[jyl]

If it is teak, you needn't put anything on it, it will turn soft gray over time.

If you start putting stuff on it, then as the finish fades unevenly you'll forever be re-finishing it.

My outdoor tables and chairs are teak, they have never been finished and are 10 years old, they are gray but not damaged, split, or anything like that. They sit outside in the sun and during some of the Portland rainy winter too, although I do go out and tarp them around December. Every couple years I clean them with the pressure washer.

If the piece is not actually teak, then I dunno.