Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - cleaning and lightening teak furniture

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mjoancam
06-11-04, 08:35 PM
hello
i have a teak bedroom set that is probably 40 years old and very dark by now. looking inside the drawers shows a colour much lighter and brighter. i dont think there is a shellac or poly finish - suspect just an oil treatment was used.

does anyone know how i can remove all this dark color and lighten and brighten the finish? how do i proceed with this project?

thanks
joan

chfite
06-12-04, 02:12 PM
Many pieces of furniture darken over time. Light and heat and such darken the finish as well as the wood itself. You could return the to starting point by stripping the furniture and seeing if that restores the color that you want. Teak is an oily wood and may not respond well to using oxalic acid to lighten it, but it might be worth a try to achieve your objective.

You could strip the furniture and apply a fresh finish of oil to have a new beginning.

Hope this helps.