Like many natural wood products, teak has a high moisture content. This is great from a weather resistant perspective and is one of the reasons why teak garden furniture is so desirable and heard wearing. However, a combination of the natural wood products, packaging and transport can cause some marks to the teak furniture.
Our manufacturer uses corrugated cardboard to package our teak garden furniture, before it is loaded into a shipping container to make its way to our warehouse here in the UK. Using cardboard helps to limit the amount of unnecessary single use plastic packaging and this fits with our eco friendly ethos. The downside is sometimes the cardboard becomes damp, mostly as a result of condensation caused by the number of days our teak furniture is shut into a shipping container whilst it makes its way to us from Indonesia. The result is sometimes this can cause the cardboard to stick to the teak outdoor furniture and leave marks or stains on the surface.
Pictured is one of our Catherine teak garden benches where exactly that has unfortunately occurred. When it comes to teak furniture restoration, particularly of the marks you see in the photos attached, we have found the following process to be successful to help considerably reduce these marks or to even get rid of them completely.
As you can see from the photos, where the cardboard packaging has been used to protect each piece of the garden bench from rubbing against another whilst in transit, dark marks from the corrugated cardboard have been left on the arm sections of this Catherine teak bench.
We originally tried to sand these marks out but this had limitations due to the amount of material that needed to be sanded away. A lot of sanding was required which had an adverse effect on the finish of the teak, which we were not happy with.
So, after some research and head scratching, we have found a solution that works for us. We are happy to share this with you in case you have any staining on your teak outdoor furniture. Hopefully this can improve the look of your garden furniture.
We have trialled a cleaning product called Bar Keepers Friend with great success in reducing these marks. The ingredient of Bar Keepers Friend that does all the work and is particularly important for teak furniture restoration is oxalic acid.
We have found the best way to use this product is to make a paste by adding some of the powder into a suitable container, like an old glass jar, and add a very, very small amount of water. Mix this together until it has a tooth paste like consistency. Apply the paste to the affected areas of your teak garden furniture, ensuring the marks are fully covered. Leave the paste to fully dry and do its work, for at least 24 hours. After at least 24 hours, take a damp cloth and gently rub and wipe away the paste residue then allow the teak to dry naturally. When it dries, there may be a small amount of white residue left on the surface of your teak furniture. Wipe the area down again with a clean, damp cloth and again leave to dry naturally.
As you can see from these photos, we left this teak garden bench for 24 hours and the results are very satisfying indeed. This process may not be for everyone and there may be alternative methods of cleaning marks like these from your teak garden furniture, but we have found it works really well for us. If you have any questions or require further guidance on cleaning your teak furniture then please email us at [email protected].
Don’t forget to take a look at our wide range of teak garden furniture and wooden parasols, which now include tilting parasols. Visit us at www.ottena.co.uk and see what we have to offer.
