Rusted, rotten and fading furniture can be a real detraction from an otherwise spectacularly beautiful garden. Here are some steps to buff your worn old furniture back into shape.
To avoid all of this, you should get yourself plastic Adirondack chairs, which do not deteriorate or degrade if left outside.
Garden furniture that is at the cheaper end of the spectrum is made from softwood, like pine or spruce. As such this can deteriorate fast – furniture will likely have been treated with a kind of wood preserver or with a wood stain for protection against the elements. A light sanding followed by reapplying the pain should see it all looking good for another season of usage.
Harden Up
Wooden furniture is particularly vulnerable to rot at the points where it touches the floor. To get as much life out of it as you can, you should stand the furniture in a preservative to allow the liquid to seep deep into the wood. After this, you should wipe off the drops in the morning, you can then turn them upside down to dry.
Sanding
If you have some top-end furniture, then you might just find that light grade sandpaper will do just the trick. Don’t go too mad and just apply enough pressure to smooth down any kind of rough patches. Follow up with a coat of teak oil or teal preserver. Applying all over the surface with an old brush you can then work it deep into the wood with a cloth. Make certain you wide off the excess oil, or this could have an adverse effect – even promoting mould growth.
Rust be gone!
Rusty patches on metal garden furniture can be a real pain, you should resolve by brushing over the offending area with a stiff wire brush which is specially made for this job. You can then go over it again with wire wool for a mother finish – finally, add a generous dollop of rust-inhibiting paint before letting it dry.
Nuts and bolts
Check over anything like bolts, brackets, fillings and fittings to your furniture. Retighten any that might have worked loose – then WD40 to the rescue to prevent any rust from appearing.
Give it a wash
Grubby plastic furniture can benefit from a wash of soda crystals, an amount prescribed by the package’s instructions can be a real lifesaver. Make a soda solution in warm water. You can then apply liberally to your furniture – leave it to soak overnight, rinse off and voila! Should be in much better shape.
Under pressure
It is also quite possible that you can clean outdoor furniture with a pressure washer. You should be careful, using it on a patch of the furniture where you wouldn’t mind any sort of discolouration or damage – if you get the all-clear, then apply to the rest of it – starting on low pressure and then heightening up as you go.
Plastic Adirondacks
These do not require any specific maintenance – they will not crack, split, rot or discolour in the sun – all you need to do is to wipe it down when you want. You can shop online today!