6 Steps to Restore Wooden Furniture
Read on to find out how to restore old wooden furniture in six simple steps.
reading time: 4 mins
Whether you’re moving into a new home or want to give your existing space a refresh, you might be wondering how to restore wood furniture. Rustic styles are very much on-trend, and working out how to restore wooden furniture can help you keep your stylish pieces in top condition so that you can enjoy them for years to come.
- Preparation:
When it comes to restoring furniture, the very first step is preparation. This involves removing any dirt or debris from the surface of the furniture. You will need to prepare a work area with plenty of good lighting to ensure that you can work efficiently and avoid any dirt or debris getting in the way of the process.
- Repairing Structural Damage: The next step is to identify any structural problems. Inspect the piece of furniture for signs of structural damage, such as cracks, warping, splitting wood or any other obvious problems. If it is a simple split, then you can simply use wood glue to fix the issue. Clamp the piece until the glue dries. You can also use our WoodFiller Quick for any smaller scratches or dents that you want to hide. You can find this in various colours to match your wooden pieces.
- Sanding: After this, you should move on to tidying up the surface of the wood. Sanding is the first thing you should do to make sure that all of the surfaces are smooth and neat. If there is any overspill from glue or varnish, sanding should get rid of these blemishes.When using our products, we recommend sanding up to a 120-150 grit.
- Use WoodPrep: Once you have sanded away the worst blemishes, you can move on to using one of our preparatory products. These include Cleaner, WoodPrep and Tannin Primer. These can be used on any type of wood to get rid of any residue from sanding. Each product has a different benefit to your wood preparation. Cleaner gets rid of the sanding dust, WoodPrep removes any irregularities left over from sanding and minimises errors or scratches, while also ridding the surface of dust and Tannin Primer helps to prevent tannin (dark rings) from coming through the wood. Choose which one suits your wood’s needs the most.
- Oil the Furniture: After letting your preparation product dry, the next step is to preserve the finish you have achieved. This can be done through oiling. Oil can help by creating a long-lasting surface layer which is scratch free and gives your furniture a great looking finish. At Rubio Monocoat, our Oil Plus 2C colours and protects your wood in a single layer and in a number of different colours - perfect for any type of wood. Unlike other wood oils - Oil Plus 2C uses our molecular bonding technology to bind with the wood in just ONE LAYER. This minimises the time you need to spend on finishing your furniture, and when properly maintained, can last you a lifetime. To use Oil Plus 2C, first put the oil component ( Part A) in a mixing cup and stir it thoroughly. Then, add the accelerator (Part B) component in a ratio of 3 to 1. Make sure to mix both components well until a uniform consistency is achieved. This mixture can be used for a duration of four to six hours. To treat your furniture, apply a small amount of oil and spread it using a beige scrubby pad. Leave the oil to soak in for three to five minutes, then use a white scrubby pad or white wiping rag to wipe off any excess oil. It's best to work in small sections to ensure you have enough time to work the wood and remove any extra oil within fifteen minutes. Wait for 24 hours for the furniture to dry completely before using it again. Also, make sure not to clean the table with water or soap for at least five days after that to ensure proper curing time.
- Aftercare Tips: Once you have gone through the whole process of restoring and protecting your wooden furniture, the next step is to pay attention to the aftercare of your items. Using Universal Maintenance Oil 2 Mix is the easiest way to ensure you stay on top of keeping your wooden furniture fresh. You should use this product when there are signs of wear and tear, or between every 12-18 months. For every day cleaning, we’d recommend our All Natural Wood Cleaner, which comes in three different scents, and for stain removal, we have our Stain Remover Set, which contains everything you need to get rid of dark rings and water marks.
Be sure to get in touch or explore our blog further to find out more about how to keep your wood looking fresh. Our team is always happy to help, so make sure to call or contact us today!
