Ok, I 'm a little confused, I 've recently bought a rather nice table & chair set from my local B&Q, it looks great at the moment & I've given it all a spray of Teak Oil.
However , what about long term protection? Cuprinol, Sadolin or Ronseal ?
What have others found to be the best ??
Ta Dave
Depends what the wood is, and how you want it to look Dave. If you want to keep the natural wood colour and grain then oil is fine, but needs to be cleaned and reapplied each year. If the wood is oak, then I think that its nice just left to go that silvery grey colour that oak becomes when it is just left alone. If you used sadolin or cuprinol Im not sure if they come in clear or just in different stains. As I said .....depends what you want.
In addition to using oil, I would recommend covering the furniture during the winter or bringing it under cover. That really protects it from the elements and can prevent the wood warping and splitting.
I used teak oil on Teak - it's now black!!
'Next Door' bought a Teak 'lot' yesterday & the chap - a shipwright - said DON'T use oil on it!!
Every year (about this time, it was hot) my sister and I used to be given the privilege of cleaning the teak garden furniture when we were weans. Off we went with the hose, buckets, toothbrushes and floor brush and gave it all a right old scrubbing and sloshing. And each other. We wore our cossies and had loads of giggly splashy fun in the sun :D
Don't think we ever oiled it ???
I'm beginning to suspect my parents were rather clever ::)
I just use teak oil on mine, I got a table and six chairs from B&Q last year, put it in the shed for the winter, and brought it out in March.
It looked a bit faded, dirty and dry, but after half a litre (at least it's cheap) of oil, it looked almost as good as new. Another half a litre, and it looks better than new. Reckon they were a bit tight with the coating at the factory. ;)
You'd probably have to clean it down with white spirit or similar if you were going to use a varnish type product on it. I personally wouldn't do it but that's only because I like the look of oiled wood. Certainly it would cut down on maintenance though.
On another note, the metal fixings on it are absolute cr#p. I've had to rethread and loctite many of the joints, they are made of some really cheap alloy that has no place on load bearing furniture. >:(
This is the unpleasant colour that ours has gone with teak oil.
I had a look at Thorne's catalogue; they sell 'Clear Cuprinol' for preserving hives, and say:
This version of Cuprinol is the only clear insecticide free product in their range. It gives deep penetrating protection to sound wood against all types of rot, decay and woodworm. Apply only to the external surfaces of your hive. One litre will cover 8 square meters with two coats, enough therefore for approximately five hives.
It may well be what's needed, but don't pay Thorne's prices; look elsewhere.
I just sprayed mine with teak oil yesterday and it looks ok. not too dark and better than the sun faded bleached shade that it had gone. last winter i kept it in my mates garage, this year it will be in the shed.
http://www.naturalcollection.com/natural-products/New-Life-to-Hardwood-Furniture--Within-Minutes.asp (http://www.naturalcollection.com/natural-products/New-Life-to-Hardwood-Furniture--Within-Minutes.asp)
I just ordered this a few days ago, better for the environment than some products, and meant to last 2 years, a bit pricey though.
Thank you for all who have replied with their experiences & comments these were much appreciated.
1 point though; I do agree with Robin of the hood about the alloy fixings they are rubbish, the manager of the local B&Q gave me a whole new bag of bolts & fixings when I complained about a dodgy interbolt on the table, maybe I should buy some loctite aswell
cheers to all
Dave