What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?

By Harry RamosLast update: 2024-03-18

When it comes to outdoor furniture, wood is one of the most favorite choices because it looks natural and luxurious. The only drawback is they’re susceptible to weather conditions. So, what is the best way to protect outdoor wood furniture? All will be revealed in this article.

Avoid Sunlight Exposure

Whenever using outdoor furniture made of natural wood, remember to place them in a shady spot or under your house awning. Always avoid exposing them directly under sunlight.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?

When it is too hot or too cold outside, cover the furniture carefully to save their material against cracking and discoloration.

Clean The Outdoor Wood Furniture Properly

While outdoor wood furniture is advised to clean once every three to six months of use to renew as well as protect the material, you should clean them properly.

Wood products can be gently rubbed with water to remove dirt. Or, you can use a fluid mixture of water and a mild cleaning product to clear off stubborn stains.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?Finally, give them another clean to make sure there’s no residue left on the surface. Outdoor wood furniture should be wiped dry after cleaning, then air dry for at least 18 hours. Never expose them under sunlight to dry them faster.

Some extra notes:

  • Avoid using a water sprayer that has too strong a squirt because this might easily fade the paint
  • If you want to use a cloth or brush to clean your wood furniture, always choose ones with a soft texture to avoid leaving scratches on the surface

Check If Your Wood Furniture Is Termite Attacked

Take a close look around the outdoor wood furniture to check if they have any holes, pits, and black spots. These are the common signs of termites.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?

Once detecting even a few black spots, you should find the best way to kill them.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?

Our favorite method is using kerosene or insect repellent. Apply the solution to those affected spots. If you don’t have any of these chemicals, fresh, chopped chili is not a bad alternative. Paste them on the surface where you find black spots, pits, or holes.

Another popular method is to use glue to seal the crevices, which kills termites efficiently.

Maintain Outdoor Wood Furniture

No matter how good the wood product is and how carefully you use it, the paint color will fade over time because of the environmental impact.

The best way to renew your outdoor wood furniture as well as prolong its shelf life is to clean and repaint them.

According to many interior experts, wooden products should be repainted periodically 2-3 times a year since this is the time when the product has shown signs of deterioration.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?

How to maintain outdoor wood furniture

You will need:

  • Wood oil
  • A brush with soft bristles
  • Plastic gloves
  • 320-grit sandpaper
  • Cleaning solution
  • Soft towels

How-to:

First thing first, wear protective gloves. The reason why you should go for gloves made of plastic rather than rubber is rubber can’t stand wood oil.

Step 1: Choose a dry and shady spot in your backyard to clean your outdoor wood furniture.

Step 2: Gently brush their surface, then wipe with a damp soft towel to remove dirt from the surface. If your wood furniture has stains, use diluted cleaning liquid to remove them.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?Step 3: Rinse the whole surface with clean water, then wipe dry using another towel and place the furniture in a shady, airy place for 12-18 hours depending on the weather in your living area.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?Step 4: Smoothen the wooden furniture surface using sandpaper. After finished, wipe away wood dust with a dry, clean cloth.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?

Step 5: Use a soft oil-soaked cloth or a soft brush to repaint the wooden products. Apply paint onto their surface evenly and once completed, use a clean cloth to wipe off any residue oil.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?

Extra: If you want to coat your furniture the same old paint color, remember to test it on a piece of wood then make a comparison. If you want to use new paint color, skip this extra step

Step 6: Leave the furniture in an airy, shady place for 24 hours and avoid using or touching them during this time.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?Step 7: Apply a layer of wood oil onto the furniture’s surface for extra protection.

What Is The Best Way To Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture?If you want to apply several oil layers, remember to let the previous dry out completely before applying the next one. It should be no more than three layers.

Conclusion

We believe that these are the best ways to protect outdoor wood furniture to keep it look like-new as always as well as avoid the impact of the environment and maximize their lifetime.

However, the quality of the product depends on the type of wood and the paint used, so if you want to maximize their lifetime, consider choosing high-quality materials and painting products.

I’m Harry Ramos, who's crazy about all things green. I’m here to share some experience in my gardening adventure and how to choose the best products for your garden. Let's dig in, get our hands dirty, and celebrate the simple, earthy pleasures of the garden together!


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