Your Kwila furniture is ideal for withstanding the rigours of the Australian climate. This timber is more durable than many other timbers used in outdoor furniture and has minimal shrinkage, resistance to splitting and withstands harsh salt water environments. To keep your Kwila furniture looking its best, here are a few easy to follow tips.
Oiling your Kwila outdoor furniture
Kwila furniture doesn’t require oiling for durability purposes, but if you want to permanently leave your furniture outdoors, it will weather if it is not oiled, turning a silvery grey colour over time. All of our Kwila furniture has already been oiled prior to packaging and you can continue with regular oiling or allow the timber to naturally weather and age.
Unoiled Kwila furniture, might experience minor splitting over time, but this adds rather than detracts from its beauty. If you decide to oil your furniture regularly to maintain its original colour, then use a light decking oil. An oil with a UV stabiliser and an anti-fungal additive is recommended. Avoid any products that contain bleach or solvents.
It is important to remember that your Kwila furniture will still maintain its integrity if you decide not to oil your furniture. This timber is very tough and durable and this toughness and durability is not influenced by whether or not you oil your furniture.
Bleeding the tannin from Kwila furniture
As Kwila contains a large amount of tannin (resin or sap), when the timber becomes wet it will bleed the tannin onto the surface it is sitting on. If not cleaned up immediately, the tannin can stain porous ground surfaces, so it is advisable to accelerate this process to attempt to remove the surface tannin from the furniture.
All you need to do in order to bleed-out the Kwila timber is hose the timber down with clean water until the tannin has stopped bleeding out of the wood and then allow to dry. Depending on the amount of tannin in the product, the process may need to be repeated several times. It should be noted that as timber is a natural product, the amount of tannin is not measurable, therefore even by following bleeding instructions, it is still possible to end up with a small amount of residual tannin which could stain a surface. So be as diligent as you can with this process.
Don’t stop hosing until the runoff water is clear and then use an old rag or towel to sop up any standing water on the timber, roughly going all over all of the furniture with the rag. It will take many hours for the timber to completely dry (depending on the weather), however using the rag helps to prevent water spots marking the timber while it dries.
Once your Kwila furniture is totally dry, and if you want to maintain the rich colour of your furniture, at this point it is recommended that you oil the furniture using a light decking oil, as outlined above.
It is important to note that you are not removing all of the tannin from the wood, just the surface tannin. This is important, because it is the tannin and the moisture within the timber that retains the tannin that helps to preserve your furniture, making it resistant to the elements.
Daydream Leisure Furniture offers customers an in-house bleeding service for a small additional charge. Using our service means that you don’t have to spend your valuable time bleeding the surface tannin out of your Kwila furniture, instead you can start enjoying it as soon as it is delivered.
For more information on any of our outdoor furniture and accessories, visit one of our furniture showrooms, call us on 07 5449 9336 (Noosa) 07 5493 4277 (Warana) or complete our online enquiry form.