Replies

1. 
   gulfstar | May 02, 2022 06:53pm | #1

   Dépends what needs cleaning ? Is it gray from lack of maintenance, being in a wet environment or just dusty from years hanging on the wall but still has a caramel color and no black streaks or else ?

2. 
   woodsinwood | May 02, 2022 07:26pm | #2

   Gray from lack of maintenance. Still has caramel color underneath the grime.

3. 
   jharveyb | May 02, 2022 11:03pm | #3

   One thing I've used in the past to clean up grimy wood is the hand cleaner sold at auto parts stores (don't get the kind with pumice in it.) It cleans the grime but leaves the finish alone. There is some lanolin in it that leaves a nice luster. We used it on a collection of stair spindles that had been thru the grimy, London fog years in Nashville when people heated with soft coal. Try it on an inconspicuous spot first, of course.

4. 
   MillstShop | May 03, 2022 11:37am | #4

   I’ll bet a good boat shop will have what you need.

5. 
   gulfstar | May 04, 2022 07:50am | #5

   Teak will always restore to its original color with a little sanding, even left bare outdoors for years the gray will easily come off. I restored many grayish mid century teak tables by first cleaning them with mineral spirit and then sanding lightly. The sanding was mainly to remove deeper scratches but to restore the color, a medium scotch brite pad may be enough. Always back your sanding pad with a block to get a flat and uniform result. I then vacuum the dust and clean with mineral spirit before applying Danish Oil.

6. 
   JEarch | May 04, 2022 03:02pm | #6

   I have had great success with Golden Care’s teak cleaner on teak outdoor furniture. Be aware that it is a wet water-based process that may not be suitable for your purposes. In removing the grayed wood fibers, it also tends to remove more early wood than late wood, so the end result is a bit textured. That said, the gray is gone, and scraping or sanding can restore a smooth finish.

7. 
   moreee | Jun 23, 2023 12:21am | #7

   I clean teak by TotalBoat’s teak cleaner kit. I went over the surface with a stiff scrub brush to loosen dirt and algae. I wet the surface thoroughly with the hose and then rubbed the product directly on the surface with a big sponge. Five minutes later, I went after it with a scrubber, then rinsed.

8. 
   pantalones868 | Jun 23, 2023 02:39am | #8

   A "unit?" Well whatever. Is it finished or unfinished teak? Interior or exterior? If finished ,and since we don't know with what, I would use naphtha to clean. I've yet to find a finish that it has caused harm to,on a soft cloth to clean. If you go at a finished surface with the wrong stuff you might then have to strip all the way back to bare wood . Whatever you use always test in an inconspicuous place. Unfinished and just gray there are commercial cleaners available and I've had a lot of success with oxyclean ,particularly if there are black moldy spots. This being for exterior stuff. Exterior refinish with a teak uv protectant sealer, not an oil.
   Someone said in a previous post to just sand it out and that is true, that might be all it needs. If it's just gray and not grimy, well, that is the eventual natural color of untreated teak. Teak is loaded with natural oils and does not require any finish whatsoever . To some,me for example , the gray or weathered look of teak has a beauty of its own.
   I'm guessing, but your " unit" -mid century ? Scandinavian?
   I have in my shop right now some Mogler Eric Buch 1949 teak chairs that I am repairing and restoring. Some " kevination" as Nakashima would call it but mostly in pretty good shape and most of the minor wear I will just leave .The arm rests need some leveling and refinishing. The chairs are pretty old and somewhat valuable and should stay old. So, upholstery guy and reglueing where needed, a good cleaning with naphtha and this being as Danish as it gets I'm figuring a Danish Oil finish is probably the thing. There are some button type plugs that are missing and I figured I would need to make them but I found someone online that sells "Buch buttons" I couldn't believe it!

9. 
   lat_axe | Jun 23, 2023 03:18am | #9

   Timbers such as teak, with a high content of the stuffs it generates to resist fungal and insect attacks, is highly resistant to rot. Discolorations and other environmental damages are usually only a fraction of a millimeter deep, as Gulfstar notes. This is why such timbers (teak, iroko, afromosia and some similar woods) are used for things like chemistry bench tops.

   So, a light sanding will generally remove those surface fibres damaged by ultraviolet light, water splashes and the like. Even chemistry bench tops full of chemical burns will reveal a pristine new surface less than 0.25 millimetres down. (I've rescued metres of the stuff from the local university lab refurbishments, mostly with sanding but sometimes some scraping too).

   The stuffs that resist the rot in such timbers can also, though, make it very resistant to taking any form of finish. Finishes often need to be renewed or maintained more often as they come off the surface more readily.

   If an oil finish is used, it's generally best to employ one with other additives (varnish, wax or other hard film coat) that remain after the excess oil is wiped away. The patina can then be built and maintained just by waxing regularly, with indoor furniture. Outdoors, a tougher film coat generally needs to be applied yearly to keep the colour and some "shine".

   Lataxe

10. 
    woodsinwood | Jun 23, 2023 10:13am | #10

    Thank you for your additional comments.