The Wood Guide
Wood species99 Wood species →

Our wood species

Wood groups

European hardwoods

Softwoods

Tropical hardwoods

Treated wood

Sheet materials

Construction timber

Other materials

Comparisons

Which wood for what

Understanding wood17 Understanding wood →

Properties and movement

Calculations and sizes

Pests and decay

Identifying, quality and trade

Wood in our world

Care & finishing27 Care & finishing →

Treating and finishing

By wood species

By furniture and place

Problems and repair

Seasons

Choosing & buying16 Choosing & buying →

Picnic tables

Beer tables

Garden benches

Garden furniture

Garden and atmosphere

Indoors

Build it yourself51 Build it yourself →

In the garden

In and around the house

Making furniture

Techniques

Tools and glue

Getting started

Trees & forests31 Trees & forests →

Tree portraits

Forests

From forest to plank

To the Wood Guide home page →

Caring for wooden garden furniture: the complete guide

The Wood Guide · Care & finishing

Care · the complete guide

Caring for wooden garden furniture

Less work than you think: a few jobs a year, and above all knowing what not to do. By wood species, by season and by problem.

  • Three fixed moments a year
  • Greying is not damage
  • From spruce to teak
grey or oiled: both are fine
Summary

Maintenance is about how the furniture looks, not whether it survives

None of the wood species we sell has to be treated to stay outdoors. That changes the whole question.

The biggest misconception about wooden garden furniture is that turning grey is damage. It is the opposite: it is how wood protects itself outdoors. UV light breaks down the top fibres, rain washes away the colour, and what remains is a silver-grey layer a few tenths of a millimetre thick. The wood underneath is just as strong as on the day it was delivered.

So you have a real choice. Letting it weather grey costs you two cleans a year. Keeping the warm colour costs you one or two oilings on top of that. Both are fine; it is taste, not necessity.

The most important maintenance is not oiling

It is retightening bolts and screws. Wood expands and shrinks with every season, and joints slowly work loose as a result. Five minutes with a spanner, a month after delivery and then every spring, prevents most of the problems we hear about.

Cleaning
1–2× a year · lukewarm water, soft brush, soft soap
Retightening
after 1 month, then every spring
Oiling
only for the colour · 1–2× a year
Winter
can stay outside · cushions and lacquered wood inside
Cover
breathable only, never over wet furniture
Never
pressure washer · bleach · heated room

To be fair: maintenance-free does not exist. Teak also gets green algae when it stands under trees, and hardwood also gets hairline cracks. But what wood needs to last a long time is little and simple.

What do you have?

Care by wood species

The species doesn't determine whether you need to do anything, but it does determine how the colour changes and what oil achieves.

Leave outdoors Required maintenance Colour change without oil Oiling for colour
Pressure-treated spruce Yes, all year round None · cleaning greenish → honey → grey Possible, after a few weeks of drying
Douglas fir Yes, all year round None · cleaning reddish brown → grey Possible
Teak Yes, all year round None · cleaning golden brown → silver grey 1–2× a year
Hardwood and acacia Yes, all year round None · cleaning brown → grey Recommended; mahogany an extra coat once in use
Lacquered beer tables No, store after use Wipe down, store dry stays as it is Not needed

Pressure-treated spruce

The preservative has been forced deep into the fibre under pressure, not just on the outside. So sanding or adding colour does not remove that protection. Do wait, though: freshly treated wood does not take up oil in the first weeks. How pressure treatment works.

Softwood

Spruce, pine and Douglas fir are soft at the surface. That is why a pressure washer does the most harm here. Caring for softwood.

Teak and hardwood

Naturally oily and dense. Doing nothing is a perfectly valid choice. If you want to keep the colour, sand lightly and oil with a lint-free cloth. Hardwood in top condition.

Resin spots on softwood

Spruce, pine and Douglas fir can release resin in their first warm summer. Let the spot harden, scrape it off flat and remove the rest with white spirit. After that the resin pocket is usually empty.

The rhythm

What to do, season by season

  1. Spring — clean and retightenLukewarm water, a soft brush and a little soft soap if needed, in the direction of the grain. Rinse well and let it dry. Then retighten all bolts and screws. If you want to oil, this is the moment: on dry wood, not in full sun.
  2. Summer — one checkWood that dries in the sun shrinks, and then joints work loose. A table that starts to wobble doesn't need a new part, just a spanner.
  3. Autumn — cushions in, cover onCushions are rarely waterproof and go mouldy. A breathable cover against leaf stains and green algae is fine, but never put it over wet furniture.
  4. Winter — leave it beFrost does wood no harm: frozen wood does not burst like water in a pipe. Fold up lacquered beer tables and store them dry. Put legs that stand in a puddle for weeks on a tile.
After delivery: let it acclimatise first

New furniture comes from a dry warehouse into a wet garden. Leave it outdoors for a few days to a few weeks before you sand or oil — freshly treated wood is still damp and does not yet take up oil. A month after delivery, retighten all joints for the first time.

Keeping the colour

How to oil garden furniture

Oil soaks into the wood instead of forming a layer on it. That is why it doesn't flake, and touching up later is simply a matter of applying it again.

  1. Dry weather, above 10 degreesNot in full sun: the oil then soaks in too quickly and you get blotches.
  2. Clean and let it dryOil on dirty wood seals the dirt in. Let the furniture dry for a day after cleaning.
  3. Sand lightlyFine grit, in the direction of the grain, until the top feels smooth. This is where you sand away a greyed layer.
  4. Apply thinly with a lint-free clothA cloth leaves fewer streaks than a brush and you waste less oil. Two thin coats look better than one thick one.
  5. Don't forget the end grainThe ends of boards and legs absorb the most moisture. That is where an extra coat pays off most.
  6. Wipe off after a quarter of an hourWipe away whatever has not soaked in. Otherwise a sticky layer is left behind.
Why not gloss paint

A closed lacquer traps moisture inside the wood. After a few seasons it starts to flake and you end up sanding. If you want a colour, choose tinted wood oil: it cannot flake. Stain or wood oil? explains the difference, and Restol wood oil comes in eleven colours.

The mistakes we see most often

What not to do

No pressure washer

It washes away the soft fibres between the growth rings. The surface becomes rough and furry and then holds on to dirt all the more quickly. On Douglas fir and pine that damage is permanent.

No bleach or ammonia

They attack the wood fibre and can make the fixings rust. And never mix them: together they give off toxic fumes.

No tight plastic tarpaulin

Condensation stays trapped underneath, and then you get exactly the mould you wanted to avoid. A cover must breathe or be open at the bottom.

Not into a heated room

The most common mistake. Furniture that goes from a wet garden into a dry, heated garage or conservatory dries out too quickly — and that is when you get real cracks. An unheated garden shed is fine.

Normal or not

Cracks, stains and colour differences

Wood absorbs moisture and releases it again, expanding and shrinking as it does. Most of what worries people comes from that.

This is part of wood

Fine cracks along the length of a board, however long. Cracks at the end grain of a beam or leg. Small cracks that open and close with the season. Gaps between boards that get bigger and smaller. Colour differences between boards, which fade within one or two seasons. The greenish tinge on new pressure-treated spruce.

Here we're happy to take a look

A crack that runs right across the board, from edge to edge. A crack you can put a finger in. A leg or load-bearing beam that sags. Wood that feels soft or spongy. In that case, send us a photo with a hand or folding rule in it for scale, via contact.

Filling cracks

You don't need to fill a drying crack. If you still want to, do it in the wet period, when the crack is at its smallest. Filling cracks in wood.

Water damage

Dark rings and raised fibres on wood that stayed wet for a long time. Repairing water damage.

Scratches and dents

You can often lift a dent in softwood with a damp cloth and an iron. Repairing scratches and dents.

Why wood moves

Why a board swells across its width but hardly along its length, you can read in how wood moves and when does wood expand.

The Care & finishing section

All care guides

From treating and finishing to repairing: every guide in this section, by topic.

Quick answer

Frequently asked questions about maintenance

Do you need to treat wooden garden furniture every year?

No. Pressure-treated spruce, Douglas fir, teak and hardwood hold up well outdoors without treatment. Cleaning every year and retightening the bolts is enough. You only use oil if you want to keep the warm colour instead of the silver grey.

Is wood that has turned grey damaged?

No. Greying is a surface layer a few tenths of a millimetre thick. The wood underneath is just as strong and lasts just as long. If you want the colour back, sand that layer away and then oil.

Can I use a pressure washer?

Better not. The jet washes away the soft fibres between the growth rings, so the surface becomes rough and furry and holds on to dirt more quickly. On Douglas fir and pine that damage is permanent. Lukewarm water, a soft brush and soft soap work better.

Can wooden garden furniture stay outside over winter?

Yes, frost does wood no harm. Do bring cushions and lacquered beer tables inside. A cover is fine, as long as it breathes and you don't put it over wet furniture. Never put the furniture in a heated room: it dries out too quickly there and cracks.

Are small cracks in the wood normal?

Fine cracks along the length of a board or at the end grain of a beam are part of wood and do not weaken the furniture. A crack right across the board, from edge to edge, or wood that feels soft, is a reason to get in touch.

More in The Wood Guide

From knowledge to garden

A good oil, a breathable cover, and furniture that can take it.

Restol wood oil Covers for picnic tables To The Wood Guide

Not sure whether something is normal? Send us a photo — we'll take a look.