Teak Cleaning and Care CARE & MAINTENANCE
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TEAK & CLEANING
What’s the advantage of teak outdoor furniture? Teak is the premier wood to use in outdoor furniture due to its high oil and rubber content, which makes the wood durable and helps prevent rotting. Plus, teak is naturally resistant to termites and other wood-eating insects due to its silica content. How will teak furniture weather outside? • Teak furniture is perfectly suited for use in any outside environment—even waterfront settings—and will gradually develop a beautiful, soft gray patina. Teak wood is known for its superior durability, stability, and low maintenance. • Teak reacts to outdoor elements such as humidity, dampness, light, and moisture just like wooden porches, doors, framing, banisters, and railings do. Depending on the environment, color changes due to natural graying and weathering may become noticeable after a few months of use. In drier climates, teak will take several months to weather. If the wood is exposed to infrequent moisture, the color will fade slowly with only minor discoloration. In moist climates where furniture is subjected to regular dew and sunshine, teak wood will weather more quickly. Not all pieces that are in the same location will weather at the same rate. If I prefer the honey-brown color of unfinished teak, how do I retain this color? • If you notice checking (small cracks in the wood) or graying— both normal weathering for teak—our Teak Cleaner can be used to restore the golden color. (Do not use Teak Cleaner on finished teak.) • For regular maintenance, wipe down the furniture with a soft cloth, using mild soap and warm water. Once the furniture has dried, you can apply our Teak Protector to retain the honey-golden color of natural unfinished teak (we recommend doing this twice a year—spring and fall). The Protector replenishes the teak oil in the drying wood and restores the honey-golden color. BE SURE TO APPLY TO ALL TEAK SURFACES, EVEN THE UNDERSIDES! Why are there color variations in my teak wood furniture? Teak is a natural product with inherent characteristics. Just as no two handmade or hand-touched products are exactly alike, no two teak wood slats are identical. Each component
is cut at different times from different areas of aged trees. To create longer planks of teak and reduce waste, a finger joint will be used and is not to be confused with mortise and tenon joints. (See example below). Will my teak furniture with a factory-applied finish weather? • Even with finished teak products, the wood’s oil will migrate to the surface and into the finish. Expect some of this oil to bleed out, especially following the first few rainfalls. In order to protect your cushions, store them separately after use. Once the seat and back have begun to develop a silver-gray patina it’s no longer necessary to store the cushions separately. • The oil can also move the white primer to the surface of the product, which may change or lighten the finish color. This is a natural attribute of teak and doesn’t diminish the durability of the piece. What are some good tips for protecting my cushions from teak oil stains? • Staining from naturally occurring teak oil may result on cushions left on teak furniture before the silver-gray patina develops. For best results, wipe down your teak furniture with a damp cloth. Store cushions separately for the first year to minimize the chance for teak oil to stain the cushions, as this is not covered by our warranty for frames or cushions. • For added protection, Teak Shield is safe to use on both natural and finished teak. When applied to teak furniture, it will minimize—but not completely eliminate—the natural movement of teak oil from the wood surface to the cushions. • Once the seat and back have begun to develop a silver-gray patina, it’s no longer necessary to bring the cushions inside.
FINGER JOINT
MORTISE & TENON JOINT
For more detailed information and how-to videos on teak care visit SummerClassicsHome.com/Product-Care
207 TEAK CLEANING AND CARE
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