I think we must mention the application of a light coat of car wax on our metal garden furniture in every cleaning and maintenance article we publish on our blog.
However, we haven't done a comprehensive “how-to” article that looks at how best to apply the wax to our furniture and why you should.
Some of our much older blog articles refer to applying baby oil, which also works, but we’ve since found that a carnauba-style wax gives the best results.
So, a basic how-to had to be addressed. This super simple hack is the easiest way to not only provide some extra protection from the elements but also give our painted finish a wonderful lustre and sheen.
The Lazy Susan team have also independently tested (there are no brand deals or paid-for advertising here) several waxes, so we thought it would be nice to recommend some of our favourites and the reasons why they get our vote.
Why apply car wax to our metal garden furniture
Our metal patio furniture is constructed from high-grade sand-cast aluminium, which is a perfect material for the UK climate where we can see a little bit of everything (sometimes all in one day).
It has numerous benefits over the other materials such as wood, iron and plastic and the advantages of our range are as follows:
- It will not pit, rot or rust
- Low maintenance
- Long-life guarantee
- Designed to be left outside all year
- Protective painted finish
- UV & water-resistant
- Easy to assemble
- Safe to ship
- Aesthetically stylish and sophisticated
- Ergonomically designed
- High-quality look, finish and feel
If you’re looking for something that’s low maintenance and durable, then cast aluminium is a great choice as it is sturdy and fully weatherproof but is significantly lighter than steel and iron.
The casting process we use allows us to achieve the same intricate and timeless designs you would see with iron pieces but at a fraction of the cost.
Our range is then further protected with a durable painted finish that protects it from the elements.
It requires significantly less cleaning and maintenance than most other materials but it will also last much longer if left on the patio all year round.
If you’d like to see how it is made, then how we make our furniture is a great overview with some great pictures of the casting process in our factory.
The application of a light coat of car wax does the same thing it does to your car though...
Your car is made from metal which is then sprayed with a tough painted finish to protect it from the elements and contaminants flicked up off the road.
It is the same thing and the same cleaning and maintenance process can be applied to our garden furniture.
Car cleaning products are specially formulated to clean painted metals after all. They are strong enough to remove dirt and grime but kind enough that they won’t scratch or fade the paintwork
Once clean that final coat of car wax does two things:
- It gives the paintwork a nice deep lustre. When applied to our darker antique bronze and slate grey, it will make it pop.
- It protects the paintwork from the elements and from dirt and grime building up as quickly as it would without it.
The wax adds a barrier that is dry to the touch (so won’t transfer to clothing, etc) but enables water to better bead and run off and stops dust and debris blown up by the wind from sticking as easily.
Of course, just like on a car, this will wear off over time and need to be re-applied. However, a light coat and your garden furniture will stay cleaner longer.
We’ve found with our own Lazy Susan sets that you only need to do this maybe once or twice a year to keep it looking great though.
How to apply car wax to our metal garden furniture
The application is simple and our steps are as follows:
Step 1: Purchase Car Wax
You don’t need to purchase a high-quality car wax (the classic car stuff can be pricey and you can pay up to £100) as the surface is not as reflective as a car. See below for our top 3 recommendations.
We tend to use what we have in for the car, and we generally just buy what’s for sale in the local Halfords.
You want one that’s not too cheap/poor quality, easy to apply and will buff to a nice finish.
Step 2: Always Wash First
Never apply to dirty garden furniture. Give it a good wash first. Again, car products in our opinion work great.
A bucket of warm water with a little car shampoo and a sponge is all you need.
You can rinse off with the garden hose on a spray setting but avoid the pressure washer as it is just too powerful and not necessary.
Rinse, wash, rinse and leave it to dry in the sun for an hour or so.
Step 3: Apply Car Wax
Apply the wax using an application pad or a soft microfibre cloth.
Always do this outside with furniture in situ and wear rubber gloves.
You only need a small amount too, don’t dig into the wax, just wipe it across and apply in a circular motion
Make sure you get into the details and cut-outs.
Step 4: Buff Car Wax
Work in small sections at a time.
Once a section of wax is applied buff it up with a clean soft lint-free cloth or microfibre towel to give it a nice sheen/lustre.
Our top 3 car waxes for metal garden furniture
1. Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba Car Wax
Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba Car Wax is a premium paste-style wax that we’ve found works great on both cars and our metal garden furniture.
You can buy it on Amazon for £25.99 for a 311g tub, so it's not the cheapest but represents good value for money.
It is a luxurious carnauba-polymer blend that when applied to our garden furniture gives it a strong, long-lasting protection and a lovely soft sheen.
Meguiar's special blend of carnauba wax combined with its protecting polymers makes it safe and effective on our painted metal finish.
The paste wax tin also includes a Soft Foam Applicator, however, they also sell a pack of 5 Inch Microfibre Applicator Pads if you need them.
On my own Lazy Susan Furniture, I prefer to use a microfibre cloth because I find it easier to work it into the diamond cutouts on my table and chairs. But give them a try and see which works best for you.
Meguiar's Gold Class gets our vote as this is an affordable premium paste wax that is super easy to apply, easy to buff off and it doesn’t leave any white residue like some of the cheaper waxes we tested.
2. Auto Finesse’s Soul Carnauba Wax
Next up we have Auto Finesse’s Soul Carnauba Wax. This one is a little more expensive as it’ll set you back £39.95 from Halfords for only 150g.
That said, if you’re a real car lover, then it makes sense. From our point of view though, we found that the Soul wax worked particularly well on our white furniture as it gave it a lovely bright glossy glow once buffed.
It contains 33% T1 grade Brazilian carnauba wax combined with natural beeswax, candelilla wax, and oils, so it provides excellent protection from the elements and gives our metal garden furniture much better water repellency and resistance to things like UV-fading and bird droppings.
Plus it has a lovely sweet mango scent and seems to last pretty much the whole summer season when applied.
3. Turtle Wax’s Wax It Wet
Our preference is one of the two above but if you’re in a hurry or don’t fancy spending an hour or so applying a classic wax, then a spray-on is a great option.
They don’t give as good a finish or last as long but they will still give you a few months of extra protection and a nice sheen.
Spray wax is also a great way to quickly give our furniture that protection and lustre between a heavy annual waxing too.
Our preference is Wax It Wet by Turtle Shine as it’s a fantastic budget option but it gives our metal garden furniture a lovely shine. You can get a 500ml bottle from Halfords for only £7.
Turtle Wax was one of the first companies to introduce this type of convenient spray-on wax and it is still one of the best for the price in our opinion.
You just wash your furniture, rinse with the garden hose, spray it onto the wet surface, work it about a bit with a damp cloth and then leave it to dry in the sun.
You still get a good amount of beading from the surface when it rains but it isn’t as resilient to dirt as options one and two.
One final piece of advice, with any products you use to clean or protect, always test them first.
Apply to an inconspicuous area such as the underside of a garden chair and see how easy they are to apply and the finished results.
If you have any further questions about our metal garden furniture, then please have a look at the Garden Furniture pages on our blog or contact our Customer Service Team.
If you’ve got any photos of your Lazy Susan garden furniture in situ, then we’d also love to see a few snaps for our Do Some Good charity campaign.
A photo of you cleaning your metal garden furniture and applying car wax would be even better and very much appreciated too!
You can tag us @LazySusanFurniture on Instagram or Facebook or email them to us at sales@lazysusanfurniture.co.uk.
