How do I restore v weathered wooden garden furniture?

[MrsJamin]

Bought a garden bench and table 3 years ago and they have weathered badly, splitting the wood in places and they are a very dull grey colour - is it worth buying stuff to revive them or are they a lost cause?

I'll tag on to this if thats OK, we have a similar situation and I was just going to paint it with something, but not sure what

i just repainted my weathered garden set with a fence stain carer the set looks like new now i choose a dark brown to help with coverage.

Painted mine with this in blue and it looks brill!

The wood needs oiling you can get teak oil from your diy store. If its dirty too, then blast the dirt off with a pressure washer. Allow to dry, then paint on the teak oil, give it a day or so to dry before sitting on it, else it may stain. If the wood is very dry you may need 2 coats. Hth.

Shoshe and Fairydust - did you have to sand down / prepare the wood in any way before you painted, or just slap it on ?? I have the same problem as the OP and am looking for the easiest solution for someone who is impatient and totally crap at all things DIY !!

i just slapped it on

I slapped woodstain on mine then regretted it - it's jsut not very natural looking. It is a quick fix solution, but the paint comes of every time I wipe downt he table after eating and it really doesnt look the same as it did when we bought it. I'm planning to buy a cheapy electric sander from argos (can get them for about £10) and rub it down this year then oil it properly. Then it shouldn't need staining.

I have cheap wooden patio furniture (can't afford to replace it this year!), and I bought some teak oil spray from Homebase. They don't look like they're suddenly brand new, but it does make them look a lot better.

And being spray, it's really easy to apply.

great thread - our furniture looks horrible!

Sand down the worst bits then apply linseed oil or teak oil. Did mine yesterday and they look as good as new (only 2 years old but looked very weathered).

Mine were like this last year so I used a seriously thick exterior wood stain which basically provided a waterproof coat. They suvived last year but finally crumbled last month - I've neglected them so too long!

Check that the wood is strong first - a bit of wobbling doesn't matter but you need to be able to put your auntie some weight on it without it collapsing. Then stain or oil it and give it a go for another year!

i did mine in woodstain from wilko £4.99 a tin. did 3 benches, large tables and a load of containers, and still had some left.
great stuff, did exactly what it said on the tin

I sanded my teak table and chairs with an electric sander and then reoiled them.

Right I bought my Teak Oil Spray - going to sand it then is it really as easy as just spraying it on? Surely I have to rub it in or something?

I didn't even sand mine down. Just spray it on and it all soaks into the wood.

I see noone has mentioned repairing the crack that the OP mentioned, which is actually the most important part of this.

If the crack is fairly large, you can create a wedge of wood, to a slightly larger size, then sand it down to fit perfectly.

Then fill the crack with a small layer of glue and place the wedge into it.

Once dry, sand it down to make smooth.