Making your Garden Furniture Look Great for Longer

Many people are unsure how to best care for wooden garden furniture during the winter months. Garden Furniture Scotland has a number of ideas which you can put into practice whether you have keruing, balau or jarrah wood furniture.

Our customers often ask us how they might best care for their newly purchased wooden garden furniture when winter begins to set in. Remember, wood is a natural product and, as such will react to the environment in which it is store. If you have the space, it is recommended that in order to best protect your wooden garden furniture that you store it inside during the winter. If this is not possible, cover the set with a good quality breathable weather cover, ensuring that the centre is higher than the sides so that rain water runs off.

If hardwood garden furniture is stored outside during spells of hot weather, small cracks may appear in the wood, especially on the end grain. Such cracks are a completely common characteristic and will not affect the durability or strength of the furniture. The cracks will close again once the conditions become damper.

Another common problem which can spoil the look of your garden furniture is when small amounts of sap resin will appear on the surface of the wood. Dark spots may occur if the furniture is placed in the shady spot under a tree due to falling sap and excretions from aphids. Crystallised resin can be removed using a stiff brush. While the resin is still sticky, a sharp knife can be utilized to remove most of the resin and white spirit can clean the affected surface.

Re-applying teak oil can only be done when the dirt which has built up over the season is completely removed by with warm soapy water and a good brush. Once the furniture has dried, you could lightly sand any rough areas. Black areas may appear where the oil and dirt have mixed if the dirt has not been removed prior to application.

In applying teak oil, you ought to pay particular attention to the end grain and to any joints. Any oil which remains on the surface must be removed with a cloth and please make sure that the furniture is fully dry before you use it! We have known people to ruin a lovely set of clothes by sitting on newly oiled furniture!

In hot weather, cracks may appear in the wood. This is natural and should not worry you. It does not affect the durability of the garden furniture nor the strength of the wood. Cracks will close again once cooler and damper weather returns.

In the sun, you might find that sap will appear on the surface and the sun might cause it to harden. Dousing it in soapy water and then scrubbing it with a hard brush will bring your furniture back to its former glory. Sticky sap can be scraped off and then an application of white spirit can remove any residue. This will help your garden furniture stay looking better for longer.

To recap:

* Remove any dirt which has accumulated by rubbing with a stiff brush and warm water.

* Allow the furniture to dry completely

* Scrape sap off the table using a knife

* Apply teak oil sparingly using a lint free cloth

* Use teak oil sparingly, applying it with a lint free cloth

* Use a lint free cloth to apply teak oil sparingly

* Wipe off excess oil

* Repeat once or at most twice a season

* Repeat once twice each season

So, if you want your garden furniture to avoid the worst ravages of the weather, then the ideas John Duff of Garden Furniture Scotland has outlined might help.

Article Source: http://www.articles.ask-me-about.com

About the author: John Duff is an expert in buying and selling Garden Furniture. See more of his stuff at Garden Furniture Scotland