
You can apply a clear coat once the sealant cures to give it an amazing sheen. You will need to use a type of clear coat that is specially designed for teak furniture. To apply:
How To Refinish A Teak Patio Table
A teak patio table is a durable and beautiful piece of furniture for the patio. When the surfaces of the table begin to get dull, you can make them look like new again, by refinishing with wood stain. Although it can be painted, stain will bring out the most natural look. Here are the basic steps in refinishing a teak patio table.
Step 1 Clean the Surfaces
Use a soft rag to remove any residue on the surfaces of the table. If the surfaces are too oily, dampen the cloth in soapy water, squeeze out the excess water and wipe off dirt, grime, or oil. Wipe it dry with a clean dry cloth.
Step 2 Remove the Old Finish
Use a chemical or paint stripper, to remove the old dull finish from the surface of the teak. When using solvents, always work in a naturally-ventilated area. Use mask and gloves for extra protection. Read the instructions on the solvent for details on the application process. Use a rag to spread the chemical evenly on every surface. Wait for about 30 minutes or so, depending on the manufacturers instructions.
Step 3 Scrape the Dissolved Material
Use a plastic scraper to remove the old finish. Use lacquer or paint thinner to wash the chemical off the table. Ensure that every surface is scraped and treated properly. If the old finish is hard to remove, dip steel wool in the thinner, and use it to scrape any remaining residue.
Step 4 Sand the Table
Step 5 Stain or Paint
Step 6 – Apply Sealer
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How To Refurbish Indoor Teak Furniture
- Written by Jen S. on Jan 08, 2010To ensure our content is always up-to-date with current information, best practices, and professional advice, articles are routinely reviewed by industry experts with years of hands-on experience.Reviewed by Charles Ramos, Jr. on Nov 08, 2019
Over time, teak indoor furniture can become old and tired, and it will become necessary to restore it to its previous usefulness. To alter the appearance, you can either refinish it by stripping it back and oiling it or refurbish the wood using a finisher designed to work with old polish and lacquer. Both of these methods can enhance teak wood and lengthen its lifespan.
Refinishing Teak Furniture
It is easy to practice refinishing upon teak wood. In most cases, you do not need to do more than take off the old outer layer of wood, and the new layer will be virtually as good as new. To refinish teak, sand it down with an orbital sander. This uses fine-grain sandpaper and will gently sand away the old gray layer. Don’t push down too much with the sander as this can damage the furniture. You can also use small pieces of sandpaper to sand down teak by hand.
Once the sanding is done, paint over the top layer of the wood with teak oil. This will help the outside oil to become moisturized and will ensure that it looks as good as new. Once the oil is dry, buff with a cloth to create the maximum shine for your furniture.
Refurbishing
Find A Replacement Teak Set
Patio Productions is an online e-tailer of upscale home goods. While we pride ourselves on carrying the top brands, we also guarantee the lowest prices! How is this possible? All items ship directly from the warehouse and straight to your home.
If youre looking for some patio furniture options other than Teak, Patio Productions offers a great selection of wicker and cast aluminum outdoor furniture as well.
Additional Resources:
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Spray Off The Cleaner
Once youve got everything painted with the liquid, its time to start rinsing it off. If you have a power washer, this is the time to plug it in and get started. If you dont have a power washer, try to get a power spray head like this.
If you look at the photos you can actually see how the power washer is stripping off the dirt and build-up. Theres a clear line. This makes it easy to see where you have sprayed and what is still dirty.
Once you have thoroughly sprayed the furniture its time to let it dry completely. Try to choose a few days to restore your teak furniture when there is no rain in the forecast.
Once the furniture is dry it will have a raw look to it, like its unfinished. Our cat said he liked it just fine at this stage of the process.
Clean Your Wood Furniture
How to clean outdoor furniture quickly.
Cleaning outdoor wood furniture can be done in one of two ways. You can sand all of the surfaces with a sander which is crazy time consuming or you can power wash your outdoor wood furniture and do a quick once-over with a sander in a fraction of the time.
Ive done both and Ill never go back to hand sanding alone. Youll see in my video how quickly I was able to clean my wood furniture with a power washer and it did a great job!
Is it OK to power wash teak and outdoor wood furniture? Yes! I researched and read a lot before I attempted to power wash the dirt, algae and weathered wood off of my outdoor teak furniture. Hold the pressure washer nozzle about 3-4 inches from the wood and move in a slow but steady motion. Always do a test on an inconspicuous place like the underside of a chair first.
Allow your wood furniture to dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step.
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How To Refinish Teakwood
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An exceptionally dense tropical hardwood, teakwoods high oil content and low shrinkage ratio make it a favorite for exterior furniture, bathhouse floors and marine construction. Teaks compact grain holds fasteners securely so that items made from teak are stable and can last for decades. When exposed to sunlight, however, teakwood ages to a silvery shade but retains its smooth grain. Refinishing teak requires sanding to remove the aged surface of the wood before applying a protective teak oil finish that enhances the woods natural luster.
Cleaning Your Outdoor Teak Furniture
And a lot of people actually seem to recommend against using oil-based products on your teak for a few reasons, one of which is that teak already naturally contains an abundance of oils that protect it from the elements like weather of all kinds, termites and rot, so adding more oil-based protectants is unnecessary, which is what a lot of those oil-based products claim to be. Whats more, adding oil-based products to teak could apparently cause your teak to dry out and the wood to subsequently weaken, and it could also cause a buildup of mildew and mold. Yuck. And its for those reasons that we decided to stay away from any oil-based treatments while restoring these lounge chairs. To each his own, but thats just how we decided to roll.
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Stripping The Wood For A Smooth Upper Portion
Cleaning your surface off should remove the visible marks. Some marks wont get away with soap treatment. Thats when youll need to use sandpaper to take the upper layer off.
But dont put too much pressure during this process. That can damage the entire furniture. Try to use the sandpaper lightly and carefully. Fine-grained, 400-grit sandpapers should work fine for this purpose.
Still, you must do some calculations, and consider some criteria before picking the sandpaper.
Once youre done sanding, start the oiling part. This will bring the glimmer back.
How To Take Care Of Teak 101
Teak furniture is unique because it produces its own natural oil that makes it very low maintenance in comparison to other types of outdoor wood furniture. Furthermore, teak oil prevents water and moisture from sinking into the wood that can cause dry rot. Check out some high quality outdoor teak furniture options from Patio Productions.
If you dont mind the grayish patina teak will develop overtime, teak requires virtually no maintenance and can be left on the patio without much more than an occasional dusting to keep it in pristine condition. Below I will show you how to clean and care for you teak furniture as well as how to remove the silvery patina.
Teak with a Grayish Patina, Teak after Cleaning, and Sealed Teak. to browse teak furniture for you patio! Image courtesy Open Room Furniture.
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How Do You Restore Weathered Teak Wood
Weathered teak wood is typically ashy-grey, sometimes with black mildewed spots.
The grey color remains after the woods outermost layer has lost the natural teak oil responsible for the golden shade.
Since this protective oil exists from the inside, you can restore the lovely golden color of teak by getting rid of the ashen outer layer.
There are two ways to remove this layer:
After exposing the fresh wood inside the furniture that remains saturated with teaks natural protective oil, you want to apply a teak protector or sealer to shield it from the elements. This protective layer will help keep the golden brown color from fading too quickly.
Option number one above is viable but reasonably time-consuming compared to the second approach. So its only natural that we go with the second, quicker option.