How to Fix your Wicker Furniture

Wicker Chair

One sure way of keeping your wicker furniture in good shape is to clean it from time to time. This will keep moisture from developing. If you have wicker furniture that needs some amount of repair, you can easily repair it yourself. Here’s how you do it…

Usually, people use wicker furniture in their patios. This introduces problems such as harsh and continuous daily sunlight, severe rain and extreme changes in temperature which could jointly affect the wicker. This is why you need to exercise great caution when taking in wicker furniture and clean it regularly to prolong its life.

Despite the best care you take, ultimately all wicker furniture needs repairs. By first examining the damage to your furniture, you can decide how to go about repairing it. If it’s just a basic problem of some loose fiber strands giving you a rough edge, all you need to do is to rub sandpaper over it very lightly. Finish with a coat of varnish or lacquer, if you prefer.

However, if the damage to your furniture extends to cracks caused due to overexposure to dryness, moisten your wicker furniture by rubbing linseed oil on it. Cover the entire area of the chair with this oil and make sure that the oil enters the cracks and weave. Leave it for a day or more to make sure that the wicker fully absorbs the oil. You could add a little more oil to see if it will absorb anymore or not. If it doesn’t but runs off down the legs of the furniture, wipe it away and allow the chair to dry completely.

If your wicker furniture’s weave shifts or is matted with age or by using in the sun, it needs to be wetted before reusing. When wet, wicker retains the shape it dries in. You do this by wetting the part of the furniture that is in need of repairs and adjust the weave on the strand at one time. Then, allow it to dry on its own and get its proper and natural shape. Being resilient, your wicker furniture will return to its original form.

If you want to repair the underside of your wicker chair, weave the new strand in and make sure that you follow the pattern from the original wicker chair. Pull he wicker as tightly as possible as you go along. When you finish, trim the new strand so it fits well and make sure that the ends of the new one abut the old one. Next, apply glue between the ends and clamp the ends with a spring clamp to give it an extra strong hold even as the glue dries.

If you want to replace a strand or part of your furniture, make sure that you already have a sample weave of the final weave as a guide. You can follow this to get the right pattern of weave. However, if one section of your furniture calls for a lot of effort, you might consider it better to hand it over to your local furniture shop.

Photo Credits: René Ehrhardt

Originally posted 2010-04-21 03:03:20.

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Furniture, Handyman, How to Fix

Posted by Fix Handyman on January 29, 2012 in Furniture, Handyman, How to Fix. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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