Refinishing this garden table

dirtychinchilla · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:29

Morning,

After some advice. I bought this teak garden table yesterday.

Looks good from a distance. It's solid teak. When I got it home I noticed a few issues with the finish.

There's a few spots like this. I think they've sanded through the Bri-wax they've used (which I had never heard of until yesterday).

So my question is, what are my options? I'm thinking of a couple:

Try and refinish these sections with Bri-wax
Remove the Bri-wax all over (white spirit) and then refinish it with oil (which I prefer to the wax)

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

dirtychinchilla

ANDARIAL · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:36

Personally i would strip it ,lightly sand it and apply Teak Oil
As Teak is an oily wood it would be a better finish than Briwax especially outside in all weathers imho

dirtychinchilla · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:37

ANDARIAL said:
Personally i would strip it ,lightly sand it and apply Teak Oil
As Teak is an oily wood it would be a better finish than Briwax especially outside in all weathers imho

Cheers. How would you strip it?

ANDARIAL · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:40

Scrape off the briwax with a scraper then use something like nitromors or similar
Actually it does not look TOO bad so you could just clean up that one `plank`and reapply briwax

dirtychinchilla · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:45

ANDARIAL said:
Scrape off the briwax with a scraper then use something like nitromors or similar
Actually it does not look TOO bad so you could just clean up that one `plank`and reapply briwax

Do you think it will just scrape off? It looks like years of buildup to me.

It's pretty stark when you're at the table, looks really terrible. They've gone probably 0.5 mm in and the colour of the wood is completely different. I think, in general, they've put too much wax on it as the centre section (not picture) has a much nicer finish. It obviously hasn't been touched so much.

ANDARIAL · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:46

I would try scrape then sand or strip on a section not too visible first,maybe underneath to see how it goes/looks

dirtychinchilla · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:50

ANDARIAL said:
I would try scrape then sand or strip on a section not too visible first,maybe underneath to see how it goes/looks

Weirdly (to me), it looks like they've only been doing the top. The bottom is sort of raw. I'll have to look at it closer after work to see what's realistic as far as stripping it back is concerned.

I really prefer oil, though, so a big part of me wants to strip the whole thing. I just know how much work that can be. I suppose, if I'm going to scrape the finish off these areas anyway, I could try diluting it with white spirit and see if that's easy before deciding whether to do everything.

ANDARIAL · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:54

How to Strip Briwax From Wood

How to Strip Briwax From Wood. Briwax is a trademarked product that is made from natural ingredients including both beeswax and carnauba wax. It is a paste product that is applied to wood furniture and cabinetry to disguise scratches and enhance the wood grain. To remove Briwax from a surface...

homeguides.sfgate.com

Liberon Wax & Polish Remover Clear 500ml - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 500ml. Removes old wax, dirt, smoke and everyday grime from antique and modern wood furniture and interior woodwork including doors, beams, dado rails, and banisters without harming the original finish and patina. Innovative formula prevents lifting of veneers or...

www.screwfix.com

might be worth a look

dirtychinchilla · 11 Aug 2022 at 08:55

ANDARIAL said:
How to Strip Briwax From Wood

How to Strip Briwax From Wood. Briwax is a trademarked product that is made from natural ingredients including both beeswax and carnauba wax. It is a paste product that is applied to wood furniture and cabinetry to disguise scratches and enhance the wood grain. To remove Briwax from a surface...

homeguides.sfgate.com

Liberon Wax & Polish Remover Clear 500ml - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 500ml. Removes old wax, dirt, smoke and everyday grime from antique and modern wood furniture and interior woodwork including doors, beams, dado rails, and banisters without harming the original finish and patina. Innovative formula prevents lifting of veneers or...

www.screwfix.com

might be worth a look

Cheers for those. I had read the first one already, which is what made me think stripping and oiling the table might be OK. They make it sound very, very easy!

fastwunz · 11 Aug 2022 at 09:08

dirtychinchilla said:
Cheers for those. I had read the first one already, which is what made me think stripping and oiling the table might be OK. They make it sound very, very easy!

They always do haha! That’s a table worth saving though - will look lovely when done - keep pics coming please

dirtychinchilla · 11 Aug 2022 at 09:51

fastwunz said:
They always do haha! That’s a table worth saving though - will look lovely when done - keep pics coming please

Will do! Wife is pushing it down the list sadly. But I think it needs to be prioritised so I can decide whether we've been had or not

dirtychinchilla · 11 Aug 2022 at 14:06

So it turns out the guy has used decking stain and protection on the table, not anything suitable. And then kept it inside when the weather was bad. Not sure I understand the logic personally!

That might ruin my plan.

koolpc · 11 Aug 2022 at 14:09

Put it on a bonfire

Demon · 11 Aug 2022 at 16:24

dirtychinchilla said:
So it turns out the guy has used decking stain and protection on the table, not anything suitable. And then kept it inside when the weather was bad. Not sure I understand the logic personally!

That might ruin my plan.

I'd at least sand it and try teak oil, decking stain often sands quite uniformly, you'd need to check.

I do like the mesh style sandpapers for this kind of job where you don't want it endlessly clogging.. I normally use "Erbauer 180 grit Extra fine Metal, paint, plaster & wood Hand sanding sheet, Pack of 5" from B&Q.. that and a Makita hand sander and I did 7 interior doors in 2 days back to wood before priming/painting again.

dirtychinchilla · 15 Aug 2022 at 09:37

I've started sanding it so I'm now committed. I much prefer oiled wood to stained, so I'll sand back the whole thing and oil it. I don't understand why this guy put decking stain on it. The texture of the wood is horrible.