Timber care advice needed...

[RygarR]

Afternoon guys,

What lovely weather we've been having. So lovely, in fact, that I oiled the deck and got the garden furniture out the shed, including a lovely teak table I bought about 5 years back.

The table originally came unfinished, but I sanded it and treated it as per instructions, and it's looked pretty much pristine until now.

Last autumn, I was a bit late putting it away in the shed, and a couple of spots on the top started to weather. To avoid risking a blotchy surface, I sanded the whole thing back along the grain by hand. It took ages. When it was finished the surface looked more or less uniform to my old eyes.

Then I applied the teak sealer. And the result? It looks effing sh1t. As if it's been sat out all winter and just had some oil ladled on top.

What have I done wrong?

Any advice appreciated...

Cheers

 

[thegreathopper]

Looks great to me.

 

[RygarR]

Looks great to me.

Haha. Thanks Dude, but I wasn't fishing. Point is, the colouring was more or less uniform before, with no hints of grey. Since I sanded it back it's been a blotchy mess, and I don't know why...

 

[Mr20to5]

Now then young man. I've been down this road myself. What has likely happened is, that last year, you didn't get rid of all the existing mildew, mould, damp, whatever. You then effectively sealed that underneath the oil, where they happily bred and grew over the winter.

Your options are to try and fix this, for which you'll have to sand off the oil, then make up a diluted bleach solution, apply and reapply, until you are as sure as you can be that it been eradicated, then apply a protector, not oil.

OR...

Just leave it and enjoy the sunshine. Naturally the teak will turn a uniform grey over time, which I actually prefer.

Life is short. Cover the table with drinks and food and have fun. In 15 years time, buy another.

 

[RygarR]

Now then young man. I've been down this road myself. What has likely happened is, that last year, you didn't get rid of all the existing mildew, mould, damp, whatever. You then effectively sealed that underneath the oil, where they happily bred and grew over the winter.

Your options are to try and fix this, for which you'll have to sand off the oil, then make up a diluted bleach solution, apply and reapply, until you are as sure as you can be that it been eradicated, then apply a protector, not oil.

OR...

Just leave it and enjoy the sunshine. Naturally the teak will turn a uniform grey over time, which I actually prefer.

Life is short. Cover the table with drinks and food and have fun. In 15 years time, buy another.

Thanks Neil. That all sounds about right. Bah! I'm done sanding for now, so will wait until later on the summer and rethink then.

You're also right about the weathering, of course. Trouble is, it's so temperate here, so mild and damp all year round, that wood rots before you know it. I'm hoping to keep this table a bit longer than usual!