Caring for your Teak
Taking care of your new teak furniture not only ensures its longevity but also helps maintain its natural beauty and functionality. Have a look below for some trade secrets to show your teak furniture some love and keep it looking as good as new.
Teaks Natural Aging and Greying Process
Teak garden furniture when it is new and retaining its natural oil will impress with its vibrant golden honey colour and, over the first 3 to 12 months will turn to a stunning silver grey. This greying process will in no way affect the structure of your garden furniture, this is purely cosmetic and down to personal preference.
There are varying environmental factors that can contribute to teak turning grey, from ultraviolet light exposure to rain. The best way to help your teak retain its golden honey colour is by using a sealant applied every 9-12 months. Teak sealants are typically solvent-based and around the thickness of water to ensure the outer layer of wood absorbs it well. Always ensure to apply Teak sealant when your furniture is fully dried out. Whether you choose to keep your teak furniture sealed or let it grey, it is sure to be a perfect match for your garden.
Keeping your Teak clean
Teak wood is naturally low-maintenance and hard-wearing and only requires the occasional clean. All you need to clean your garden furniture is mild soap very diluted in some warm water. For more stubborn grime, feel free to use a soft sponge and then rinse the surface with a clean, damp cloth.
Always ensure to scrub your teak with the grain to avoid any scratching, once you have given your table a good clean, wipe dry with a soft and dry cloth and then leave to air dry before covering again. When leaving your furniture to dry outside naturally, we do advise this can take up to 36 hours. This is because teak wood will absorb water and will need to not only dry the surface but also deep into the wood.
Regular cleaning of your garden furniture is a key method to ensuring your teak will stand the test of time. By cleaning off debris and dirt your furniture can properly dry out and not absorb any more moisture.
Minimising Checking
Checking is normal on any wooden garden furniture, however, we do appreciate that you want your furniture to look smooth and as good as new. The process of your teak checking will generally happen over the first 3 months of being exposed to outside elements. After these first three months, your teak garden furniture would have settled and you should have no further checking occur. Once these initial 3 months of checking have passed, you are then able to go ahead and minimise the appearance of any checking that did happen.
We recommend using an outdoor grade wether-resistant polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glue and 180 or higher grit sandpaper.
To start, simply stop a few drops of PVA onto your fingertip and wipe into the affected area.
After approximately 15-20 seconds the glue will begin to set and start to go sticky. Then simply sand the teak with your fine sandpaper ensuring it goes in the same direction as the grain of the wood.
When you sand this, if your furniture has already greyed, you may start to notice the golden honey colour begin to show through again. Not to worry as over the coming weeks this will also grey to match the rest of the teak.
By following everything in our teak care guide we are sure that your teak will last you for years to come and remain looking good as new. If you are still having any issues with this, always feel free to reach out to us with any questions.