Angela Slater

26 February 2015

Daughter of a farmer and market gardener so have always had a connection with the outdoors, whether it was keeping animals or producing fruit, vegetables and cut flowers. Along with my work at Hayes Garden World I also have a smallholding, mainly breeding rare breed pigs. I gained an HND and BSc in Conservation and Environmental Land Management, as a result I am an ardent environmentalist and have a keen interest in environmentally friendly gardening. In my time at Hayes I worked for several years in the Outdoor Plant and Houseplant areas

How To Weatherproof Natural Rattan And Cane Conservatory Furniture

Apply yacht varnish to help damp-proof your natural rattan furniture

Desser Cotswold conservatory suite (pictured above)

Natural rattan and cane conservatory furniture can be weatherproofed to a limited degree. Clean the furniture first by scrubbing in the crevices with a soft brush then using the brush attachment on your vacuum to clean out all the dust.

Lightly sand down with a fine grain sandpaper, this gives a better surface to which the varnish can adhere.
Give it 3 coats of a clear yacht varnish.
Allow to dry thoroughly before use.

You may have to give the furniture a fresh coat of varnish every couple of years.

It is still recommended that you bring the furniture indoors at night and if there is heavy rain forecast as the yacht varnish will only shrug off light showers. If you want to use garden furniture on a regular basis it would be more advisable to invest in a good quality set of low maintenance, all-weather synthetic rattan furniture.

For more information on keeping garden and conservatory furniture in pristine condition for longer just click on the links below:

Can I keep my natural rattan and cane conservatory furniture out in winter?

Can I get replacement cushions for my synthetic rattan garden furniture?

Can I leave out the cushions on my synthetic rattan garden furniture when it rains?

How to paint natural rattan or cane conservatory furniture

Do I need to cover synthetic garden furniture in winter?

Do I need to cover natural rattan or cane conservatory furniture in winter?

How to cover synthetic rattan garden furniture

How to protect the feet on natural rattan and cane conservatory furniture

How to protect the feet on synthetic rattan garden furniture

Do I need to take in the cushions off my synthetic rattan garden furniture in winter?

Does my natural rattan or cane conservatory furniture need protecting with varnish?