Patio table restoration

This fine eucalyptus patio table set, weathered and worn and sold for a song, is an excellent illustration of how much value can remain in outdoor wooden furniture (and decks) when it's constructed with intrinsically rot-resistant wood, and given proper care. As you can see in the gallery sequence, the pieces came in dirty and grey. Each piece was carefully restored using a sequential process of pressure washing, sanding, and then staining with a traditional, breathable finish: traditional dark pine tar mixed 50/50 with purified linseed oil. I chose this finish because it's a natural, petrochemical-free recipe that was used on viking ships and ancient Scandinavian churches that still stand today. It's naturally water repellent, and provides fantastic UV protection while remaining breathable. Instead of forming a plastic-like film on the surface of the wood, it penetrates deep into the wood fibers themselves. Side benefit: it smells like a lovely campfire for a couple weeks afterwards! Polyurethane can't compare. I strangely love restoring high quality outdoor furniture and decks. It's like getting to watch a 16-hour-long sunrise: gray sleepiness slowly displaced, inch by inch, by a warmth returning to a surface. It's dawn breaking across a wooden horizon. And refinishers get the satisfaction of bringing that dawn.

It reminds me of picking up a neglected instrument and making a song ring out of it. Or the story of The Velveteen Rabbit. It all has a similar shape. It's the magic that happens when a world of forgotten objects are transformed -- through human investment and care -- into a world of beloved subjects. It's helping the world come into fuller bloom. It's a relieving role to get to play, and I'm grateful for each chance I get.