How To Rehydrate Wood Furniture – The Ultimate Guide

How to rehydrate wood furniture to give a perfect look? Many homeowners prefer having wood furniture at home because of their classy and elegant look.

But maintaining their sophisticated appearance may be one of the most challenging tasks you will ever experience.

Fortunately, we have pieced up this ultimate wood furniture restoration guide to help you out!

Here, we will discuss why you should invest in a regular restoration routine, as well as some easy and handy tips to keep your household items looking good.

How to Restore Faded Wood Furniture: Why You Should Do It?

Any piece of furniture at home may deteriorate over time. Leather couches, marble kitchen tops, and even metal sinks are vulnerable to these changes as they age.

But compared to these things, wood furniture tends to have the worst deterioration effect.

Its rustic and classy aesthetic is sensitive to a lot of external factors. So, when the natural oils present in wood leave its pores, it will have a higher tendency to warp or dry out.

Poor ventilation, as well as accidental spillages and splashes of water, may also contribute to your furniture’s wear.

Accumulation of dirt, grease, and grime is also among the typical reasons why your household items’ appearances fade over time.

How To Rehydrate Wood Furniture

Despite its vulnerability to dirt, water, and poor ventilation, you can still rehydrate your furniture and get its fabulous look back.

But working with wood is more complicated than it seems. It involves a series of steps to ensure the quality and condition of your furniture.

How To Restore Faded Wood Furniture – Steps

Before we dive into some handy tips to maintain your wood furnishing’s rustic vibe, you need to go through five essential steps to properly restore its faded appearance.

Here is how you can do these:

Step 1: Air-Dry

Since wood dries out quickly when it is wet, the very first step you need to do is to allow it to air-dry.

For this method, all you need to do is wipe off spillages and splashes on the surface before it soaks into its pores.

Step 2: Use Sandpaper

When restoring your wood furniture to its original rustic look, the next step is to sand its surface using a piece of fine-grit sandpaper.

Doing this technique allows you to smoothen and fix all its imperfections, such as water rings and marks.

Materials Needed:

• Fine-grit sandpaper
• Protective clothing
• Lemon oil

How to Do It:

1. Wear proper protective clothing before you proceed to the next steps. Ensure that you have a mask and safety glasses.
2. Fold the sandpaper.
3. Apply a few drops of lemon oil to the sandpaper.
4. Sand your furniture back and forth.
5. Vacuum the dust and wipe the surface clean using a dampened towel.
6. Repeat Steps 1 to 5 until the surface is smooth and blemish-free.

Even though you are using a piece of fine-grit sandpaper, there is still a possibility that you might destroy your wood furnishing’s original finish.

Thus, we highly suggest applying lemon oil while rubbing the sandpaper back and forth on your furniture.

Remember that taking this measure removes all the dead layers and dust and rejuvenates the surface.

Step 3: Apply Furniture Oil

Once you have smoothened and removed the damages and marks on your furniture, the next step you need to do is to apply furniture oil.

Although there are tons of options to choose from in the market, we highly suggest using boiled linseed oil or tung oil.

Not only will this give a natural touch to your wood furnishing, but it will also smoothen out its surface.

Materials Needed:

• Furniture oil
• Gloves
• Two pieces of soft cloth

How to Do It:

1. Wear your gloves properly, and then apply the furniture oil on the surface of your furniture.
2. Rub the oil back and forth and along the grains to ensure that the whole area has oil on it.
3. Allow the oil to dry completely for at least 20 minutes.
4. Rub the surface back and forth again, and then remove the excess oil using another soft cloth.
5. Allow the surface to air-dry for around three days.
6. Afterward, vacuum any accumulated dust and then apply the third coat of oil on the wood’s surface.
7. Rub the area back and forth again and wait until the oil dries out for another 20 minutes.
8. Wipe any excess oil and then place the used pieces of cloth into a container filled with water.

Remember to follow all the prescribed waiting time to ensure that the oil soaks into the wood’s pores.

We also highly recommend placing the used rags into a container filled with water to prevent them from catching fire.

Step 4: Apply Sealant

Applying a sealant to your furnishing’s surface is a typical and excellent way to bring back its natural glow.

But aside from this, it also has protective properties from water splashes and spillages to some degree.

Materials Needed:

• Sealant
• Gloves
• Brush

How To Restore Weathered Wood Using Sealant?

For this we will need to choose the perfect sealants. But since there are tons of sealants available in the market, we first need to choose between oil- and water-based adhesives.

Below is a brief guide about the differences between the two types:

Water-Based Sealants

Water-based sealants have a mild odor and low toxicity. They also dry very quickly and preserve your furniture’s natural look over time. However, they only offer decent protection compared to oil-based sealants.

Oil-Based Sealants

On the other hand, oil-based sealants are more affordable than water-based adhesives. They also offer more protection and durability but emit a more pungent odor and have a more prolonged drying and curing period.

How to Do It:

1. Before you proceed to the other steps, make sure to have enough ventilation in your room.
2. Vacuum any dust on the surface of your furniture.
3. Pour the sealant into a container, and then dip a brush into it. Make sure not to go that deep.
4. Rub the brush gently onto the surface until you have sealed every area.
5. Allow your furniture to air-dry, depending on the type of sealant that you used. This process can take around 6 hours for water-based adhesives until 48 hours for oil-based sealants.

Having enough ventilation in your room while doing this step is vital because both water- and oil-based sealants are toxic.

If you do not keep your windows open, you may experience headaches during or after the entire procedure.

We also highly suggest placing a piece of paper or unused cloth under your furniture while applying the sealant to protect your floor.

Step 5: Apply Paste Wax

The last step when restoring your wood furniture to its original look is applying paste wax.

This technique rejuvenates dull-looking things and allows antique pieces of furnishing to maintain their natural tone.

Materials Needed:

• Paste wax
• Gloves
• Two pieces of soft cloth

How to Do It:

1. Wear your gloves properly, and then apply the paste wax on the surface of your furniture.
2. Move the soft cloth in a circular motion around the area.
3. Allow the oil to dry completely for at least 5 minutes.
4. Wipe the surface clean to remove the excess wax using another soft cloth.

Make sure to apply the paste wax in a circular motion for it to soak into the wood. Otherwise, you will have a challenging time getting that protective seal on the surface.

How To Restore Weathered Wood With These Handy Tips

Aside from restoring your wood furniture to its rustic and classy look, there are several techniques you can try out to prevent it from wearing out quickly.

Let us take a look at these useful tips below:

Tip 1: Give It A Soft Glow

The best way to give your wood furniture a soft glow is by applying natural ingredients. For this handy tip, we highly suggest using coconut oil because of its affordability and unique properties.

Tip 2: Make It Look Darker

Next on our list is using vinegar to make your wood furniture a darker yet more natural tone. We know there are tons of vinegar available in the market, but using apple cider or balsamic will do the trick.

Tip 3: Repair Damages

You can also use a mixture of ¾ cups of canola oil and ¼ cup of apple cider or white vinegar to repair damages on the surface. You can also use wood fillers for more severe scratches.

How to Hydrate Wood Furniture: Wrapping It Up!

Rehydrating your wood furniture and giving it its original look back may seem complicated at first.

It requires several steps and materials, but once you get the hang of it, you can preserve its life longer and have it complement your room’s aesthetic.

Read Next: Learn how to Clean Grime from Wood Furniture in Easy steps.