Five Tips to Make Your Teak Furniture Develop Its Patina Faster

Teak furniture is beautiful, long lasting and weather resistant. However, as it sits in sun and moisture, it typically develops a silver or grey patina. Although this effect is a byproduct of weathering and oxidation, many people love this colour, and they want their teak furniture to develop it as soon as possible.

If you want to speed up the oxidation process so your furniture develops its patina sooner, check out these five tips:

1. Buy your furniture at the same time

If you want to ensure that your teak furniture ages evenly, buy all of it at the same time, or if you are buying used teak furnishings, try to find items that are relatively the same age.

2. Opt for unfinished teak furniture

Not everyone loves the grey patina associated with teak, and for that reason, teak dealers often sell teak furniture that has been sealed.

If you love the patina, stay away from overly finished or sealed pieces and opt for pieces with natural, unfinished or weathered looks.

3. Don't oil your teak

Teak furniture doesn't need a lot of care, and if you want it to go grey or silver, it needs even less care.

In particular, don't oil your teak furniture. You can wash it with a rag dipped in a gentle dish soap and water, but you should not add oil as that will keep the patina at bay.  

4. Place your furniture in the sun

If you want to protect your teak furniture and keep its deep wood colours, you can set it in the shade or cover it when not in use. However, if you want the iconic silvery patina to come through, you need to place your teak furniture where it can weather easily. Set it in full sun, and even considering moving it throughout the day so that it gets the maximum amount of sun exposure possible.

Additionally, you may even use artificial UV light. Simply, wet the wood and shine a UV light on it.

5. Try using a bleaching stain

If you can find the right bleach, this option is considerably faster than waiting for the teak furniture to weather on its own.

Look for a bleaching stain designed to use on teak wood or designed to emulate the aging process of all woods. The stain should have a grey pigment that helps you get the patina colour of the teak combined with bleach that helps lighten the teak.