Remember when your first brought home your brand new Ikea Applaro outdoor furniture? How great the acacia wood looked on your patio? If you’ve had your furniture for several years like me, that may seem like a distant memory. Well, what if I told you it’s easy to refinish your wooden outdoor furniture and make it look good as new? No, really. It’s easy!
Here’s what you’ll need to give new life to your old wooden patio furniture:
- Power sander with medium/coarse sandpaper (80-120 grit)
- Fine sandpaper (220 grit)
- Ikea Varda outdoor furniture stain and protector
- A clean cotton rag
- Nitrile gloves
Step 1: Sand off the old finish
If your wooden furniture is in pretty good shape, you can usually get away with simply cleaning and re-applying stain. But if you’re reading this blog, chances are that your Ikea patio furniture is beyond the point of no return.
To make this job easier, use an orbital sander with some coarse to medium sandpaper (somewhere between 80 and 120 grit). Sand down the entire surface, removing all the visible finish. You need to strip the wood all the way down to it’s natural state, stain free.
Once you’ve gotten all the old finish off, switch to hand sanding with finer sandpaper (220 grit). This will help the new stain penetrate evenly.
Use a painter’s rag to wipe off all the sawdust.
Step 2: Apply Varda stain & protector
Hopefully you’ll be doing this outdoors on a nice sunny day, but make sure to move over to a shaded area before applying the stain. Simply use a clean cloth to saturate the wood with Varda stain & protector. Apply in the same direction as the grain and work one plank at a time to avoid inconsistent or blotchy finish. Wipe off excess stain immediately. The stain goes on quickly and easily. And all you need is one coat!
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Now all that’s left is to wait 24 hours before use. See? Told you it was easy!
If you haven’t already, watch the short YouTube video.
