Remedial work on teak kitchen worktop - advice needed

[emmahay]

I've got a gorgeous, thick, solid teak, kitchen worktop. When we bought the house 5 years ago, it was a wonderful rich, very shiny almost glassy finish. HOwever, after absolutely NO maintenance on it whatsoever, it is looking pretty awful. Well, some parts of it are perfect (the very low usage areas) and some parts are completely worn back to the bare wood (under the draining board/round the sink etc) so it looks rather patchy. I've got the oil (Danish and Liberon finishing oil) and the 0000 steel wool for the final polishing bit, but my question is - should I sand the whole thing back to bare wood to keep it all at the same stage. If I need to do this, can I use an electric sander (B&D mouse)? And what sort of sandpaper should I use?
Or can I just bring the bare patches up to the same level as the good bits? Will it ever look any good?
Any ideas/advice very much appreciated. Thanks

 

[woodfinishes1877]

Hi Emma,

Definitely take it back to the bare wood if you have an uneven finish at the moment. I see no reason why you couldn't use an electric sander. It's probably best to start by using something quite coarse such as P60 then work your way up the grades before finishing with P240 . 3-4 Coats of Liberon Finishing Oil or Smith & Rodger Worktop Finish will give you a cracking looking finish.

Hope this helps

Ian McAslan