I love hearing your opinions. I didn't realize it was teak, but I am glad it is because an oil finish would be perfect and painless. Dealing with the cigarette burns is the problem. Teak is an oily wood and it is hard to make finishes stick to it, which is why is so popular among sailors and their boats. It doesn't have to be varnished because it weathers so well. Indoors, it will be easy to maintain. Somebody painted the teak trim on my old sailboat, and it has chipped here and there and what remains is a royal pain to remove, so I think painting would be a mistake.
Yesterday I wandered into a crummy little thrift store and found a Singer 185J--The Green Machine. You can guess what happened...but that's another post.