Hardwood garden furniture - cleaning

[Simon Gardner]

What's the best way to clean hardwood garden furniture (chairs, benches, tables) that has been left out for some years and is somewhat manky?

My inclination is to take a sander over it - lightly. Any views?

[Jerry Built]

What exactly do you mean by "manky" ? Weathered? Rotted? Is the timber varnished, oiled, or what?

J.B.

[Christian McArdle]

Personally, belt sander and whatever treatment you prefer. You've just reminded me that I've got to do my picnic table and waste bin before it rains again.

Christian.

[PJ]

Use decking cleaner. B&Q do some very good beachy based stuff. Rings thoroughly and then re-treat. I used a good quality varnish. Forget teak oils etc cos they're not up to it and need constant retreatment.

[Simon Gardner]

Weathered - very with some bird droppings and the odd lichen. But mainly very weathered and dirty.

None of the above AFAIK

[Christian McArdle]

You still need to sand quite aggressively. You want to remove the very top layer of weathered wood if you expect the new coating to work for any period of time.

Christian.

[Simon Gardner]

I understood the first bit - but what coating?

[Christian McArdle]

That would be your personal choice. There are a whole range of solvent, water and oil based products that provide different finishes, weather resistance and lifetimes.

You won't find much that will last more than 5 years, and that would require a proper acrylic or solvent based gloss paint or varnish/woodstain.

Christian.

[Jim White]

You may find it easier and quicker to do the sanding if you clean the furniture first with a high pressure washer. All the muck it collects over a couple of years tends to clag up s'paper pretty quickly. We clean ours every year with the pressure washer and find a coating of almost anything works about once every 3 to 6 years.

[Christian McArdle]

I agree entirely. I managed to get the vast majority of the old varnish off with the pressure washer.

Christian.

[Simon Gardner]

Nope. Still not getting it. AFAIK these were not treated with varnish or indeed anything else. At least, it's the first I've heard of it.

[Jerry Built]

What sort of finish are you aiming at?

[Simon Gardner]

I'm not. AFAIK it came with no "finish". If there was one, it was invisible. I want to get it back to something like it was and get the crud off. I rather (in my innocence) thought foreign hardwood garden furniture didn't have a finish. Though I guess there might have been an oil applied?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Pressure wash. Only as hard as needs be. Then sand if its roughed up teh grain.

[Jerry Built]

Um, perhaps it would have been clearer had I said "What do you want the timber to look like after cleaning?", e.g. do you just want to clean off the crap and growth, get it back to new-looking timber, or what?

It very likely did not have anything on it, although there are various treatments that don't show that could have been put on.

J.B.

[Jim White]

I don't think you want to get hung up on what the furniture was originally treated with. No matter what it was, after about 3 to 5 years it will come off. Wash all the muck (old treatments, coatings, moss, bird poo etc. off with a pressure washer. (or hosepipe and wire brush.) The surface will probably need sanding to prepare for the next treatment, which can be anything you like. See your local paint supplier and use his favourite. It will prolly last as long as anything else.

Jim

[Graeme]

It was probably finished in Teak oil. You can get this at most of the big 'sheds' I recently got some at B&Q. There will be different brands and some of the well known ones were about £12 - £15 per litre, there were also some that came as an aerosol. I ended up with the B&Q standard no frills teak oil and it was about £2.50 for a litre.

If the woodwork is weathered it may have turned a grey colour but the oil should bring the natural colour back. Clean the woodwork as others have said but don't go to mad, soapy water and a scrubbing brush may be all you need , you only need to get the crud off. Let the wood dry out and then apply the oil with an old rag or brush and let it soak in, you will need a few coats and let it soak in.

If all else fails hide the furniture with a tablecloth and cushions :-)

[RichardS]

Any ideas as to which hardwood it is?

Teak and Iroko will last pretty well with minimum maintenance but would normally weather to a kind of bleached "silvery" finish rather than "manky". Can normally be restored to something close to original finish with vigourous sanding and an oil finish, I think.

Other hardwoods may well need rather more protective finishes.

Danish oils and other drying oils should offer reasonable protection but need annual refinishing for best effect.

Perhaps a wiped on poly finish would last rather longer, or perhaps one of the sadolin type finishes...

-- Richard Sampson

email me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

[Simon Gardner]

That would be "nothing", then - apart possibly from oil.

[Christian McArdle]

If that is your preference. Obviously, if you do use some form of treatment, it will last much longer before needing to be redone/scrapped.

Christian.