Caring for Your Macrocarpa Furniture: A Simple Seasonal Guide

One of the best things about solid macrocarpa furniture is how little it actually asks of you. It’s not a high-maintenance material — but like anything that lives outside year-round, a bit of seasonal attention will keep it looking sharp and add years to its life. Here’s the simple routine we recommend to our customers.

Spring: give it a proper clean

After winter, give your furniture a wash down with warm soapy water and a soft-bristle brush to lift off any grime, mould spores or algae that have built up in the damp months. Rinse well and let it dry fully before doing anything else to it. Avoid a high-pressure water blaster on close range — it can strip timber fibres and roughen the surface unnecessarily.

Re-oil once it’s clean and dry

If your piece has an oiled finish, spring is the best time to top it up, once a year is generally enough for most NZ gardens, more often if the piece gets full sun or heavy weather exposure. A light sand with fine sandpaper before oiling helps the new coat soak in evenly. If you’ve left your furniture to weather naturally with no oil, you can skip this step entirely — that’s a maintenance-free option, just with a greyer finish over time.

Summer: keep an eye on UV and dryness

Macrocarpa handles NZ sun well, but extended, intense UV exposure will still fade an oiled finish faster. If a piece sits in full all-day sun, expect to top up the oil slightly more often than a shaded piece. There’s nothing else to actively do here — just enjoy it.

Winter: let it do its thing

Macrocarpa is built to handle wet NZ winters sitting outdoors — that’s the whole point of the timber. You don’t need to cover it or bring it inside. If you do want to reduce weathering on a piece you’re not using much over winter (like a bar leaner or extra seating), a breathable outdoor furniture cover is fine — just avoid anything airtight that traps moisture underneath.

A few things to avoid

• Don’t use bleach or harsh chemical cleaners — they can damage the timber and any oil finish
• Don’t leave furniture sitting in standing water or wet leaves for long periods
• Don’t seal it with a plastic-based varnish — timber needs to breathe, and oil finishes are far easier to maintain and reapply

That’s really it

Compared with treated pine, which needs regular re-treating and repainting to stop it rotting, macrocarpa’s maintenance is genuinely light — a clean and an oil top-up once a year is enough to keep most pieces looking good for decades.

Got a question about caring for a specific piece? Check our FAQs page or get in touch — we’re happy to help.