Teak stain prevention?
November 12, 2011 7:20 AM Subscribe
How do I prevent stains on my newly purchased teak desk?
I just bought an older danish/swedish-style teak desk, which is in pretty good shape. I'd like to keep it that way by trying to avoid staining it with food or water or whatever. Most of the info on the net is about outdoor teak furniture, and this is a strictly indoor affair. I'll be working at the desk which also means I'll be drinking and eating at it occasionally. So: what should I do to protect it?
I just bought an older danish/swedish-style teak desk, which is in pretty good shape. I'd like to keep it that way by trying to avoid staining it with food or water or whatever. Most of the info on the net is about outdoor teak furniture, and this is a strictly indoor affair. I'll be working at the desk which also means I'll be drinking and eating at it occasionally. So: what should I do to protect it?
Best answer: you oil it with teak oil. if its in bad shape, do it every other day for a while, then every month, until it is repelling water well. then just a maintenance oiling once a year is all you need. Wet spills will just wipe off if you keep the wood well-oiled and get to them fast.
we have a Daniah draw-leaf teak dining table we eat every meal at every day without tablecloths or placemats. it's been fine, not a stain in three years. +1 for real life and real wood!
posted by peachfuzz at 7:38 AM on November 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
we have a Daniah draw-leaf teak dining table we eat every meal at every day without tablecloths or placemats. it's been fine, not a stain in three years. +1 for real life and real wood!
posted by peachfuzz at 7:38 AM on November 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
also: beautiful piece!
my guess is that it won't need tons of oil, but it's probably still a little dry from sitting around with only cosmetic oilings. test it with a drop of water in an unobtrusive place, if it soaks in rather than sits in a bead, you will need to oil it. wipe the water up right away and let the area dry first, of course. oiling is easy - just wipe the oil on generously, then wipe excess off. do it every day until the wood seems well-filled with oil and repels water easily.
posted by peachfuzz at 7:44 AM on November 12, 2011
my guess is that it won't need tons of oil, but it's probably still a little dry from sitting around with only cosmetic oilings. test it with a drop of water in an unobtrusive place, if it soaks in rather than sits in a bead, you will need to oil it. wipe the water up right away and let the area dry first, of course. oiling is easy - just wipe the oil on generously, then wipe excess off. do it every day until the wood seems well-filled with oil and repels water easily.
posted by peachfuzz at 7:44 AM on November 12, 2011
Oil the piece regularly and don't let spills sit on it. Use coasters if you decide to have a drink on the table and don't make the mistake I did of letting a potplant sit on the piece those things are magnets for watermarks. But mostly oil it a lot just like peachfuzz says.
posted by wwax at 7:56 AM on November 12, 2011
posted by wwax at 7:56 AM on November 12, 2011
Your desk is just gorgeous. Nice find! What about having a piece of glass cut to fit it? We did that for a desk here at home and I love it. I can keep potted plants on it, put drinks on it, etc. In addition to being able to put anything on the desk without worry, I get to tuck notes and postcards and a monthly calender blotter under the glass.
posted by iconomy at 8:11 AM on November 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by iconomy at 8:11 AM on November 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
All good advice so far, but bear in mind that an oiled finish, no matter how well maintained, will never be 100% impervious to liquids. There are better finishes (mostly hard varnishes) for tabletops, but these would be hard or impossible to apply over the oil & would ruin the period look in any case. I'd say, go with the glass top, or eat somewhere else.
posted by mr vino at 8:28 AM on November 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by mr vino at 8:28 AM on November 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
We had a one-piece solid teak salad bowl, with an unfinished interior, that averaged about one salad a week for ten years, often dressed in the bowl, and which had no visible stains at all the day I knocked it off the counter and broke it in two.
We had a raw teak spatula my partner preferred above all others for frying, and it was almost pristine the day I broke it.
Teak is almost freakishly resistant to staining, in my experience.
Hard varnishing that desk would be a crime, in my opinion.
posted by jamjam at 10:55 AM on November 12, 2011
We had a raw teak spatula my partner preferred above all others for frying, and it was almost pristine the day I broke it.
Teak is almost freakishly resistant to staining, in my experience.
Hard varnishing that desk would be a crime, in my opinion.
posted by jamjam at 10:55 AM on November 12, 2011
The stain prevention advice above is good, but in order to avoid breaking this desk, I suggest you keep jamjam the heck away from it.
posted by stubby phillips at 11:39 AM on November 12, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by stubby phillips at 11:39 AM on November 12, 2011 [4 favorites]
Get a glass piece made to order and put it on top of the desk.
posted by brujita at 12:18 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by brujita at 12:18 PM on November 12, 2011
Response by poster: Getting some glass made for it seems like it would probably cost more than the desk, so I think I'm going to go with the teak oil advice and see what happens. Worst case is that I get to refinish the desk at some point.
posted by beerbajay at 5:10 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by beerbajay at 5:10 PM on November 12, 2011
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posted by Ideefixe at 7:23 AM on November 12, 2011