Converting Indoor Pieces to Outdoor Furniture
Restoring old wood indoor pieces and converting it to outdoor furniture is one practical way of disposing and at the same time gaining value from your investments. Its economical, eco-friendly. It also gives you the chance to keep sentimental pieces. However, this process is not an easy task. It entails lot of cleaning, rebuilding, and repainting. You must also have the necessary tools in doing the job like wire brushes, stopping knife, synthetic-bristle brush, gooseneck scraper and many more. Different kinds of materials and furniture require different kinds of restoration so you must also study them.
Some people leave the task of restoration to experts but a guidebook on how-to can actually help you a lot to make things possible. First, you must choose a well-ventilated area for the restoration. It must also be scheduled on a fair weather. This will give you the convenience of much organized place to work on and letting the furniture dry within half a day up to 24 hours. You must also wear necessary protection like hand gloves.
Identifying wood can be difficult task. Some wood looks identical and even experienced craftsman can make mistakes. There are 70,000 varieties of known species of tree but generally, lumber trade classifies them into two: softwood and hardwood. For a more thorough guide on identifying woods you can refer to the book Restoration Recipes: Techniques for Repairing by James Bain Smith. If you had inquired the type of wood when it was purchased, you wont need to bother on this.
Stripping solutions are harsh chemical solutions so make sure there are no kids in the work area. There are two types of stripping solutions: the liquid-no-wash stripper and the water-wash stripper. If stripping causes the wood uneven color, you can try bleaching it. After the old color has been washed out, you can start the painting process. There are different kinds of paint and each offers different results. Enamel paint gives satin, flat and glossy finishes. Oil-based paint gives wear-resistant finish.
Another important thing to consider before you start the restoration process is to identify its finish. For a thorough identification, you can test a small part, preferably on a hidden area of the furniture. Large hardware stores sell furniture finishing but few carry more than the basics. Sherwin-Williams chain of store has wider varieties of lacquers and other finishes. If you cant still find what you needed, you can rely on mail-order suppliers.
There are number of benefits outdoor furniture can get from finishing. It protects from dirt and grimes, it stabilizes the wood and also regains fine color, texture and sheen. All woods have a natural texture depending on the size and distribution of pores. You can preserve its texture by applying a thin finish.
This type of finish has actually gained plenty of approval for many years and it is commonly called the natural good look. If large pores largely appear on your outdoor furniture, you can partially fill it with paste wood filler.