Tel No: 012 807 6792 / 087 654 1308 Contact Heinrich: 082 937 3883 Email: hs@furnituremerchants.co.za Physical Address: Equestria Shopping Centre Upper Level (Above Clicks) Cnr Simon Vermooten & Furrow Road Equestria Pretoria East For any Office Furniture enquiries contact: Liza@furnituremerchants.co.za For any Steel & Balustrading contact: hs@mildsteel.co.za
Restoring outdoor wooden furniture
Of
course, prevention is better than cure, so waterproof furniture covers
for your wooden furniture keep tables and chairs safe from their
biggest dangers sun and rain. The first thing to do when restoring
your outdoor furniture is to clean it with soap and water. Be sure that
the surface is dry before doing any more work. A toothbrush and
toothpaste work well at removing many stains or marks on the furniture!
If your furniture has a finish to it, clean it with mineral spirits on
a rag. Wipe off the excess spirits and then brush on an outdoor varnish
or a coat of brightener. Let this dry before treating the wood with
teak oil (made for all types of wood) to prevent weathering. This
treatment will not only restore your furniture, it will also feed the
wood and give it a rich finish.
You should avoid
standing wood legs directly on grass as the moisture from the ground
may rot untreated wood over time. If you can''t avoid this, at least
give wood legs some extra protection by standing table and chair legs
in saucers of wood preservative for several hours, so that as much
solution as possible gets soaked into the wood. When cleaning up wet
spills, be sure to dry the furniture completely, never assume that the
sun will do it. The wood may take all day to dry out, and in that time,
airborne dirt such as pollen may have formed an invisible yet sticky
film on your table.
Protect wooden furniture at the
start of each season with a sealant that's appropriate to the wood's
composition and style. For example, use teak-oil for hardwood chairs
and preservative for a budget softwood bench.
- Redwood
naturally resists weathering and rot but should still be coated with a
sealer to keep out moisture and prolong it's luster.
- Finished
white wood (often used for camp stools and directors chairs) should be
completely sealed with penetrating sealer for exterior use. They may
also be given a coat of exterior varnish but they should not be left in
the rain.
- Unfinished white wood (used for rustic furniture) needs to be treated with an exterior penetrating
stain containing wood preservative and mildew inhibitor.
- Every
two weeks, wipe down tables and chairs with a cloth, wrung out from a
solution of soapy wood cleaner. Use the cleaner neat on any
particularly stubborn stains. Dry thoroughly, with a fresh cloth.
Also read Protecting and restoring your wooden furniture
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