Because most teak wood is used in outdoor applications, there are some things that you should never do to your teak. This is because they are often very hard to undo. They include but are not limited to the following.
- Never ever use steel wool on or even around your teak. It leaves fragments of steel that will rust and discolor your teak. Once steel wool fragments are embedded in teak, they are very difficult to remove.
- Never ever use a steel bristled brush on your teak. They leave fragments that rust too.
- Never use break fluid, automatic transmission fluid, motor oil, sodium hydroxide, chlorine bleach, or acids stronger than oxalic acid on your teak!
- Belt sanders are really great tools for grinding away lots of wood. Don’t use them on your teak. They are just too hard to control. Palm sanders (electric) and Jitter Bug sanders (air driven) work great. Dry sanding works poorly regardless of the type of sander used. Wet sanding with waterproof sanding material works really well. The sanding material you are looking for is fabric backed belt sanding material that has “RESIN BOND” printed on it. Use 60 to 100 grit material
- Using sand paper finer than 100 grit directly on the wood (even wet sanding) causes wood dust and teak resin to build up in the grain of the wood and on the sand paper. If you want a furniture finish, do the fine sanding on the TeakGuard, not the wood.
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