How to Restore Your Outdoor Wooden Furniture (Before the Good Weather Gets Here!)

Is your wooden outdoor furniture starting to show signs of disrepair? Do your beloved, formerly bright and beautiful furniture pieces need a little tender loving care? Just like all your indoor wooden pieces, all your outdoor wooden chairs, tables and benches can go from weathered to wonderful again with a little know-how.

Here's how.

First, get your tools together. You'll need:

•A garden hose.
•Sandpaper (the 100 grit type).
•A pump spray bottle.
•Safety goggles.
•A pair of rubber gloves.
•Short-handled scrub brush and long-handled scrub brush with smaller head.
•Deck cleaner and brightener.
•A paint brush.
•Exterior gel stain with applicator.

Here's what you will need to do:

1) Move the piece you're repairing so it's close to your garden hose.

2) Thoroughly spray down your wooden furniture, removing all grime and surface oils.

3) Be sure to wet down the area immediately below your furniture, too. This will dilute any run off.

4) Let your furniture air dry. Now your furniture is ready for the deck cleaner and brightener solution. Applying it when your furniture is dry will allow the solution to adhere evenly and will not dry out too quickly.

5) Put your goggles on to protect your eyes and your gloves on to protect your hands. Pour the deck cleaner and brightener into a spray pump. To avoid streaks, start applying the cleaner at the bottom of the furniture.

6) Let the formula sit a minute or two. Using the short-handled brush, lightly scrub the wooden surface from top to bottom to loosen the weather-damaged wood pieces and stubborn dirt.

7) With the smaller brush, clean hard-to-reach places just as thoroughly, but remember to use light strokes. Wet wood splinters easily.

8) Rinse the remaining solution with the garden hose. You'll see that the wood is now clean and shiny and that the panels almost look new! Allow the furniture to dry.