I Sealed My Outdoor Teak Table With an Environmentally Friendly (And Long-Lasting!) Oil
/UPDATED in 2024 with upgraded product!
We added a big teak table to our backyard and it’s the perfect companion to our renovated kitchen. The chunky, solid table arrived un-treated which was already gorgeous, but I wanted to give it even more oomph. I hunted high and low for an environmentally friendly oil that’s free of petrochemicals, and I found one! Plus, I found a cleaner that avoids needing to power wash or sand off the grey patina!
The TLDR: Clean your grey/mildewy teak with this, then protect it with this. I used to do extensive cleaning and previously sealed it with a product that let me down. So I went back to the drawing board and ultimately chose those two products and I’m so pleased. It’s been several years and the table it’s holding up fantastic! Plus, the cleaner works wonderfully - no more power washer and sander!
Teak is a naturally oily wood that is perfect for withstanding the elements outdoors. It can be left untreated for years but will develop a natural silvery patina without any sealer. Many love the silvery hue so much so that they buy teak furniture only for the hopes of it turning grey with time. However, when I saw the warm golden colors of the table, I knew I wanted to lock in that rich color and avoid the silver age.
I spent a couple of months living with the table as-is before deciding on the oil I wanted to use (more on that later). So it ever so slightly started to patina.
To remove the beginnings of the grey patina, I used the power washer followed by a light sand. Silly me, I could have skipped both of those steps and just used this cleaner. I’ve since used it twice and it’s magical compared to the slog of having to power wash.
Researching the right product:
I did a ton of research on what kind of teak oil protectant I wanted to use. A very common furniture oil is this Sun Shield stuff, which has sun protection, oil, and beeswax in it. I think it works just fine, but a primary component of it is petroleum. Here’s the MSDS for it. I try to stay away from petrochemicals in my products, so I hunted for something else.
I considered using a linseed oil varnish from Earth & Flax (who carries beautiful petrochemical-free wood coatings, sealers, varnishes, and paints).
The sun is what greys teak and can dry out other woods, so UV protection is what to look for in protecting products. To create that UV barrier is with either petrochemicals or with pigment. While I’m sure the linseed oil varnish would be beautiful, it didn’t have the UV protection I needed.
In 2020, I chose the Koloranti Teak Furniture Oil that I found online at Green Building Supply. It contains natural flax oil, natural pigments, and lead-free dryers. It’s zero VOC and non-toxic. it looked beautiful for about a year, then it got mildewing and grey. I was disappointed. Maybe if I applied it more frequently, I could have avoided it?
2024 UPDATE!
Here’s what I now recommend after 4 years of owning the table: I started fresh by cleaning the grey/mildewy teak with this, then protected it with this.
Both products can be applied by hand, but I decided to save myself the elbow grease, and work on really burnishing the product in. So I used these pads that attach to my power drill. (bonus, I use the extras to deep clean my bathroom tiles and tub, too!)
Whenever sealing wood, it’s a good idea to seal all of the sides and in the grooves. It prevents it from warping if the untreated side starts to expand/contract. To get the oil into all of the cracks, I used an old rag, dunked in oil, then wedged in the table seams with a beehive tool.
Above is a handy guide on which products to use and when based on the condition of your teak furniture, and how you want it to look. Here’s those products:
Shield (note that I don’t use this product as I follow the steps in that very middle row)
In addition to the enhanced color, the oil now protects the wood from water and it beads up on the surface for easy cleaning and maintenance.
And there you have it!
Products used for this project:
Sander (you can avoid this if you use the cleaner, though!)
Power Washer (you can avoid this if you use the cleaner, though!)
Old rag
