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I picked up a second hand bench for my allotment over the weekend, it's clearly fairly old, and the teak slats are rough, green and grey in colour, but sound. What's the best way to freshen it up? The lady I bought it off said not to sand it, and gave me some teak cleaning fluid? Should i just wash it and leave it at that?
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He-Pep! -
That sounds right for the colour of an oiled teak finish.
If you do that then go with the oil as she suggested. Make sure you give the feet a really good going over - I'd suggest standing them in pots of oil for some time to let them really soak it in. ditto other end-grain if you can
The alternative is to sand and varnish, but (1) it won't have the patina that oiled teak has, (2) teak sawdust is very bad for the lungs so make sure you have good ventilation and a mask, (3) it's a lot of hard work
if you are going to do it, make sure you get some really good yacht varnish and prep it properly.
I have heard of wood (for railway wagon uses) being oiled and then varnished, but I don't know how that is done. -
Thanks Mike. The feet aren't an issue as the slats are bolted to a steel frame. The fluid she gave me isn't oil, it's a yellow liquid for cleaning teak... I'll give it a scrub with that and see how it looks.He-Pep!Comment
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oh I see - the main issue there will be the metal/wood interface - if the metal rusts and/or the holes get worn, that is where the rot will be most prevalent.
How much to do you want to spend on it? replacing all the bolts with high-grade stainless will reduce corrosion. Or a good coating of grease will help.
I don't know what cleaning fluid it would be, but I'd oil it with Danish oil (made from squashed danes…) when it's' cleaned - the oil doesn't soak that far in, so taking anything off might reveal a gap in the oiled layer. and I'd pay particular attention to the holes and the ends.
Teak is super-hard wearing though.
Are you going to do anything to the metal bits? how old are they? Are they painted or powder-coated (thicker, softer coat like you find on office chairs and the like, feels a bit plastic-y) Is it definitely steel?
I'd expect hammerite to do the job just fine if you do repaint it, but surface prep is the key. Assuming it's painted steel clean off all loose old paint and any rust, sand back vigorously any "good" paint, dust, degrease, prime all exposed metal, and then paint.Comment
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I don't want to spend much time and money on it tbh - it's an allotment after all, and the bench isn't a 'beautiful piece' by any means. I just want to smarten up the wood a bit and maybe touch up the metal frame. It's not an ornate style one, it looks more like something you'd find at the side of a kiddies play park, with a welded square section frame on two 'ski' style feet. It has a label on the back saying R.A.Lister Co, looks like it's maybe from the 70s or 80s.He-Pep!Comment
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I'd get some oil to put on it after its cleaned I think - if you can put it inside for a bit to dry out the wood first, so much the better.Comment
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If you can find someone or a garage a steam clean is the best way to clean this followed by a feed of teak oil or simimilarComment
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It's a future antique...
One other thought - are any of the sections are hollow, a good spray of WD40 down the inside will help (or Waxoyl if you have it/know any classic car owners).Comment
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Give it a good scrub down with some washing powder and a green scrubby
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/clean-...oil-29005.html
Go against the grain not with.
Dry of and then let air dry - undercover if possible - in the GH?
Get some teak oil back on.Last edited by Scarlet; 15-10-2018, 03:41 PM.Comment
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Teak oil will protect the timber best. Clean it off first if you must, the pressure wash option being the quickest, then air dry ir and oil it up. thereafter a light oiling every year or two and it will be good for years to come. You can buy teak oil in spray bottles from certain DIY stores, makes it easy to apply and any overspray on the metal will do no harm and may have benefits.Comment
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