Mike John wrote:

If it is teak then Varnish is probably not a good idea. I have a dining table that had

previously been varnished that looked pretty awful. Stripped the varnish with varnish

remover, then scraper, then steel wool to get it to a fine surface. Then refinished

with Tung oil. This is very similar to teak oil but with a harder finish.

Now looks far better than with a varnish finish.

Mike

One item that may help is a hot iron and a damp cloth, often the
scratches have damaged wood fibres at the bottom and raising them before
taking the rest of the surface off may help with an improved final finish.

Niel.