Teak Bench ??????

[jquick77 14]

Hello All, I have been stealing all the info on this board for a couple of months now. I started a wood resto business 4 months ago and have been doing alright so far thanks to all of the information on this board. I went to bid a deck job today and the guy had a teak bench on the deck. They were asking me about it and I told the the truth, which is that I didn't know very much, but that I would look into it. They were asking me if I could put Ready Seal on it, which I replied that I wasn't sure, but would check on it. The bench has turned grey, whith a little black and green on it, which looks like mold. I use chems from Sunbrite, efc 38 and Hd 80 so far with great success. Can I hit it with some efc and a light pressure wash? Also, can Readyseal be applied, or should it be a different stain made for teak? I didn't include the bench in the bid, but told the customer ( nice older gent) that I would do some research and tackle it for the experience, and a possible nice pic for my portfolio. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanx for all of your help and info on this board.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

EFC-38 to clean it...

Citralic to neutralize and brighten....

Then check to see if the surface needs a light sanding....

Personally I like either Wood Tux or Cabot's Australian Timber Oil for sealing the teak. It will outlast the Ready Seal. Let your owner know that on a hardwood such as teak, you will not get more than a year or so. This is a wood that needs annual care. (at least horizontally)

Beth :cup:

[RPetry 564]

Jquick77,

To answer your specific question, yes Ready Seal can be used on hardwoods such as teak. Apply with lambswool. If possible and the wood will take more oil, do a 2nd very light application. The trick is to get as much oil into the wood as possible.

No matter what stain you use, if the teak furniture is exposed to sun and rain, it will have to be cleaned or stripped (depending on the stain) every year and more stain applied to keep the wood looking good.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Hello All, I have been stealing all the info on this board for a couple of months now.

There's your confession...Cuff him Danno!

Rod!~

[jquick77 14]

Thanks for the info, I will try cleaning with the efc and brighten with the citrilic, and see what product he would like to put on. I will take pictures if I can remember my camera. Thanks again !!!!!

[RPetry 564]

jquick77,

Or if your customer doesn't mind the silver patina look of unstained teak, just clean and brighten the wood. Teak does not need any stain to protect it, the wood is very hard and dense and near impervious to sun and moisture damage.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

the wood is very hard and dense and near impervious to sun and moisture damage.

It is hard and dense, however I have seen on several occasions, teak with rot issues. Strongly suggest sealing the teak. Also that "silver" patina... is UV (sun) damage, so saying it is impervious to it, well.... nothing is. True on a hard wood it actually allows for better product absorption, but still the result is the over exposure does dry and crack the wood.

Beth

[Mathew Johnson 123]

I stripped a teak furniture set for Anheiser Busch Estate family here in oooperstown two weeks ago. I stripped and brightened well, came out awsum!

One if the caretakers will be applying ready seal this week,

[James 624]

I clean allot hadwood never sealed some over twenty years old in great shape. Also stripped many Teak oil and Assuy Stuff finishes off furniture. There doing better with RS.

[jquick77 14]

Will be stripping the deck on Tuesday weather permitting. The customer wants to go with dark brown R.S., which I haven't seen any pictures yet, so I hope that it looks decent. I don't think the bench would look good the same color as the deck though, because they keep it on the deck. I would think that it should stand out, so maybe I can talk them into a lighter color for the bench.

[RPetry 564]

Jquick77,

This picture may help. From left to right, Ready Seal dark brown, dark red, and a 50/50 mix of dark brown and dark red.

The wood is not teak but an unknown hardwood, probably from Asia or South America. Very dense and hard though, so the colors on teak may well be similar.

[Mathew Johnson 123]

If the deck is a different wood than the bench (Pressure treated verses Teak... the Readyseal will look different from one to the other. I did a deck with cedar railing and pressure treated flooring and steps with medium brown, it looked like a two tone deck job. There wasnt a great difference, but it looked great. make sure you tell the homeowner that they wont be identical if they are different species of wood.

[jquick77 14]

Thanks for the pics, I didn't think about it looking different, as I am a new at this and haven't done anything but PT decks yet. Going out there tomorrow so I will try and remember my camera and take some pics of the bench. Thanks a million !!!!!

[RPetry 564]

Beth,

I have seen on several occasions, teak with rot issues. Strongly suggest sealing the teak. Also that "silver" patina... is UV (sun) damage, so saying it is impervious to it, well.... nothing is.

If it is teak, must be sapwood. Or the wood was never dried properly before fabricating furniture. Teak when cut has a moisture of ~ 40%. Air dried ~ 25%. Kiln dried ~ 15 - 12%. Good enough for outdoor furniture. if the teak is cracked, it was not dried properly. If it is rotted, not decent quality teak. Ever seen any rotted ipe'?

A good friend owns and runs a commercial dive boat out of Pt. Pleasant, NJ. Teak deck and the boat is 23 yrs. old and the teak has never seen a drop of stain or oil, only a fresh water wash, sun, and the marine environment. One small corner where the scupper and deck meet stays wet all the time. There is a small spot of rot (that will only get worse over time) where the wood is constantly immersed in water.

Our good friends in the British Isles have many park benches remade into teak from the decks of sailing ships, built over a hundred yrs. ago. These decks were cleaned with salt water often. From what I understand, these benches are still going strong in a climate that is condusive to mold, mildew, and rot.

From everything I have read about good quality teak, it does not rot. It does not need an oil or stain. At least not in a lifetime.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

In one case, it was due to ground contact and was on the leg of a chair. The chair sat in a garden shop, and had soil that was moist frequently beneath the legs. Only one rotted sightly.

In the other case, it was on a high end teak bench (sofa type seat) and was part of a rather pricey well known collection. It sat under trees on a north side was heavily shaded, and had a good amount of mildew and algae. The rot, was underneath, that is to say where the seat connected to the frame which was sort of odd...it was low enough to the ground to get some splash up. Also, like in example one there was lots of soil...not grass.

Only other thing I'll add about teak, is when we were on a cruise, we had the opportunity to see the teak benches they had up on the deck. These benches are pressure washed every week or so. That was the first time I have ever seen horribly raised grain on teak....it was sad...the ship was less than two years old and the benches were very sad...

Beth

[RPetry 564]

Beth,

Ok. We both believe what we have seen and have learned. Peace. No further arguement. Unless others have more pertinent facts.

If my customers ask about their teak deck or garden furniture, I will defer and say I think it will outlast at least your lifetime. As long as it is good wood.

[jquick77 14]

You guys are really starting to confuse me.... LOL Only kidding, very interesting reading, as is most of the posts on this board.......

[RPetry 564]

jquick77,

As far as I know to this point, there are two woods that do not need anything as far as stain or oils to stand up to our climate without treatment. One is teak. Teak has been around longer than we or our grandparents have lived. Check that, longer than that. If it is real teak of heartwood origin, sun, rain, freezing, hail be damned, it lasts for a long, long time.

Problem is that so called teak has been on the market for some time. This is wood that is either/or sapwood, and not dried sufficiently, or young stock that has not had time to grow and imbue the wood with enough natural oils.

The other wood is ipe'. I have no doubt that there is or will shortly be ipe' wood on the market with the same inferior attributes.

Bottom line, good wood has become very expensive and often hard to get. You get what you are willing to pay for.