Woodwork Post

On Nov 19, 4:31 am, "dadiOH" wrote:
> Empedocles wrote:
> > I have a new teak dining table, well finished, & ready to go. I want
> > to protect the surface from spills, etc. I thought to buy teak oil,
> > but reading posts elsewhere, it doesn't do much to give the kind of
> > protection I want. There is a combination tung/teak oil product & I
> > wonder about using that.
>
> > What I want is a product I can wipe on with a rag & wipe off the
> > excess, but which will still give me the protection. I don't want to
> > sand/steel wool between coats. I just want one application to
> > initially seal the porous wood. This is asking a lot.
>
> If it's a "new teak dining table, well finished, & ready to go" why do you
> want to mess with it? The finish already on it - most likely lacquer, maybe
> oil) already protects it. If the finish *is* a film - lacquer or other -
> all adding oil to it would do is mess it up.
>
> --
>
> dadiOH
> ____________________________
>
> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
> Get it athttp://mysite.verizon.net/xico

You make a very good point. When I said, "Well finished, ready to go,"
all I meant was that
I did not make this table, that it is a commercial product. I'm
ignorant of what manufacturers of teak furniture do as to applying a
finish. Maybe all manufacturers of wood furniture apply some kind of
protective coating to their products. You indicate that they do.

All I meant by "well finished" is that the craftsmanship is excellent.
I don't know if I have the raw wood or whether it's already treated,
as you suggest. And, your point is well taken. I don't want to mess
with it if I don't have to. Thanks. You're very helpful.

"Empedocles" wrote:

>I have a new teak dining table, well finished, & ready to go. I want
> to protect the surface from spills, etc.

Scott's Liquid Gold worked well on the Teak and Holly sole of my
sailboat.

Apply 2-3 times a year or as desired.

Lew

On Nov 18, 10:17 pm, Empedocles wrote:
> I have a new teak dining table, well finished, & ready to go. I want
> to protect the surface from spills, etc. I thought to buy teak oil,
> but reading posts elsewhere, it doesn't do much to give the kind of
> protection I want. There is a combination tung/teak oil product & I
> wonder about using that.
>
> What I want is a product I can wipe on with a rag & wipe off the
> excess, but which will still give me the protection. I don't want to
> sand/steel wool between coats. I just want one application to
> initially seal the porous wood. This is asking a lot.
>
> Here are some choices I've run across & I'd like someone's opinion/
> experience with. I'd really like it if I can find the product in my
> local Ace Hardware, Home Depot, etc.:
>
> Oil/Varnish mixtures like Behr Scandinavian Tung Oil Finish, Minwax
> Tung Oil Finish, Watco Danish Oil, etc.
>
> Thinnned or Wiping Varnishes like Minway (Minwax?) Wiping Varnish,
> Watco Wiping Varnish, Formby's Tung Oil Finish, etc.
>
> I've also thought of a polyurethane satin, as I don't want a sheen,
> but polyurethane application is with a brush, producing bubble
> problems & I don't want to deal with that.
>
> I've thought of Thompson's Water Seal, but that may leave an
> unpleasant odor.
>
> Would appreciate any opinions/experiences. I'm a novice.

Thanks to all for responding. You have been helpful.

I contacted the seller of my teak table, who said to use teak oil from
a Danish supplier. The only way I could get that oil would require a
trip from MT to the seller in Seattle, so I contacted a Danish company
that supplies that oil & ordered a couple of bottles (the minimum).

The seller said that only a light app of lacquer is applied by the
manufacturer, and that no harm would be done in applying the oil.

"Empedocles" wrote in message
news:9ee911f4-827e-4205-8fe6-136985f33276@l33g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
> On Nov 18, 10:17 pm, Empedocles wrote:
>> I have a new teak dining table, well finished, & ready to go. I want
>> to protect the surface from spills, etc. I thought to buy teak oil,
>> but reading posts elsewhere, it doesn't do much to give the kind of
>> protection I want. There is a combination tung/teak oil product & I
>> wonder about using that.
>>
>> What I want is a product I can wipe on with a rag & wipe off the
>> excess, but which will still give me the protection. I don't want to
>> sand/steel wool between coats. I just want one application to
>> initially seal the porous wood. This is asking a lot.
>>
>> Here are some choices I've run across & I'd like someone's opinion/
>> experience with. I'd really like it if I can find the product in my
>> local Ace Hardware, Home Depot, etc.:
>>
>> Oil/Varnish mixtures like Behr Scandinavian Tung Oil Finish, Minwax
>> Tung Oil Finish, Watco Danish Oil, etc.
>>
>> Thinnned or Wiping Varnishes like Minway (Minwax?) Wiping Varnish,
>> Watco Wiping Varnish, Formby's Tung Oil Finish, etc.
>>
>> I've also thought of a polyurethane satin, as I don't want a sheen,
>> but polyurethane application is with a brush, producing bubble
>> problems & I don't want to deal with that.
>>
>> I've thought of Thompson's Water Seal, but that may leave an
>> unpleasant odor.
>>
>> Would appreciate any opinions/experiences. I'm a novice.
>
> Thanks to all for responding. You have been helpful.
>
> I contacted the seller of my teak table, who said to use teak oil from
> a Danish supplier. The only way I could get that oil would require a
> trip from MT to the seller in Seattle, so I contacted a Danish company
> that supplies that oil & ordered a couple of bottles (the minimum).
>
> The seller said that only a light app of lacquer is applied by the
> manufacturer, and that no harm would be done in applying the oil.

Which is why you never trust the seller to know anything more than the
price.
Probably heard of teak oil at some point and figured it must be what you
have to use on teak furniture.
"no harm would be done" is not the same as the doing the right thing, or
even doing things right. As DadiOh posted, if it's got a lacquer finish
(even a thin one), you don't want to put oil over it.

Just a lot of salesman double talk.

Take DadiOh's advice and don't mess with it.

jc

On Nov 19, 3:17 pm, "joe" wrote:
> "Empedocles" wrote in message
>
> news:9ee911f4-827e-4205-8fe6-136985f33276@l33g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > On Nov 18, 10:17 pm, Empedocles wrote:
> >> I have a new teak dining table, well finished, & ready to go. I want
> >> to protect the surface from spills, etc. I thought to buy teak oil,
> >> but reading posts elsewhere, it doesn't do much to give the kind of
> >> protection I want. There is a combination tung/teak oil product & I
> >> wonder about using that.
>
> >> What I want is a product I can wipe on with a rag & wipe off the
> >> excess, but which will still give me the protection. I don't want to
> >> sand/steel wool between coats. I just want one application to
> >> initially seal the porous wood. This is asking a lot.
>
> >> Here are some choices I've run across & I'd like someone's opinion/
> >> experience with. I'd really like it if I can find the product in my
> >> local Ace Hardware, Home Depot, etc.:
>
> >> Oil/Varnish mixtures like Behr Scandinavian Tung Oil Finish, Minwax
> >> Tung Oil Finish, Watco Danish Oil, etc.
>
> >> Thinnned or Wiping Varnishes like Minway (Minwax?) Wiping Varnish,
> >> Watco Wiping Varnish, Formby's Tung Oil Finish, etc.
>
> >> I've also thought of a polyurethane satin, as I don't want a sheen,
> >> but polyurethane application is with a brush, producing bubble
> >> problems & I don't want to deal with that.
>
> >> I've thought of Thompson's Water Seal, but that may leave an
> >> unpleasant odor.
>
> >> Would appreciate any opinions/experiences. I'm a novice.
>
> > Thanks to all for responding. You have been helpful.
>
> > I contacted the seller of my teak table, who said to use teak oil from
> > a Danish supplier. The only way I could get that oil would require a
> > trip from MT to the seller in Seattle, so I contacted a Danish company
> > that supplies that oil & ordered a couple of bottles (the minimum).
>
> > The seller said that only a light app of lacquer is applied by the
> > manufacturer, and that no harm would be done in applying the oil.
>
> Which is why you never trust the seller to know anything more than the
> price.
> Probably heard of teak oil at some point and figured it must be what you
> have to use on teak furniture.
> "no harm would be done" is not the same as the doing the right thing, or
> even doing things right. As DadiOh posted, if it's got a lacquer finish
> (even a thin one), you don't want to put oil over it.
>
> Just a lot of salesman double talk.
>
> Take DadiOh's advice and don't mess with it.
>
> jc

Thanks, guys, altho I'm out $40 for two bottles of teak oil I'll never
use. I imagine this seller has suckered in a lot of people like me.
Pretty good sideline. By the way, this seller is not a fly-by-night,
been in the Seattle area many yrs., specializing in Danish modern.
Adds to its credibility. Teak is such a beautiful, tough, durable
wood. Ran across it in owning a couple of sailboats. My furniture now
is teak. Some of it is teak veneer, but that's ok. A small solid teak
dining table runs over $3,500.

Empedocles wrote:
> On Nov 19, 4:31 am, "dadiOH" wrote:
>> Empedocles wrote:
>>> I have a new teak dining table, well finished, & ready to go. I want
>>> to protect the surface from spills, etc. I thought to buy teak oil,
>>> but reading posts elsewhere, it doesn't do much to give the kind of
>>> protection I want. There is a combination tung/teak oil product & I
>>> wonder about using that.
>>
>>> What I want is a product I can wipe on with a rag & wipe off the
>>> excess, but which will still give me the protection. I don't want to
>>> sand/steel wool between coats. I just want one application to
>>> initially seal the porous wood. This is asking a lot.
>>
>> If it's a "new teak dining table, well finished, & ready to go" why
>> do you want to mess with it? The finish already on it - most likely
>> lacquer, maybe oil) already protects it. If the finish *is* a film
>> - lacquer or other - all adding oil to it would do is mess it up.
>>
>
> You make a very good point. When I said, "Well finished, ready to go,"
> all I meant was that
> I did not make this table, that it is a commercial product. I'm
> ignorant of what manufacturers of teak furniture do as to applying a
> finish. Maybe all manufacturers of wood furniture apply some kind of
> protective coating to their products. You indicate that they do.
>
> All I meant by "well finished" is that the craftsmanship is excellent.
> I don't know if I have the raw wood or whether it's already treated,
> as you suggest. And, your point is well taken. I don't want to mess
> with it if I don't have to. Thanks. You're very helpful.

Spit on it. Wood change color? If not, it has a finish. 100:1 it does.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Empedocles wrote:

> Thanks, guys, altho I'm out $40 for two bottles of teak oil I'll never
> use. I imagine this seller has suckered in a lot of people like me.
> Pretty good sideline.

I'd say so since "teak oil" is nothing more than either linseed or tung oil
with more solvent. You could make your own for around $15 a gallon or less.
Used to be $5.00 not long ago.
_____________________

> By the way, this seller is not a fly-by-night,
> been in the Seattle area many yrs., specializing in Danish modern.
> Adds to its credibility. Teak is such a beautiful, tough, durable
> wood. Ran across it in owning a couple of sailboats. My furniture now
> is teak. Some of it is teak veneer, but that's ok. A small solid teak
> dining table runs over $3,500.

Now I see why they charge $20 for a bottle of "teak oil" :)

Last time I looked for teak it was running around $15/bd.ft. retail. Thirty+
years ago it was $1.35 bd.ft. One can still buy it for $1200 cu.meter -
which works out to less than 3 bucks per board foot - from Burmese
exporters.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On Nov 20, 6:20 am, "dadiOH" wrote:
> Empedocles wrote:
> > Thanks, guys, altho I'm out $40 for two bottles of teak oil I'll never
> > use. I imagine this seller has suckered in a lot of people like me.
> > Pretty good sideline.
>
> I'd say so since "teak oil" is nothing more than either linseed or tung oil
> with more solvent. You could make your own for around $15 a gallon or less.
> Used to be $5.00 not long ago.
> _____________________
>
> > By the way, this seller is not a fly-by-night,
> > been in the Seattle area many yrs., specializing in Danish modern.
> > Adds to its credibility. Teak is such a beautiful, tough, durable
> > wood. Ran across it in owning a couple of sailboats. My furniture now
> > is teak. Some of it is teak veneer, but that's ok. A small solid teak
> > dining table runs over $3,500.
>
> Now I see why they charge $20 for a bottle of "teak oil" :)
>
> Last time I looked for teak it was running around $15/bd.ft. retail. Thirty+
> years ago it was $1.35 bd.ft. One can still buy it for $1200 cu.meter -
> which works out to less than 3 bucks per board foot - from Burmese
> exporters.
>
> --
>
> dadiOH
> ____________________________
>
> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
> Get it athttp://mysite.verizon.net/xico

dadiOH, you've been helpful, but need some more comment re: what an
untreated teak surface looks like. For example, my teak office
furniture (veneer) from a different maker has a satin look. I know
it's been treated, but the new dining table is completely flat, finish-
wise. (The dining table's main surface is veneer, trimmed in solid
teak blocks on the edge. The table is round.)

If, as the seller says, the maker put a light app of lacquer on the
table, would that account for the flat finish, leading me to believe
it's untreated, in comparison to my other teak furniture?

On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:18:02 -0800 (PST), Empedocles
wrote:

>On Nov 20, 6:20 am, "dadiOH" wrote:
>> Empedocles wrote:
>> > Thanks, guys, altho I'm out $40 for two bottles of teak oil I'll never
>> > use. I imagine this seller has suckered in a lot of people like me.
>> > Pretty good sideline.
>>
>> I'd say so since "teak oil" is nothing more than either linseed or tung oil
>> with more solvent. You could make your own for around $15 a gallon or less.
>> Used to be $5.00 not long ago.
>> _____________________
>>
>> > By the way, this seller is not a fly-by-night,
>> > been in the Seattle area many yrs., specializing in Danish modern.
>> > Adds to its credibility. Teak is such a beautiful, tough, durable
>> > wood. Ran across it in owning a couple of sailboats. My furniture now
>> > is teak. Some of it is teak veneer, but that's ok. A small solid teak
>> > dining table runs over $3,500.
>>
>> Now I see why they charge $20 for a bottle of "teak oil" :)
>>
>> Last time I looked for teak it was running around $15/bd.ft. retail. Thirty+
>> years ago it was $1.35 bd.ft. One can still buy it for $1200 cu.meter -
>> which works out to less than 3 bucks per board foot - from Burmese
>> exporters.
>>
>> --
>>
>> dadiOH
>> ____________________________
>>
>> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
>> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
>> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
>> Get it athttp://mysite.verizon.net/xico
>
>dadiOH, you've been helpful, but need some more comment re: what an
>untreated teak surface looks like. For example, my teak office
>furniture (veneer) from a different maker has a satin look. I know
>it's been treated, but the new dining table is completely flat, finish-
>wise. (The dining table's main surface is veneer, trimmed in solid
>teak blocks on the edge. The table is round.)
>
>If, as the seller says, the maker put a light app of lacquer on the
>table, would that account for the flat finish, leading me to believe
>it's untreated, in comparison to my other teak furniture?

I seriously doubt it is completely unfinished unless it was purchased
specifically labeled as "Unfinished furniture". I don't think anyone
can offer you anything more intelligent and helpful at this point than
to suggest you find a way to contact the manufacturer directly. There
should be a label or makers mark on the underside somewhere, or
failing that, get manufacturer's contact info from the retailer.

Empedocles wrote:

> dadiOH, you've been helpful, but need some more comment re: what an
> untreated teak surface looks like.

It looks like raw wood. I know that isn't very helpful - especially when
you don't know what raw teak looks like - but I wasn't kidding when I told
you to spit on it. If you prefer fastidiousness, just put a few drops of
tap water on the table. If there is no finish, the water will soak in and
the wood will become darker (until the water evaporates); if there is a
finish, nothing will happen.

Here are some pix. Top left is pretty good for raw, unfinished teak; top
right is representative of teak with water, oil or varnish (with lacquer it
would be a bit lighter).

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=raw%20teak&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
_____________

> For example, my teak office
> furniture (veneer) from a different maker has a satin look. I know
> it's been treated, but the new dining table is completely flat,
> finish- wise.

Any top coat finish - such as lacquer - can be made to have any sheen from
dead flat to high gloss.
______________

> If, as the seller says, the maker put a light app of lacquer on the
> table, would that account for the flat finish, leading me to believe
> it's untreated, in comparison to my other teak furniture?

Neither a "light coat" nor lacquer have anything to do with the sheen of a
finish. The lack of sheen can be created by manufacturer added additives in
the finish before it is applied or by "rubbing out" a glossy sheen after
application of the top coats.

I wouldn't worry about the finish being a "light coat" either. The
manufacturer put on a finish that will serve for a long time. The only
thing you might want to do is apply a paste wax (such as Johnson's) at
infrequent intervals; maybe once a year.

The Scandinavian furniture manufacturers do a wonderful job with veneer but
under that veneer is particle board. Particle board and moisture do not
play nice together so don't douse the table when you clean it, just use a
slightly moist cloth...just moist enough to remove whatever needs removing
and then dry it. Don't use any cleaner with alcohol either, lacquer doesn't
like alcohol.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico