Don't Ruin That Teak

You carried it out of the garage, loaded it into the truck, and now it’s sitting in your workshop looking rough. The finish is cloudy. There’s a water ring. One drawer sticks.

Before you do anything, take a breath. The number one cause of destroyed vintage teak isn’t age or neglect. It’s the new owner.

What NOT To Do

• Don’t sand it. Most mid-century teak is veneered. Sand through the veneer and the piece is firewood.
• Don’t use polyurethane. Teak needs to breathe. Sealing it in plastic kills the character.
• Don’t use furniture stripper. Chemical strippers can lift veneer and bleach the wood.

What TO Do

1. Clean first. Murphy’s Oil Soap and warm water. That’s it. You’ll be shocked how much grime comes off.
2. Steel wool for marks. 0000 grade only, with the grain, dipped in Danish oil.
3. Feed the wood. Watco Danish Oil or Howard Feed-N-Wax. Let it soak, wipe the excess.
4. Fix the drawers. A candle rubbed on the runners fixes 90% of sticky drawers.

The whole process takes about an hour and costs under $15 in materials. The piece goes from sad to stunning.

Respect the wood. It’s been around longer than you have.