How To Get Your Teak Outdoor Furniture Ready For Summer

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As the weather has been warming, Charlie and I began to notice that our outdoor teak dining set was looking quite bedraggled. With weather marks, inconsistent finishing and portions of rough wood exposed, it was clear that the past year of wind, rain, sun and snow had done quite a number on our outdoor set which had once been a rich, beautiful honey brown. Knowing that spring was upon us, summer was coming and that we would be hoping to linger on our terrace while having over our friends to enjoy the beautiful weather, it felt like the perfect time to give our teak outdoor furniture a bit of a refresh! So, if you too have outdoor furniture pieces that could use a little sprucing or if you are looking to purchase a few new pieces and want to know how to care for them over time, let’s dive in together on how to get your teak outdoor furniture refinished, refreshed and ready for summer! 

Why Use Teak?

Teak wood is an incredible resource. Most commonly grown in portions of Asia, Africa and Latin America, teak wood is renowned for its intense durability, weather resistance, resistance to rot, decay and termites, and rich wood tones. Even if left entirely untreated and unmaintained, teak wood can last for decades due to its high oil content therefore making it very resistant to decay, rot, warping and extreme weather. Seeing that it is so weather resistant, teak makes wonderful outdoor furniture which can be maintained and oiled to preserve its honey brown appearance or left to weather to develop a silvery gray patina. 

How To Refresh Teak Outdoor Furniture?

Materials 

• Teak oil – we used THIS oil here in Germany, however if you are outside the German market, these next oil options are very similar and highly reviewed: option ONE, option TWO, option THREE  (similar to what we used for our front door refresh HERE)
• 120 Grit Sandpaper 
• Sanding block or orbital sander 
• Cloth 
• Paint brush and / or paint roller – we got THIS set, another OPTION
• Teak outdoor furniture – our TABLE, similar options: ONE, TWO, THREE

Steps

STEP 1 – The first step to take for refreshing your teak outdoor furniture is to smooth down any rough portions of wood or stain that might have weathered inconsistently. To do so, grab your sandpaper and sanding block (helpful for the flat sections especially) / orbital sander to give your furniture a good sand. 

How much you sand is entirely up to you! If you would like a totally even surface, sand until there are no remaining hints of color or prior stained portions left. Seeing that we left our orbital sander in the States and were just hand sanding, we opted to just sand down any rough patches or badly worn sections and didn’t worry about taking off ALL the prior stains, as some of the stain was still in decent condition. This gave us a more rustic look in the end, which we personally don’t mind, however if you want it to look as close as it did before when coming from the factory, I would recommend getting off any prior stain. 

STEP 2 – After getting your pieces sanded to the point that you like, wipe them down with a wet cloth to ensure that you remove all the sanding dust. 

STEP 3 – Once the furniture is again clean and dry, apply your first coat of the teak oil with either a brush or paint roller. We found that for the even surfaces, a paint roller was most helpful while then using the brush to apply the hard to reach areas. Let dry per oil instructions, although most recommend a minimum of 8 to 12 hours between coats. 

STEP 4 – After your first coat is finished drying, apply a second coat if desired. Apply in the same manner as the first coat. Let everything fully dry, then start enjoying your “new” teak outdoor furniture! 

Final Thoughts 

Accomplished in a weekend, this project of refreshing our teak dining set has made such a difference! It went from being dry and splotchy to a smooth warm honey brown. We gave it our first break in with the new finish this past Saturday morning with a girls brunch and it worked perfectly! Ready for summer, I can confidently say I will be looking forward to many more terrace dinners and Saturday morning brunches with our refreshed pieces!  So, do you have any furniture you want to refresh? It truly is so easy, but makes a world of difference in the before and after! You’ll be dying to be outside afterwards once it’s finished, at least I know I am! Personally, I believe our teak furniture is one of my favorite parts of our space because it allows for such great outdoor living space. If you have been considering getting a few pieces, definitely try them out! I have linked our table below as well as a couple of other beautiful options to transform your outdoor space this summer, so check them out and let me know what your think!

Happy refreshing!

Chloe

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