Fixing Outdoor Rattan Furniture
Well we’re in full on spring mode over here and loving every bit of it! The weather has been co-operating so we’ve managed to tackle a lot of things in our yard, namely our deck, which I can’t wait to show you! We’ve painted it, repainted old furniture and basically just fixed a lot of stuff that needed fixing! Including our deck furniture.
I love our deck furniture. It’s made of weaved plastic rattan that has stood up against the elements for quite a few years. But we haven’t been diligent in covering it during our brutal winters, so time has taken a bit of a toll on the chairs. The weaving has cracked and come undone on some of them, so they desperately needed some TLC. I’m not ready to let them go just yet, so I decided to fix them myself.
In the back of my mind, because I’m weird like that, I remember my Dad using contact cement to fix things. I don’t know why I remember that, but I do. So I went over to our local Home Depot, and asked if contact cement would be the right material to fix my plastic rattan chairs. And apparently it is.
So I bought a bottle (it’s super cheap $8 a bottle) and set off for home, very excited to fix my chairs! Because you can’t go through all the trouble of making your deck look amazing, then have terrible looking furniture!
Here’s How To:
- First I cleaned the furniture, then waited for it to dry completely.
- Then I re-weaved the strands of plastic that had come undone.
- Then I followed the directions on the bottle of contact cement, just glueing down the ends and pieces that were sticking out. PLEASE read the directions on the bottle of contact cement. You MUST follow them to ensure the glue cures.
- That’s it. Super simple.
Here’s how the tops of some of my chairs looked before, then after I applied the contact cement:
Fan-tab-u-lous! My chairs look brand new. This makes me very very very very happy. (I’m easily pleased.) But really, this is amazing to me! And it took less than an hour to do. Really.
So this weekend if you are looking for something to do, go fix your chairs. And you’ll find me sipping bevvies on our new deck. Ahhhhh.
Have an inspired day!
Looks great! Awesome solution. You deserve that bevvie lady!
Hahaha! Thanks Elaine! You bet I’ll be enjoying that bevvie today! 😉
Awesome idea!! We have some plastic rattan chairs too. I’ll have to remember this when the seats start coming undone.
Can’t wait to see your deck! I was happy to get our sunroom cleaned out and rearranged last weekend. It looks soo much bigger, and better than ever.
Have a great weekend enjoying the heat! =)
~ Catie
Thanks Catie! I didn’t want to get rid of them because I love this patio set so much! Woot!
Don’t you just love this time of year?!
Enjoy this hot weekend!
They do look awesome! Great fix!
Thanks!
What ws the dry time? Did you have to hold the pieces down unitl they dried? Our furniture has done the same thing. I have “fixed” it with matching color duct tape (actually doesn’t look too bad) but this sounds way better.
Hi Kathleen!
I let my furniture dry overnight just because our air temperature was a bit cool. But if they’re sitting out in the heat and sun for at least an hour I’m sure they would be dry. Once the contact cement has sat for the allotted time that is indicated on the bottle, when it’s time to push the pieces together they instantly stick. I just held it down hard for less than a minute. This stuff sticks fast and hard! Good luck!
This is fantastic! I’ve always avoided purchasing rattan because I knew it would end up unwoven (and drive me insane) but I had no idea it was maintainable. You’ve opened up a whole new decor world for me!
Yay! Love to hear that! Rattan is so great because it really does stand the test of time if it’s cared for properly!
What an awesome transformation. I had no idea that the plastic rattan could be repaired. You did a great job.
Oh! I wish I knew this trick a couple Summers ago! And… love the cushion, I’ve been eyeing that pattern from my local SS. Looks great, and great tip!
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Looks awsome. i have some chairs that need to be fixed too but i cant find where to buy the plastic rattan! Do you know if theres an online website that you would like to recomend? thanks
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