Should you oil teak furniture? Oil, sealer or letting it silver

Does teak furniture need oiling?

Not to make it last. Solid teak copes with the weather on its own; oil only changes the colour, keeping the honey tone of new timber. That is also what our teak page says.

Teak's resistance lies in the wood itself. It holds natural oils, which make it feel oily, and up to 1.4% silica, according to The Wood Database. CIRAD's technical data sheets rate its heartwood durability class 1 to 3 against fungi, depending on the origin and age of the trees, and say it needs no preservative treatment even when it gets wet from time to time. None of those figures depends on oiling.

Other woods are a different matter. Acacia and pine have far less durable heartwood and do need treatment and a finish that is kept up, as our guide to outdoor wood explains.

Why do some say oil it and others say don't?

Because each side is talking about something different: people who sell oil talk about colour, and people who make teak furniture talk about durability. Both positions have a logic.

The case for oil

In Spain, almost every page explaining teak oil comes from a paint shop or an oil maker, and they take it as given that teak must be oiled. Lyssolen, for example, presents its oil as protection and maintenance for tropical timber outdoors, with a UV filter. In the UK, Furniture Clinic, which also sells teak oil, recommends a coat in spring and another in autumn to stop teak losing its colour and, it says, drying out and cracking.

The case against

British teak furniture makers take the opposite view. Barlow Tyrie told Gardens Illustrated that oil is not necessary outdoors, will not extend the life of the furniture and is purely cosmetic. Westminster Teak does not recommend teak oil for furniture kept outside, because it raises the risk of mildew.

The technical data sides with the second view on what matters for lifespan: teak gains no durability from oil. The cracking argument has little support, since teak is among the most stable woods, with tangential shrinkage of 4.7% on CIRAD's sheet. What oil does achieve is keeping the colour, and that is a design choice, not essential maintenance.

What is teak oil and what is it for?

It is a finish for hardwoods, not oil that comes from teak. Most products blend drying oils such as linseed or tung with solvents and sometimes resins; Lyssolen's, for example, is based on linolenic acid and includes a UV filter.

It soaks into the wood rather than forming a film, so it does not flake like varnish. It does three things:

• Keeps the honey tone, or brings it back after a grey teak has been cleaned.
• Slows fading, if the product carries a UV filter.
• Gives the surface a richer, slightly darker look.

It does not make teak last longer, and it is no substitute for cleaning.

Oil or sealer

Teak protectors and sealers are a different family of products: they aim to slow the change to grey without the frequent upkeep oil needs. Barlow Tyrie, for example, suggests two coats of its colour protector, repeated once a year. Westminster Teak says a sealer can help preserve the look but is not essential for durability. The same principle again: appearance, not strength.

What happens if you don't oil teak?

It turns grey, and that is all. In sun and rain it loses its honey tone within months and becomes silver-grey. The change is on the surface: Westminster Teak points out that it affects neither the integrity nor the lifespan of the wood.

The grey is not dirt, although dust, pollen or lichen can build up on it over time. Washing with warm water, mild soap and a soft brush, along the grain, is enough. If your teak will spend the winter outside, our guide to teak in winter covers it.

What suits a hotel or restaurant?

On most terraces, letting the teak silver. Oil commits you to redoing every piece every season, and a coat that wears unevenly looks worse than evenly grey teak.

Think about volume. With 200 terrace chairs, every round of oiling means cleaning, drying, applying and wiping off piece by piece, with the terrace out of use meanwhile. Westminster Teak reckons a fully exposed piece would need oiling every two to three months to hold its colour.

On tables, daily use wears the oil away first where hands, plates and glasses rest, leaving the top in patches of different tone. If the scheme calls for honey-coloured teak, it usually pays to keep it for covered or indoor areas and let the open terrace go grey.

How do you apply teak oil?

On clean, dry wood, in a thin coat, always wiping off the excess. Timings vary from product to product, so the maker's data sheet has the last word.

1. Clean the piece with warm water, mild soap and a soft brush, along the grain, then rinse.
2. Let it dry completely. Lyssolen asks for wood moisture no higher than 9 to 11%.
3. Apply a thin coat with a lint-free cloth or a brush.
4. Wipe off the excess with a dry cloth: after a few minutes according to Furniture Clinic, after 30 minutes according to Lyssolen. Left on, it stays tacky and holds dirt.
5. Apply a second, thinner coat when the maker says: 4 to 6 hours for Furniture Clinic, 24 hours for Lyssolen.
6. Repeat once or twice a year, or when the wood starts to pale.

For quantities, Lyssolen gives about 8 m² per litre over two coats, depending on how porous the wood is. Furniture Clinic adds that the first time may take three coats.

How do you restore grey teak?

Clean it thoroughly, then oil it. The grey sits only on the surface, so the original tone is still underneath.

• Clean with a dedicated teak cleaner, or sand lightly along the grain with fine paper.
• Let it dry completely and oil it as described above.
• Avoid bleach, solvents and pressure washers: they raise the grain and leave the surface rough.

At Kadek Living the timber finish is chosen with each piece, and before production we send a sample of the finish for you to approve. If you are torn between the two looks, browse our teak furniture and compare finishes at the Madrid showroom.