Action was required and quick, so to add to doing up the whole of my house I decided to restore all my garden furniture too, so that by the time summer comes I will at last be able to enjoy my garden and have somewhere to sit and entertain!
The first thing to do was to decide on color - so a trip to Homebase was called for and Cuprinol happened to be on offer at 2 tins for £22.
I have an issue with color - if I lived miles from anyone I would have the brightest, boldest I could possibly find but as I have people close by and some common courtesy still in me (though heaven knows why, for some neighbours) I do keep it down a notch!
Willow came out by far as my favorite - a really warm, herbal green that spoke to me of hazy summer days and warm, fire pit evenings...
So the restoration began. First I used Cuprinol garden furniture restorer to bring up the grain and remove the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the last few years.
On 3 for 2 - All Cuprinol woodcare at Homebase (as of 13/06/2015)The consistency is like that of wallpaper paste and it goes on easily - you apply wait 15 minutes then wash off with warm water. As the wood was in a particularly bad state I used wire wool to scrub and a scourer to really clean it off and bring back the grain.
If you wanted to restore your furniture to the color it was previously this is just perfect. Even though my furniture was almost white from sun bleach - the restorer got the red wood back through and a good wax or oil would have kept the color brilliantly!
After seeing the color of the wood come back I was very nearly tempted to not to paint it!
The Willow prevailed though and after the wood had dried through I started to fill all the bad cracks and chips in the wood. Cuprinol wood filler in light shade 99p for 2 in Poundland! You do need proper wood filler as it gives a flexible fill to compensate for the movement of the wood as it is used.
Leave the filler slightly proud so you can sand to a lovely smooth - in line, finish.
I use a Black and Decker Mouse to sand but if you need extra work for your bingo-wings then a good block and paper will certainly work up a sweat!
Once all the sanding is finished (see part 3 for furniture feet) then painting did commence!
Cuprinol Garden Shades - available in so many colours you would be really hard to please if you couldn't find your perfect shade!
The consistency is lovely - not too thick or thin and there is no odour, well I'm sure it smells slightly like Amaretto (that could be just wishful thinking!) It covers almost perfectly in one coat but I did give my furniture two and the coverage is amazing.
I am absolutely thrilled with it so far so stay tuned for the finished look!
I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is my honest opinion after buying and using the product.
