Expert: Kirk Ryan - 12/22/2008

Question
Kirk:  I have a heavy teak plank table.   I put teak oil on it yesterday, and have
been attempting to wipe away the excess as the instructions say (after letting it
soak for a day).   I have been buffing for about 40 minutes, seems to be patches
of very sticky area that will not come up.   Can you tell me what I am doing
wrong?  Thanks so much!

Answer
The instructions say let soak for a day !!!?

To me it seems crazy because I tell people to let teak oil sit for no longer than a minute or two and then remove. I sell oils for furniture at my store.

But I am guessing this is an outdoor table? If so, maybe its ok to let it soak a little longer. It seems to me that you may have used too much oil and maybe sitting in the sun or something caused it to be sticky.

I recommend using "triple zero" steel wool to remove the sticky build up. I also recommend using a regular teak or furniture oil that does not require soaking. Hope this helps.

If worse comes to worse, if you have "solid" teak, it is very easy to have someone sand it down and refinish it, teak is an amazing wood to work with !