Table Revival

As promised, here is how I made my teak dining table look as good as it should! If you didn't read the post on how I got it, you can read that here.

I create my cleaning kit based on what I saw over at Manhattan-Nest and YoungHouseLove. It consisted of a Magic Eraser, Murphy's Oil Soap, and Teak oil.

First, I went over the whole thing with the oil soap. This is when I first realized how badly the table needed this. I think somewhere along the lines the table was owned by a smoker because some funky colored stuff came of with the oil soap. After the grim was all cleaned off, I went to some especially dirty areas with the Magic Eraser. Here is a before and after example:

You can see above that the Magic Eraser got off the tough dirt stains where the table was most touched. It also got most of the scuffs on the legs, but sadly I forgot to get some pictures of those. Basically, the Magic Eraser is like a fine grit sand paper, so use it carefully.

After the table was cleaned and had dried completely, I used the Teak oil. How many coats of this depends on your piece of furniture, but my table was neglected so it took a lot. I had a several conversations with the people at Copenhagen (I figured a fancy Danish store would be able to give me good advice on the matter), and they said you can't really use too much teak oil. If your teak is still thirsty, then keep oiling it.

I had heard people suggest Howard's Feed n Wax, but according to several teak forums and the people at Copenhagen, this is NOT what you want on your teak. Teak oil only!

That is one happy table!

Now that I have it set up and looking pretty, I need to protect it from future scratches, water marks and the like.

Currently, my only table cloth that fits it is one used in our wedding. While I love how special it is, it is too fancy for everyday use. I think this will be great for holiday dinners though!

So for a more casual setting, we use these lovely placemats that were a wedding gift from my best friend Katie, as well as these funny burger coasters.

Because, ya know- last name is Burger. Hehe.

I am still in awe of how I was able to get my hands on this treasure, and how great it looks all cleaned and oiled. I hope its one of those pieces of furniture that I can keep forever and pass it down to my kids one day!