Tips for looking after your Garden Furniture

Teak garden furniture can really enhance the features of your garden and provide a relaxing and comfortable location to pass the time. But because the wood from which this furniture is made comes from Southeast Asia if you want it to last you need to look after it properly.

Although it is a hardwood making it very strong, it is still very likely to suffer from what the elements can throw at it. The wood in teak is much denser than some others and contains a resinous oil that can extend the life of the furniture. Yes, this oil can help to prevent the wood not only drying out but makes it far more resistant to moisture as well.

Today you can either purchase teak garden furniture in its raw state or when it has been oiled. Furniture, which is still in its raw state when it arrives, will have a golden color to it. However, as time passes and if the wood is left, untreated it will fade to a silver grey color instead.

Certainly if you are after the silver grey look then once the wood has reached this stage there is very little that you will need to do to make sure that it retains this color. However, if you would prefer your wood to retain the golden color of when it arrived you need to start applying teak oil to its surface.

In order for your teak garden furniture to retain its golden color, then one should be applying teak oil to its surface twice a year. The first that you will need to do is actually clean the wood.

To do this you take some warm water (with a mild detergent mixed into it) and then use a soft damp cloth to wipe off and remove any dust or grit. After you have done this, you now need to leave the wood to dry naturally before you actually apply the oil.

It is important that you only use a specialist teak oil on the furniture and apply this using a lint free cloth. You could use a spray gun that is filled with the oil but using a cloth will ensure that the oil is spread evenly over the surface of the furniture. Now you need to leave it for sometime until it feels tacky.

Once you feel the oil is tacky you take yet another clean lint free cloth and this one you wipe across the surface of the teak garden furniture in order to remove any excess oil. After this cleaning stage, you leave the wood for a further hour before you then take another clean cloth that is free of lint and this will be used to polish up the surface of the wood and present that golden color you were after.