Solid wood garden furniture, at wits end

Dwilly

We have some lovely solid oak garden furniture which is currently doing our head in.

Every year we have treated it with teak oil and left it outside for the whole Summer. After a couple of weeks it goes all grey and horrible looking.

Last year we had to sand it to get rid of the grey/black stuff and gave it another coat of teak oil. This took forever due to the complex shapes of the chairs. Same deal after a few weeks.

This year we've tried power spraying it which works to some extent but only removes partial bits of the blackness, we also tried Ronseal furniture restorer which seemed like exactly what we needed. After an hour of scrubbing one arm on the chair it starts to look normal but seems like a ridiculous amount of work for the results.

Is there anything more hardcore out there like the evquivalent of Nitromoors that will strip back the wood a bit easier? Also what else can we use to protect the wood from this happening again rather than teak oil?

Thanks

TequilaMockingBird

Do you live by the sea? Or is your area exceptionally polluted? Its strange that one treatment is not lasting you the year.

Try scrubbing the furniture with a green scourer with water and a small amount of bleach. Let it dry well and apply a outdoor satin varnish - don't forget to varnish the "feet", the very base of the legs as any moisture from the ground will be absorbed into the wood if it isn't treated.

I know you may prefer the furniture unvarnished, but if its that much work to maintain it, I would go for a satin varnish which could be wiped down.

Varnish: http://www.godfrey-diy.co.uk/ronseal-outdoor-varnish/cat395.html

Scourer: http://www.admiral-cleaning-supplies.com/productInfo.aspx?catRef=HR0031

kadman

Although bleach used on exposed weathered oak may even the overall tone of the wood, too much bleach will cause an appreciable lightening of oak. So experiment on a small area maybe underneath an arm or seat before doing the whole chair.

http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/woodbleach.shtml

http://www.teakandcedar.com/finishing.htm

http://www.cuprinol.co.uk/products/products_furniture.html

kadman