Natural oil or matt melamine: choosing a finish for teak

Every piece we make leaves the workshop with one of two finishes: a natural oil finish or a matt melamine lacquer. Both protect the wood, but they look and behave differently, and the right choice depends on how the piece will be used.

An oil finish soaks into the wood rather than sitting on top. We rub in three coats of a teak oil blend over three days, letting each one dry. The surface feels like wood, the grain stays visible and the colour deepens to a warm honey brown over the first few years. Scratches and water marks can be sanded lightly and re-oiled at home, so the finish never needs stripping. It does need a fresh coat once a year, and it marks more easily if a wet glass is left on it overnight.

Matt melamine is a thin, clear lacquer sprayed in four coats and rubbed down between each. It forms a tougher skin that resists water rings, hot cups and spilled sambar far better than oil, and needs no yearly care. It looks slightly smoother and more even, though still matt. The trade-off is repair: a deep scratch or a chip has to be filled and resprayed by us, and after fifteen or twenty years, the whole surface may need refinishing.

As a rule, we suggest melamine for dining tables used every day, especially with young children, and oil for chairs, settees, beds and cabinets, which are touched more than they are spilled on. You can mix both in one order at no extra cost.