Not everything winter does to outdoor furniture is damage. Some of it is cosmetic and some of it is expensive, and the difference is worth understanding before you decide how much to spend closing up. Here is what six months on an East End property actually does, sorted by whether it matters. Silvering is not damage Teak turning silver-grey is a surface change, not a structural one. High-quality teak weathers to a silver patina without losing durability, because the natural oils that make it a marine timber are still doing their work below the surface. If you like the grey, winter exposure alone is not hurting your furniture, and anyone telling you that grey teak is failing teak is selling you something. The reason to close furniture up properly is not to prevent silvering. It is everything in the next four sections. Six months of wet organic contact The most expensive thing winter does is leave organic matter sitting wet on open grain for half a year. Leaves, needles, bird droppings and algae are all dyes, and on absorbent weathered wood they migrate down into the pores rather than resting on top. Oak and maple litter is the worst offender, because leaf tannin is precisely the com
Teak & Shine — (631) 796-9505 — cleanmyteak@gmail.com
Serving Montauk, Amagansett, East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, Water Mill, Southampton, Quogue Village.