Teak furniture is, quite simply, the best.

This is a well-known fact.

There is nothing like the look and feel of a brand new hand crafted teak dining set or bench with that beautiful honey-coloured lustre and smoothed appeal.

However, as with any timber, over time the teak will age and assume that silver-grey patina as the natural oils are exposed on the surface of the grain.

Our customers often ask us whether or not to use one of the various treatments for teak furniture or not.

And to be honest this is entirely down to personal preference – the only thing we would advise against is the use of Teak Oil as this is very hard to remove and can ruin the timber by promoting black spots as opposed to adding benefit.



Water  based treatments are the best for use and Golden Care are a very well recognised and trusted brand that we swear by.

Treatments for Teak Furniture from Golden Care

What do the various treatments for Teak Furniture do?

This is usually the next question we get asked and, as our range of Teak Care Products demonstrates there are a lot of different options and they all have a different effect on the teak itself.

Our personal preference is to not treat this timber at all – the natural oils and very dense grain offers all the natural protection then wood needs to hold its own against the elements all year round.

But this is not everybody’s cup of tea so we thought we’d offer an explanation around what you can expect from the various different treatments for teak furniture so you can make your own mind up.

So, we took one of our Regent FSC Teak Tables that had been outside for around five years and weathered to a silver-grey.

Firstly, we cleaned it with Teak Cleaner & Brightener which restores and brightens the look of weathered teak.

This gave us a base surface that we could then use to apply the other treatments for teak furniture that we make available.

We then left the two end strips and the legs without further treatment and applied further treatments to the individual strips on the table top so you can see and compare the results for yourself.

Teak Protector …

teak protector demo

This is probably one of the more familiar treatments for teak furniture and certainly one of our best sellers over and above the others.

It will prolong the golden colour of teak for longer for those who prefer this complexion over the silver-grey weathered look.

Vintage Teak Protector …

vintage protector demo

This works in the opposite way to standards teak protector and will turn the golden- brown lustre of new teak slightly darker making it look slightly weathered and more akin to reclaimed teak.

Similarly, it will maintain the darker colour of reclaimed and slightly weathered teak for longer.

Instant Grey Treatments for Teak Furniture …

instant grey demo

As the name suggests this turns the honey-coloured golden brown lustre of new teak into the silver-grey patina associated with aged teak.

Many people prefer the silver-grey patina as it suits certain colours of wicker chairs, etc, that are sold with modern teak dining sets.

Teak Patinizer …

teak patinizer demo

Best used on aged teak a good patinizer will maintain the light silver-grey colour for longer and prevent the darker grey or green colouration occurring.

That’s why, in our little demonstration picture above, there is very little difference between the parts of the table that have patinizer applied and those that have just been cleaned because the patinizer is meant to imitate the look of cleaned, aged teak.

A great case in point here if you look closely at the picture.

Instant Taupe …

instant taupe demo

This promotes the darker grey colour of well-aged teak when applied to new teak for those people who prefer this complexion to the lighter silver-grey.

Teak Shield …

teak shield demo

This does what it says on the tin really and coats the timber in a shield that’s water repellent so preventing dark spots caused by spillages of food and drink, etc.

This is recommended for use after the other treatments for teak furniture above have been applied to help maintain the various effects they have.

However, it can be used on its own without the other treatments.

In conclusion …

Understanding the various treatments for teak furniture can be a bit of a science in itself.

The sheer beauty of teak as a timber steam from the fact that it assumes many different complexions depending on the age of it after harvest and the environment it’s exposed to.

The question whether to treat or not very much comes down to personal preference and that’s why we recommend not treating it at all – that way you can simply enjoy the natural ageing process and have the best of all worlds over time.