Teak question

[Aram]

Family members sent a message saying they have a teak table and chairs for outdoor use. They have had them for a few years. They haven't done anything in particular to maintain them. They would like to know if they should continue to let it weather naturally, or treat it with something?

Thanks in advance.

[handi]

Oil finish.

They can use teak oil, but tell them to be sure it is an oil finish and not a film finish.
Walnut oil or even mineral oil will work fine.

Oil finishes are great for outdoor furniture and doors. When the weather tears them up, and it will, there is no scraping or sanding old finish off. A light sanding for fuzz and damage and you can apply new oil. 

Expect to re-apply once a year.

[Ridgeway]

Oil finish.

They can use teak oil, but tell them to be sure it is an oil finish and not a film finish.
Walnut oil or even mineral oil will work fine.

Oil finishes are great for outdoor furniture and doors. When the weather tears them up, and it will, there is no scraping or sanding old finish off. A light sanding for fuzz and damage and you can apply new oil. 

Expect to re-apply once a year.

I inherited a good-sized teak patio table.  It was in pretty rough shape (literally).  The legs look to have been laminated out of 1x stock, and they were starting to split at the laminations.  I cleaned it as best I could and then got some TB III into cracks and clampe it up.  After a year, they look pretty stable. 

For the top, I hit it with the ROS from about 100 down to 220, and then wiped on some mineral oil.  It got a really nice feel when it was sanded and oiled -- almost soft.  It did not keep its "oiled" look very long, butI didn't want to keep soaking in more oil.  I was afraid it would smell like a massage parlor permanently.  

Anyhow, it is definitely good enough now, and a vast improvement over the masonite table it replaced.

[ez-duzit]

They should just let it weather, unless they want to chase after unending refinishing.

[fredhargis]

Teak will weather just fine, if it's otherwise not coated with anything. What happened to us was that the teak rockers my wife bought had some kind of inconspicuous clear coating on them, after a few years they looked absolutely horrible covered with a mildew looking something. I had to try and strip the chairs and still couldn't get all the discoloration off. I wound up painting them to cover it all up. Below is a pic of what the backs of the chairs looked like before and after the cleaning effort. So if they are sure there isn't a coating on them, leave 'em be.

   

[Cabinet Monkey]

Fred - that discoloration/mildew will happen on uncoated or oiled teak too.   I’ve refinished numerous teak swim platforms over the years , none of which had a “film” finish on them.  They all were discolored.

The only way to make them look new again is to clean , bleach (whiten), and then abrade or scrape the gunk away. If you have a “film” finish , that must be sanded or scraped off before you can start the restoration.  Sometime the stain is so deep that you’ll have to live with it, but that’s rarely in the majority of the field. Usually around joints.

There’s no way around the elbow grease portion of the project.  

[fredhargis]

Thank you, I did not realize that. These rockers are the only teak anything that I've dealt with.

[Ushuaya]

Please post some pictures in order for us to see about this. When it comes to wood, the options are countless and I'm sure that the result is going to be a great one. If I could tell you a little suggestion, you can look for some wood for daybeds in order to create something different. Tables or chairs are pretty basic and you can get out of your comfort zone in order to experience something new. It's not like you're going to lose anything and maybe you'll find something that you'll really like. Make sure to keep us updated about your progress!