Expert: Greg Scholl - 12/22/2010

Question
I am refinishing 30 year old teak veneer table, Another site advised using shellac and several coats of Behlen Rockhard Table top Varnish after sanding and primming with shellac.  The problem is after each coat of varnish about 12 spots of 1/4' in diameter appear one hour after coating.The spots look like the raw wood is repelling the varnish.  I have tried sanding the spots and repriming with shellac or sanding again and dabbing with varnish but nothing works  I am on the third coat and considering resanding and starting over with a poly oil.  What do you suggest

Answer
Hey Jim, I would never advise using such a varnish on a Teak table. Teak is almost always finished with an oil finish. Something like Rockhard is difficult to apply evenly and get a smooth professional result with...unlike an oil/varnish wipe on product. Waterlox or Watco is a great choice.....what you're describing sound like fisheyes, a common problem with silicone contamination (Pledge), or wax, or an improperly cleaned surface. These oil finished tables are famous for having this type of contamination.As the hardened finish starts to wear and fade, many people resort to waxes, "lemon" oil, (basically white non drying mineral oils), Pledge,Liquid Gold, Butcher block oils, mayonnaise,Olive oil, etc...and this can contaminate the wood surface, as oil finishes 'penetrate' the wood and harden from within, unlike 'surface' finishes like shellac, varnishes, lacquer, poly's, etc., but as they wear and age, they leave the wood surface somewhat porous to foster the contamination of the wood. Also when shellac is used under a finish, one want's to use a dewaxed shellac, or it can sometimes compound the problem.However, oil finishes are the easiest of all finishes to apply and reapply, but many people just don't realize this, or do the research to know what they need. Also a table like this should never be sanded aggressively, and whenever wanting to refinish a table, stripping chemically, NOT sanding should ALWAYS be used. One basic reason is the fact that stripper will remove ALL contamination, leaving you with clean, bare wood, without risking sanding through edges or veneered surfaces which are very common on Teak furniture. Get some Waterlox "Original" Tung oil finish...it's super easy to wipe on, can be recoated almost anytime down the road when you need to "freshen" the top, and is very tough, water resistant and durable. Here's a link. Regards and Happy Holidays- Greg

http://www.waterlox.com/products-item/waterlox-original-penetrating-tung-oil-flo...