Our solid teak outdoor, garden and patio furniture products are most commonly finished in what is called a "Natural" finish.  In this process, the wood is fine sanded down to a smooth feel with fine grit sandpaper and then teak oil is applied.  This is the most common finish we use for our teak outdoor and garden furniture. 

Another popular finish that is used for teak outdoor furniture is what we call a "Honey" finish. The furniture is first fine sanded and then finished with teak oil and wax. The wax gives the furniture a slight glossy look.

The majority of our customers order their furniture in a natural finish. The process is as follows

1. The wood is fine sanded down to a smooth feel with fine grit sandpaper. The next step is to apply a coat of teak oil.  The wood is sanded again with fine sandpaper and several more coats of teak oil are applied. This is the most common finish we use.

2. Teak oil & UV protective coating, or "Honey" finish.  This is the same process, but the teak wood is sealed with a high quality UV protective coating.  This gives the finish a slightly glossy look, but it can also be applied in a way as to appear flat as well. This makes for a very nice looking honey colored look.  This is quickly becoming the finish of choice with our customers.

3. Fine sanded only. No finish is applied.  Optionally, we can apply a protective UV coating.

The myth of teak oil.
It is a common belief that teak oil will prolong the life of your teak furniture and keep that natural color the furniture had when it was new. This however is a myth.  Below you can see some unretouched photographs of five year old of teak furniture products that were finished with a UV protective coating and then several coats of teak oil. The furniture has been left outside and been subjected to the harsh elements without any maintenance for five years. As you can see, the furniture still turned gray over time which is very normal.  To restore the furniture to its original color, you can sand it lightly with a fine grain sandpaper and then reapply teak oil or just leave it as is. In time, it will turn a dove gray color again. The photos below show before and after conditions of weathered teak furniture.

Teak chair before refinishing

Teak chair after light sanding.

Teak table before refinishing

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Teak outdoor finishing options - Teak furniture care - Teak oil