Advice needed on painting outdoor teak furniture.

[DerbyDad03]

You can't really argue the logic without knowing the rationale. As I said in my original response to you:

"Perhaps the design of the piece fit the OP’s décor/desires but the color did not."

Your reasons for not painting teak are all perfectly valid. For all we know (which is not much) nancy's reasons *for* painting it may also be perfectly valid. You appear to be of the opinion that there is never a reason to paint teak. I don't have that strong of an overall, unbending opinion. I'm *not* saying that nancy did the right thing by painting it, I'm just saying that until I know *why* she painted it, I can't say that she shouldn't have.

A personal example:

I built this bench for my adult daughter. It's 5 ft long, built from rough sawn poplar that I milled to size. It's really quite pretty in it's natural form.

Did she seal so that the natural color of the wood remained? Nope. Did she stain it so at least the grain showed through? Nope. She painted it pink. Why? Because pink is the right color for where it is being used.

People have quietly said to me "Isn't it a shame that she painted that beautiful bench *pink*? You must be so disappointed." I always politely respond "First, it's her bench. What kind of gift would be if I dictated how it should be finished or didn't accept her choice? Second, you have to admit that it fits the décor perfectly."

Apples and oranges - unless nancy comes back and tells that she painted the piece to protect it from the elements. Your example of sanding is a great example of unnecessary

- and probably detrimental - work, just like painting teak for protection would be. However, if you can accept that there might be other reasons why she painted it, you will see that your example may not fit the situation.

[DerbyDad03]

...and we don't know what nancy knew. For all we know, she knew exactly what she was doing. As a possible clue, look at what she said in her post: "Everyone advised me not to."

Going out on the proverbial assumptive limb, I'll bet that someone(s) explained to her that the properties of teak meant that there was no need to paint it. If I'm correct, then it's very possible that she knew everything she needed to know and

- for reasons unknown to us - she chose to paint it anyway.

As you noted, who is anyone to decry her choice, especially without knowing why she chose to paint it even after all the advice not to?

[Michael Trew]

That reminds me of very nice old red-wood bench seats which my step-grandmother has on her back deck. The look beautiful with just clear seal on them. I doubt that you could even source that wood any longer (legally). She was rather irritated with the person staining her deck (red-wood color), because he put solid red-wood color stain over her real red-wood benches.

[Leon]

Well Not really. Teak has to be maintained and probably stained to keep its natural color. It WILL fade in sun light like any wood. So once it fades, unless it is on a boat, it looks like most any other wood.

[hubops]

Many years ago, a buddy bought a portable bandsaw mill to use as a side-job business and possible retirement business. Because of his day-job as a power company worker - knowing many of the trades-folk Lines & Forestry he would occasionally find work in sawing-up old cedar utility poles - there's some nice < ~ free > lumber inside those old grey weathered-looking poles. ... On occasion there was some _big stuff_ to saw-up - - very old transmission line poles - not roadside poles - .. it was beautiful stuff .. prime clear western red cedar The sawdust would be shredded consistency ; the smell was like sawing into a fresh red cedar tree even though the poles were 70 years old - trees were probably another hundred ? Eventually the utility started to re-sell the poles plus the supply ran out .. Nice-while-it-lasted though .. John T.

[Scott Lurndal]

Real redwood turns silver-grey with time and exposure to sunlight and moisture.

Real redwood is still available legally.

[krw]

It doesn't look like most other wood after five or ten years.

It's truly amazing that the decks on WWII battleships were teak. My FIL was on a carrier but he visited his brother on a destroyer when they were in port together. He commented that there wasn't much of the decks left. The teak was in splinters.

[Michael Trew]

Even if it's pressure washed clean, or kept sealed?

I thought that the ancient redwoods were all protected and illegal to poach. Of course, I don't know what I'm talking about, but is there newer (probably poorer quality) "farmed" redwood available?

[Markem618]

Old growth redwoods are protected, the majority of redwood sold today is from young trees.

[Scott Lurndal]

There is a considerable amount of sustainably farmed redwood available; it's still the primary fence wood in California.

Most of the old-growth is protected; although the fires a couple years ago at Big Basin killed some of the protected old-growth.

There's also a fair amount of reclaimed old-growth redwood available here and there.

[Leon]

The grey, that almost all woods turn when exposed to direct sunlight, can be sanded or pressure washed away. Pressure washing however is pretty severe treatment of any wood surface and likely will have to be followed up with sanding if a smooth surface is desired. And that treatment will have a shelf life before it has to be done again.

Redwood comes from other than ancient redwoods. It is available in Houston but expensive.

[krw]

Though I haven't done it with redwood, I've found that oxalic acid works well.

I see redwood mail box posts at the BORG all the time. I used a lot of it residing my house in VT.

[russellseaton1]

Your post confused me a bit. You started by saying battleships were teak in WW2. Battleships are a specific boat in the Navy. Then your next sentence was about your father in law being on a carrier. Aircraft carriers are specific boats in the Navy. And then your third sentence was about your uncle in law being on a destroyer. Destroyers are specific boats in the Navy. So, did "battleships" or "destroyers" only have teak decks? And all the other boats have metal decks? Or did every boat in the Navy have teak decks?

As for teak not lasting and being in splinters on the battleship or was it a destroyer, that could be due to several reasons. Navy boats are in salt water. Salt water is much more corrosive than fresh water. Rain is fresh water. And heavy munitions are rolled over the decks of destroyers. The heavy weight and wear and tear could have caused the destruction. And as shown in movies anyway, Navy crew are always scrubbing the decks of Navy ships with hard bristled brushes. So that may also contribute to the degradation of the teak deck.

[Scott Lurndal]

I suspect that in WWII, it was "splinters" due to battle damage.

Most Navy vessels at the time had wood decks, including the early carriers.

[russellseaton1]

No kidding. Wood decks? I have an uncle who was in the Navy in the 1970s. I'll try to remember to ask him next time I see him what the decks were on the ships he was on. My knowledge of Navy ships is what I have seen in movies. They always look like metal in the movies. Can't believe a movie would mislead me. Just like I know there were gunfights at noon on the main street of every western town in the old west of the 1800s. All using Colt Peacemakers and Colt 45 ammunition. And every horse had a scabbard with a Winchester Model 1873 lever action rifle in it.

As for splinters due to battle damage, I am not sure on that. Obviously, some boats were hit and damaged from shells, bombs, torpedoes, etc. But they would have been repaired once they got back to a friendly port. The damaged decks would have been replaced with new decks. So no splinters. I took from your original comment that your relatives were all on functional working boats. In port. Not boats that had just come in from a battle and not even repaired yet. I took splinters to mean the natural decay of wood left out in the weather and used and abused over time. Weathered wood.

[krw]

I think he was on the Intrepid but I'm not 100% sure.

[Leon]

I have been on the USS Lexington, a carrier, and the Battle Ship Texas. They had wooden decks. AND both had woodworking shops on board. A wooden deck is easier and faster and lighter weight to repair than a steel deck.

You are living in the modern world. During the great wars those ships did not always have the luxury to go to a friendly port for repairs. They had to be battle ready quick.

[krw]

Remember, this was in the '40s. Of course the ships were steel and there was armor but what you walked on was wood (above the steel).

Ships don't go home after every battle. No, decks weren't even on the radar for maintenance items. Holes, particularly below the water line, propulsion, and re-supply were a tad more important. Hell, shore leave and getting drunk was more important. The idea was to turn the ships and their crew around as fast as possible.

[John Grossbohlin]

I "camped" on the battleship USS Massachusetts with Cub Scouts in 2005 and it had a woodworking shop.... many if not most of it's decks were clad in wood. Many of the military ships and subs I've seen had at least some wooden decking, including a WWII era aircraft carrier. I just confirmed those memories by looking through photos I took on various trips...