How to Refinish Outdoor Benches: Easy DIY Furniture Project for a Patio Makeover
This outdoor table and bench set gave us many wonderful years of family time, but after being exposed to the elements for so long, it had finally reached its breaking point. The Ikea table was too damaged to save, but the benches were still in decent shape—just covered in peeling stain. Rather than replace everything, I decided to refinish the outdoor benches and show how easy it can be to restore outdoor wood furniture with just a little time and effort.
If you’ve been thinking about starting a DIY outdoor furniture project or want to learn how to weatherproof outdoor benches, this post will walk you through the simple steps to give old furniture a fresh new life.
Quick guide: Click any step below to jump straight to what you need.
Supply List (click for links)
Stripping
- builders' paper
- GreenEZ Furniture Kit Discount Code: HAPPILYPAINTED
- stripping gloves
- cheap paint brushes
- painter's scraper tool
- steel wool
- safety glasses
- mask
- glass or metal disposable container
Sanding
Painting
You can also visit my Lowe’s Storefront to get all of the essentials you’ll need for this project!
Step 1: Prepping the Work Space
Even though GreenEZ Furniture Stripper is nontoxic and eco-friendly, I still like to play it safe and strip furniture outdoors whenever possible. I start by putting down builder’s paper — it’s heavy-duty and perfect for catching any drips or messes. In the past, I’ve also used cardboard, but anything that protects the ground will do the job.
No matter where I’m stripping furniture, I always make sure to lay down a protective layer first. And to finish off my surface prep, I set up a baby gate to keep the puppy away (hopefully you can trust your dog more than I can trust mine — ha!).
Step 2: Stripping the Stain
When it comes to stripping furniture, I usually use either an old paintbrush or a stripping brush. The good news? They’re super cheap and easy to find — you can grab them at Lowe’s, any home improvement store, or even in bulk on Amazon. Perfect for any DIY furniture project.
Now, back to GreenEZ Furniture Stripper. If you’re looking for a safer paint or stain remover, I seriously can’t recommend it enough! I apply it liberally and wait.
Here’s a tip from @shellchicboutique on Instagram: if possible, apply the stripper outside on a hot day. The sun really speeds up the process — mine started lifting in about 10 minutes! Once the stain lifts, I use a furniture scraper to remove it.
To finish, I sprayed on some GreenEZ Finishing Spray and then used steel wool and a scraper to get rid of any leftover residue. Fun fact: I had a bunch of clean mascara applicators lying around, and I used a few to clean between the boards — perfect for those tight spaces.
Step 3: Sanding
This part is pretty easy. I sanded the benches using my old orbital sander with 220-grit paper. (Full disclosure — it needed to be charged about every 20 minutes, so having a Dewalt orbital sander would have made this step much faster!) To tackle the bends and grooves of the furniture, I used these special sanding pads (link here), which worked amazingly well to get into all the tight spots.
Proper sanding is key when prepping wood for refinishing, especially for any DIY furniture project. Taking the time to sand furniture thoroughly ensures a smooth, professional finish for your refinished wood furniture and makes the next steps, like staining or painting, much easier.
Step 4: Painting
Next comes the fun part — painting the benches! I applied two coats of Valspar Solid Stain in October Brown from Lowe’s using a 2-inch Valspar stain brush. Because there was a small space between each piece of wood, I focused on painting in between the pieces first, then used long strokes to even out the finish. To get those tricky spots in between the boards, I finished off with my daughter’s watercolor paintbrush for a careful touch-up.
Once the refinishing wood furniture project was complete, I gave the black metal on the benches a little extra shine with olive oil (which, of course, my puppy promptly tried to lick). This simple outdoor furniture makeover brought new life to the benches and made them ready for years of family use.
Step 5: Adding a New Table
Since the table was too damaged to refinish, I started my online search at Lowe’s and ended up buying a black table that perfectly matched my newly refinished benches (win!). This completed our outdoor furniture makeover and tied the whole set together, making it ready for more years of family meals and gatherings.
Adding a new table with refurbished benches is an easy way to refresh your outdoor space without starting entirely from scratch — It’s perfect for any DIY furniture project or refinishing outdoor furniture project.
And that’s it! Our table and benches are all set for family dinners and late-night fires. Honestly, this was one of my easiest DIY projects—So -+worth it!