Achieving a grey finish on teak dining table

[achillea]

I've bought a cheap teak dining table. The central leaf is darker than the rest and it has some surface scratches and blotches so will probably need a light sanding and a good clean.

I really like the look of weathered teak that has gone grey and would like to achieve this for the table. My questions are:

- How should I best fade the table? It will sit in the south-facing conservatory. Clean, sand then leave in the sun? Will sanding bring it back to its original colour?

- Assuming it fades to a satisfactory finish, how do I maintain that grey colour whilst protecting the dining table from spills?(red wine, water etc). I've found lots of advice on the interweb about restoring greyed teak but nothing on how to maintain that colour. Not sure if a clear varnish / sealer / wax would be appropriate - what I don't want it for it to turn it a golden honey colour (yes I know I'm a philistine but its a cheap table and I'm not planning on selling it!).

Many thanks in advance

 

[rafezetter]

It's been a while since you posted this, but with no replies I'll have a stab anyway:

The variation in colour will likely be due to UV bleaching - in it's natural state it will go grey (as will most woods infact) as you say, but the finish on top changed how the wood reacts. It's probable the central leaf will have not been used to the same extent as the other parts of the top, cutting back (sanding, using a card scraper) the lighter tops should also remove the bleached effect to get back to the natural colour of the teak; although the greying effect will not be affected by the initial start colour of the wood.

As far as I'm aware there is no simple way to force the greying effect other than leaving out exposed in it's raw state, for some woods there is the technique of fuming with ammonia to darken the wood, but I have no idea if this works with teak, plus you would have to have the whole table done professionally in a controlled fuming room, probably not a cheap option and certainly beyond the means of most household DIYers.

It will take time for it to grey; 6 months and more, plus you'll have to move the table about to get an even coverage otherwise you'll have a grey top but still teak coloured legs.

If you do decide to do all that - but I'll be really honest and ask why with a teak table; as I said most woods go grey if left outside au naturel and it seems an awful waste of excellent wood - but it's your table ofc

Anyway once you've done all that you can seal in the colour from spills with.... teak oil which is designed to be used on outdoor furniture and has built in UV inhibitors that should slow / stop the process once you've got a "grey" that you like - you will need to apply more coats than using a PU varnish, but the Teak Oil will penetrate INTO the wood fibres giving you a much longer lasting barrier as PU varnish just sits on the surface; and in a south facing room will dry out and crack in only a few years, requiring the whole lot be stripped (removing the grey colour) and going through the whole process again.

Things I should point out though: The grey will be uniform - and all grain colour effects will be gone - and will not look particularly different than if you had painted it - an option you might like to consider to give it a bit of "life / shabby chic" would be once you've got a uniform grey to v lightly sand some areas to bring through the teak colour, then seal it. The greying effect is actually where the wood fibres are damaged, and therefore becomes more prone to dings, this may or may not suit the useage of the table.

HTH