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Finishing teak, iroko and exotic hardwoods: degrease first

Teak, iroko and most exotic hardwoods are oily: their natural oils push away whatever is laid on them, and the first operation is always a degrease with Cellulose Thinners. Then an oil rather than a film: Durax Teak Oil outdoors, tung and linseed, replaces the oils lost to weathering; Wood Finishing Oil or Pure Tung Oil indoors, in three coats 12 to 18 hours apart, all excess wiped off after 20 minutes. A varnish or a shellac polish only holds after degreasing and over a base. To give oak the look of teak, Light Fast Stain Teak or Water Stain Teak 3-35, under a finish.

Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists

What to know

Oily, dense woods that defend themselves

Teak, iroko, sapele, padauk, ipe grew in climates that armed them: they are loaded with natural oils that make them rot-proof, and they are dense, often with interlocked grain. What makes them last outdoors is exactly what gets in the way of a finish: the wood's own oil pushes off a varnish, which flakes in sheets, and stops an applied oil from penetrating if the wood has not been degreased. New teak, run under a finger, feels waxy; that is what must come off first.

Two rules follow. Always degrease: a clean cloth dampened with Cellulose Thinners, just before the finish, dissolves the surface oils; change the cloth as soon as it colours. Prefer an oil to a film: it joins the wood's oils instead of fighting them, repairs locally and renews without stripping. Sanding to 180 at most, dry wood, below 18% moisture. Outdoors these woods grey within months if they are not fed — a choice in itself. Reading the wood: Understanding wood before finishing.

Six cases

Six ways to finish an exotic hardwood

1. The greyed teak bench, re-oiled

A teak garden bench that has spent three summers outside, silver-grey, on a terrace. Brushed, dried, lightly sanded with 180, degreased with Cellulose Thinners, it takes Durax Teak Oil — tung and linseed — in a generous coat, the excess wiped after 5 to 10 minutes, everything else after 20 minutes; two to three coats 12 to 18 hours apart.

Bench · Durax Teak Oil Degreasing · Cellulose Thinners

2. The iroko worktop

An iroko worktop in a kitchen, inset sink, golden brown with a shimmer. Degreased, sanded to 180, it takes Pure Tung Oil, resistant to heat, water, alcohol and acids: three coats 12 to 18 hours apart, all excess wiped off after 20 minutes, then a coat every 3 to 6 months as soon as water stops beading.

Worktop · Pure Tung Oil

3. The sixties teak sideboard

A Danish teak sideboard, its top dry and dull, in a sitting room. Furniture Cleaner and Reviver lifts the grime and the white marks; then Wood Finishing Oil with a cloth, in thin coats 12 to 18 hours apart, gives the veneer back its colour and soft matt sheen. Citrus Oil, for a simple refresh between two oilings.

Sideboard · Wood Finishing Oil Cleaning · Furniture Cleaner and Reviver Refresh · Citrus Oil

4. The sapele door, oiled

A sapele front door under a porch, red-brown, ribbon-striped grain. Danish Oil, made for interior and exterior use alike, penetrates the degreased wood and protects it from liquids while keeping an open-grain look; three coats, edges and bottom rail first. A maintenance coat as soon as rain stops beading.

Door · Danish Oil

5. Oak stained teak

A shelf in new oak to match a set of teak furniture. Sanded 80-120-150-180, degreased, it takes Light Fast Stain Teak with a cloth, quick strokes along the grain, dry in 10 to 15 minutes, a second coat for depth; then Wax Clear. On a softwood, Water Stain Teak 3-35 blotches less.

Stain · Light Fast Stain Teak On softwood · Water Stain Teak 3-35 Protection · Wax Clear

6. Teak left grey

A teak garden table, an even silver-grey, under a lime tree, with no product at all. The grey is a layer of dead fibres that protects the wood beneath; it is a choice, kept up with a brush and clean water every spring. To get the brown back one day, Durax Teak Oil after sanding and degreasing.

To go back · Durax Teak Oil

The choice

Which wood, indoors, outdoors

Not every exotic is equally oily: the most common, with the finish that suits them indoors and the one that holds outdoors.

The wood	Oily?	Indoors	Outdoors
Teak	Very; degreasing essential	Wood Finishing Oil on furniture, Pure Tung Oil on a worktop	Durax Teak Oil, or left grey
Iroko	Yes; degrease, sand to 180	Pure Tung Oil on a worktop	Durax Teak Oil on a table, a bench
Sapele, meranti	A little; one degrease is enough	Oil or, after degreasing and a base, shellac	Danish Oil on a door, a shutter
Ipe, padauk, wenge	Very, and very dense	Oil in very thin coats, all excess wiped off	Durax Teak Oil; the grey comes fast
Eucalyptus, acacia	Moderately	As an ordinary hardwood	Danish Oil; see Oiling garden furniture

Outdoors, only Durax Teak Oil, Danish Oil and Hard Wax Oil leave the range; the rest is for interiors. The maintenance rhythm: Protecting wood outdoors.

Two special cases

A film on an oily wood, and the look of teak without the teak

Varnishing an oily wood is possible, but not directly. After repeated degreasing with Cellulose Thinners — until the cloth stays clean — and sanding to at least 180, lay a base that keys: 2000 Pale Shellac Sealer Basecoat, with a brush, then the chosen shellac polish, French Polish or Button Polish, in a warm dry workshop. A water-based varnish such as Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom needs the same isolation before its 2 to 3 coats 3 to 4 hours apart. On garden teak, forget the film: outdoors, it always ends up flaking; oil only.

Teak can be imitated. Its golden brown is a stain in the range, which goes on a more common wood: Light Fast Stain Teak, spirit-based, on oak, ash or beech — does not raise the grain, dries in 10 to 15 minutes, is light-fast; Water Stain Teak 3-35 on a softwood that would blotch. Sanding 80-120-150-180, degreasing, a test on an offcut, then the finish: Wax Clear, a shellac polish, or Hard Wax Oil Natural on a floor. The grain will stay that of the original wood; the colour, that of teak.

Base · 2000 Pale Shellac Sealer Basecoat Shellac · Button Polish Imitate · Light Fast Stain Teak Softwood · Water Stain Teak 3-35

To avoid

What goes wrong on an oily wood

Skipping the degrease. The applied oil sits on the surface and goes sticky; the varnish lifts within the year. Cellulose Thinners, a clean cloth, just before the finish.
A varnish on garden teak. Oily wood, sun, rain: the film flakes and everything has to be sanded off. Outdoors, oil only.
Letting the oil dry on the surface. On a dense wood that drinks little, the excess is considerable: wipe everything off after 20 minutes.
Oiling grey wood without brushing it. The grey is a layer of dead fibres; the oil comes away with them. Brush, dry, sand to 180, degrease.
Sanding beyond 180. A dense, oily wood, burnished by a fine grit, no longer drinks anything.
Bundling the cloths. Every oil-soaked cloth can ignite on its own. Into water, or flat outdoors.

Frequently asked

Your questions, our answers

Durax Teak Oil or Danish Oil on teak?

Durax Teak Oil is made for oily hardwoods — teak, iroko — and replaces the oils lost to weathering: it is the choice on a garden set. Danish Oil suits the less oily exotics and eucalyptus or acacia sets, with a more open look. Both: three coats 12 to 18 hours apart, all excess wiped off after 20 minutes.

Does new teak really need degreasing?

Yes, new teak above all: that is where the surface oils are most abundant. A clean cloth dampened with Cellulose Thinners, just before the finish, until it stays clear. On greyed, brushed teak the degrease is quicker but still worthwhile.

Can a teak piece be varnished?

Indoors, yes, after degreasing, sanding to 180 and a base of 2000 Pale Shellac Sealer Basecoat; then a shellac polish, or a water-based varnish over that isolation. The result is more fragile than an oil and repairs less well. On garden teak, never a varnish: it flakes.

How do I give an oak or beech piece the look of teak?

Light Fast Stain Teak with a cloth on wood sanded 80-120-150-180 and degreased, quick strokes along the grain; a second coat for depth; then Wax Clear or a shellac polish. On a softwood, Water Stain Teak 3-35 blotches less. Test on an offcut: the same stain does not give the same colour on every wood.

My teak has gone grey: is that a problem?

No. The grey is a thin layer of dead fibres; the wood beneath is intact, and many people keep it that way, with a brush and clean water every spring. To get the brown back: brush, dry, sand to 180, degrease, Durax Teak Oil — see Oiling teak garden furniture.