Due to my slow progress my wife recentely and went out and bought…sigh…outdoor furniture then forced me to put it together…grinding teeth. Sorry I’m digressing.
The question I have is that the directions say in the maintenance section. “To apply Teak Oil”. What is teak oil..I have search high and low through finewoodworking.com and cannot seem to find a reference to this? I have searched through Finishing by jeff jewitt..no sign of it there? Can someone shed some light on this?
In the future, I’d like to match my handmade furniture to the bought furniture and finding Teak oil as a finish doesn’t seem to be working.
Help,
M
Replies
Teak oil is a vague term, it is any oil finish meant for wood exposed to the weather. Teak oil doesn't contain an oil derived from teak wood nor is it especially formulated for applying to teak.
Typically it is either linseed oil or tung oil based. It will give some slight protection to the wood especially if it applied a few times each year, but unfinished teak will turn a light gray and last for years provided it isn't exposed to too much dirt and pollution.
If you want to apply a "Teak Oil" finish you will find several products in hardware stores or home centers that describe themselves as teak oil, the ones with a tung oil base are probably a bit better than the linseed oil versions.
John White
John is right. I have tried "teak oil" and found that it just washes out after a while. On the other hand, we have a teak bench that has been outdoors continually for 18 years, in a diccicult climate that ranges from cools and wet to very hot and dry. It is silver gray and is showing some erosion of the earlywood, but is nevertheless perfectly sound and good looking.J
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