How to Refurbish Indoor Teak Furniture

Over time, teak indoor furniture can become old and tired, and it will become necessary to restore it to its previous usefulness. To alter the appearance, you can either refinish it by stripping it back and oiling it or refurbish the wood using a finisher designed to work with old polish and lacquer. Both of these methods can enhance teak wood and lengthen its lifespan.

Refinishing Teak Furniture

It is easy to practice refinishing upon teak wood. In most cases, you do not need to do more than take off the old outer layer of wood, and the new layer will be virtually as good as new. To refinish teak, sand it down with an orbital sander. This uses fine-grain sandpaper and will gently sand away the old gray layer. Don't push down too much with the sander as this can damage the furniture. You can also use small pieces of sandpaper to sand down teak by hand.

Once the sanding is done, paint over the top layer of the wood with teak oil. This will help the outside oil to become moisturized and will ensure that it looks as good as new. Once the oil is dry, buff with a cloth to create the maximum shine for your furniture.

Refurbishing

Refurbishing is often seen as a more gentle form of refinishing, where the finish means that you don't have to go to the extreme lengths of stripping off an entire layer of wood in order to get to the new-looking material. A finish allows you to burnish the outside layer, to give it a better appearance while still keeping most of the old features.

It is possible to buy a range of refinishing products in home improvement stores that will allow you to add finish even over layers of polish and paint, in order to create a new look. This is an excellent idea with teak, as in its aging process, it turns a different color, from light brown to silver. Many people like the silvery appearance of the old wood, so using a finishing product that doesn't damage the color or appearance can be beneficial.

Before you begin to use a product, check that it looks right by applying a small amount to a discrete area such as the back of a chair leg. Make sure that your refinishing product is not going to damage the wood, and then proceed cautiously, trying to use as little of the finisher as you think you need. Refurbishing the teak in this way will give it a few more years of use before it needs refinishing completely.