Where Should I Store the Seafin?

The product is Seafin teak oil, made by Daly’s. Locally, it’s available at McClendon’s Hardware. The directions for use include the most puzzling step I have ever seen for a product designed to beautify and protect wood.

The instructions for surface preparation, application, safety, and first aid are straightforward, although they might be considered a bit demanding. Seafin is, after all, made to protect wood when it is subjected to a harsh marine environment. It was the first sentence under the Cleaning heading that made me scratch my head: “Once open, Seafin should not be stored in a partially full container.” This enigma isn’t clarified by the next sentence, which is just a reminder to clean tools and equipment with paint thinner.

Exactly where should you store any extra teak oil left over from your project? Perhaps the company wants you just to dispose of it—responsibly of course. That may be good for their bottom line, but not for mine. The retail price isn’t a budget breaker, but it’s not cheap either: $11.89 for a pint or $16.99 for a quart. If you have a big job to do, you can buy a gallon for $48.99. To me that’s pricey enough not to waste their product by throwing the excess away. It turns out I didn’t need to ignore Seafin’s directive, although I probably would have.

I should mention that Seafin comes in an attractive container, blue with horizontal black stripes. On the front a rugged mariner dressed in foulweather gear peers out intently from behind a ship’s tiller, possibly checking for an approaching storm. Perhaps not a collector’s item, but a definitely a container I would be proud to store with the two dozen-plus other partially full cans of paint, stain, polish, and solvent in my garage. Seafin, though, apparently doesn’t want me to do that. I’m not even sure they would approve of storing their teak oil overnight before applying the recommended second coat. Certainly they would frown on the even greater sin I committed—mixing brands.

Seafin’s coverage estimate is 200–400 square feet per gallon. This broad guideline may be useful if you are preserving boat decks, but it’s almost worthless if you are trying to purchase the right amount for a furniture job like I was. A gallon was obviously too much (in coverage and price), a pint seemed skimpy. So I bought a quart. Naturally, I guessed wrong and needed more. As chance had it my shopping the next day took me to Home Depot, which carries Watney’s teak oil. I bought a quart, finished my job, and, absent any instructions to the contrary, stored the rest in the Watney’s container. When a friend bought a teak table recently I donated my leftover teak oil to him. Take that, Seafin!