Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Teak Furniture Care Exposed

By Frank Froggatt

Preservation and Staining

It genuinely isn't all that necessary to defend teak furniture. If left in its inborn state, teak wood doesn't really require any preservation, and it is unique in that aspect. If you leave your teak furnishings outdoors 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year and not have to worry about it, this is even if the weather conditions in your area are extreme. It is because of this that people really love outdoor teak furniture.

It is true that after being exposed to the sun for a lengthy period of time that teak wood will start to turn a silvery gray color, but this is a inborn process and doesn't harm the structural integrity of the wood at all.

It is a common practice for some people to use a teak sealer on their wood in order to preserve the organic light brown color that it starts out with. They often use it to darken it up a little as well. Applying a teak sealant to your furniture will do more than just help to darken it up, it will also provide a UV protection and an anti-fungicide which will keep mold from developing. It doesn't matter whether you're teak furnishings is old or new, you can apply teak sealants to them after they have been cleaned. These sealers aren't the same thing as lacquer. All it does is act as a preservative for the wood while still allowing it to breathe and release its biological oils. Unlike glaze this will not peel or bubble up. These items both help to protect and stain your wood the color that you like. When you're looking at colors, realize that the darker the stain you get, the better UV protection the furnishings will have, which means you won't have to put it on as often. If by chance you have inherited a piece of teak furniture from someone that has glaze on it, you will need to remove all of the old glaze by sanding, and then you have the choice of either staining it the color you like or leaving it native.

It isn't very difficult to apply the preservative and it is pretty straightforward. You want to make sure that you don't put your first coat on unless the furnishings has been sitting in the sun for a few weeks before hand. This assures that all of the wood grains are open. When you are making application, simply spray it on to the furniture and then rub it with a rag. Try to make sure that you apply two coats in this fashion on all surfaces of the wood top, bottom, sides and between any slats. Before you start putting on the preservative, you need to make sure that you cover the ground where you are going to be working as it can stain concrete or other surfaces.You will need to apply a coat to your furniture each year, but after the first coat you will only need to apply it to surfaces that received the sun.

After doing this to your furniture you genuinely have to do very little else to protect it. It doesn't hurt to wash your furniture every once in a while with a mild soap and water to remove any normal soiling. Be careful spilling things on the sealant like coffee, wine, or foods that stain, as these can penetrate through the sealer and leave stains on the teak. If you want to improve your furnishings and resistance to these types of stains you can put on a teak clear coat.

Teakwood is naturally pretty impervious to water because of the oil that is contained naturally inside of it. Because of this, things like varnish, water sealers, and products with an oil base aren't recommended for this type of furniture. Polyurethane and glaze products will never fail to peel up and chip off of teak wood products. Applying these to your teak furnishings can turn out to be a real nightmare in the future.

If you're thinking of putting oil on your teak furnishings to help stain it, think again as this will only provide an avenue for mold to start growing on your furniture, rather than the wanted effect of a darker color. If you do this, in order to fix the problem you will have to wash the furnishings with bleach and water and then sand all of the mold from the surface.

If you like to entertain people outdoors or spend any time outdoors just relaxing, then teak outdoor furniture is an excellent investment for you. It brings quality and class to your yard and outdoor setting. Understanding the good care of teak furniture is a vital part of helping to maintain a lifetime investment.

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