How to Repair Rattan Garden Furniture

Our Galleon rattan garden furniture sets are incredibly hardwearing and low maintenance, so it's unlikely that breakages in the rattan weave should occur. But can rattan furniture be repaired? In the event that damage does occur, there are some easy steps you can take to repair your outdoor furniture. In this article you can find three methods showing how to mend rattan garden furniture.
⠀

Step 2: Unthread the cut sections of the rattan weave and put them aside. Push the loose ends down under the perpendicular section of weave (fig. 2) so that they're out of sight and also because you want to make sure that the additional rattan weave material will be glued on top of these loose ends.

Fig. 2 – Damaged weave section removed

Step 3: Taking the additional weave material you have, you want to first add glue to one end. The glue should be on the side facing you as it will be stuck behind the perpendicular weave in order to hide it's end (the diagram in fig. 3 shows how the glue should be in front of the additional weave but behind the vertical weave). Also ensure that the weave is continuing the pattern and going over the next section of weave from where you cut earlier. If you can, use a finger to push from the other side of the weave in order to hold the glued end in place. Don't move onto step 4 until the glue has dried (glue drying times may vary).

 

Step 4: Once the first end has glued in place, thread the other end along the weave, following the pattern. At this point it's worth checking if the weave is the correct length (you want the end to be hidden from sight behind a perpendicular section of the weave). You can cut the weave down to size if you need. The same as before, you should glue the side of the weave facing you and hold it against the inside of the perpendicular (vertical) weave. The loose end from the earlier cut should be tucked behind this additional glued piece of weave.

 

Fig. 4 – Threading and gluing the other end

 

How to Repair Rattan With Epoxy Resin

You can purchase epoxy resin easily off of sites like Amazon simply by searching 'epoxy resin'. Bear in mind that this method should always be done in a well ventilated space (such as outdoors). Also ensure you follow the specific manufacturer's instructions and guidelines for the brand of resin you have. Take a small amount of the epoxy resin (enough to cover the breakage) and spread over the broken section. Before the resin dries, a small tool should be used to sculpt the resin into shape, giving it a similar look to the surrounding rattan weave. Leave the resin to dry for roughly 48 hours, before using paint or a dye to match the colour of the resin to the rest of the weave.

 

How to Repair Rattan Using a Soldering Iron

If you're using a soldering iron to repair your damaged rattan, the same steps can be followed as with the glue method (detailed above). As with the glue method, the damaged section should be cut out and replaced. Instead of attaching the additional weave piece with glue however, a soldering iron can be used to melt the plastic material of the rattan enough so that it can be fused with each of the loose ends.