Is this just teak or am I doing something wrong?

[Mishkin Derakhshan]

I am refinishing a teak dining table. It is a bit rustic by nature (i.e., the top isn't very flat by design).

Here is the before picture:
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After sanding and a bit of hand planing to hit the high spots and then some card scrapping, I still find I have these "streaks" or "patches" where the color changes tremendously. Here are some examples in the quarter-sawn part:
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Here it is with some mineral spirits:
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Is this just the nature of teak, are these just like the rays in okay? or is there something I should be doing different in terms of sanding/planing/scraping? There is no noticeable difference in touch between the patches and the surrounding area. i.e., they are both sanded to the same degree.

For the final finish I am using Rubio monocoat hardwax oil as that is the touch and sheen the customer wants.
Should I use a pre-conditioner or something to try and remove the splochiness, or again, is this just what teak will look like. I reckon anything will look better than the before picture, so at least I have that going for me. haha.

tia

[Mark Hennebury]

It would be the change in the direction of the cells. You have a bit of wavy grain in those spots, so you are looking at end grain -ish at those spots were the grain is rising up at a sharp angle through the surface.

[Kevin Jenness]

Teak often looks splotchy when freshly surfaced. Give it a day or two.

[Tom Bender]

Will you be staining it?

[andy bessette]

That is the nature of teak. You can bleach it to make the colors more even before applying finish.

[Mishkin Derakhshan]

Thanks gents.
@Tom: No I won't be staining this particular project, but if you had a recommendation for a stain or technique for staining that works well for teak I'm all ears as I have some future teak projects coming up.

@Andy: Oxalic Acid is what you are referring to for bleach? Everyone seems to say you can't spot treat with oxalic acid, but need to apply it everywhere otherwise you make blotching worse. My concern is that the light parts are already very light, and I didn't want to make them lighter.

[andy bessette]

Thanks gents.
@Tom: No I won't be staining this particular project, but if you had a recommendation for a stain or technique for staining that works well for teak I'm all ears as I have some future teak projects coming up.

@Andy: Oxalic Acid is what you are referring to for bleach? Everyone seems to say you can't spot treat with oxalic acid, but need to apply it everywhere otherwise you make blotching worse. My concern is that the light parts are already very light, and I didn't want to make them lighter.

No, you do not spot treat; you bleach the entire piece. This reduces the contrast between light and dark areas. Then you can stain it if you wish with whatever color you are shooting for. I have seen a tiny amount of red maple stain work well, but you must experiment on the underside to find the right path.