Myths About Teak Oil For Furniture And Maintaining Teak Wood

Most people believe teak outdoor furniture requires regular polishing with teak oil. Well, one could say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to that. Rather ‘no’ than ‘yes’, actually. The basic fact about teak wood in general is that this is one of the most resistant wood types ever. For centuries now, it has been used to produce boats, outdoor benches, patio furniture , etc. On the whole, you can leave it be – teak can withstand any weather conditions all on its own, without any extra help from you. Sure, it will tarnish over the years – the golden shade of new teak furniture will gradually turn into a grayish hue. You can artificially postpone this change, but you can never completely escape it – that is just how it goes. So, here are some facts that will help you a get a better idea about protecting your teak and wooden furniture in general.

How teak oil can damage teak wood

Speaking of teak in particular, you should note that is this wood type is quite moist all on its own. The amount of natural teak oil in genuine teak furniture is enough to keep the wood undamaged for years. Just think of it – teak has been used not only for boats, but also for century old piling – the piling that still stands. Sure, nobody meddled into the process to protect teak from water. So, if teak can resist that, wiping it off with teak oil is a waste of time. Moreover, it is sometimes a waste of money – not only you will have to pay for the expensive teak oil every month or so, you can actually apply too much liquid onto your patio furniture – and make no mistake, the furniture will start to deteriorate quicker.

Sure, for the first couple of years, polishing teak furniture with oil might seem like a nice idea – before you start noticing the first signs of deterioration. It might look like you are protecting the beautiful golden colour, but in fact the only thing you are doing is soaking your wood with liquid and inviting mold into the picture.

Sealers versus varnish

To preserve the initial golden teak colour, you can use special teak sealers. They are easily available in the majority of furniture stores . By regularly wiping your outdoor teak furniture with sealers, you can preserve the golden shade for quite a while. Yet, as it was already mentioned – there is nothing permanent in life, and no matter what you do, your teak furniture will become grey within two years tops. The good news here is that the wood still looks gorgeous – even with the new shade.

Another important point here is to differentiate between wood sealers and wood varnishes. You do not need the latter – no matter what shop assistant, customer reviews, or Internet ‘experts’ may tell you. It will just damage your teak furniture – and given a price tag on that one, you would probably want to avoid it. So, do not listen to anyone, and read the label carefully.