How to restore a garden gnome?

With garden gnomes coming back into fashion, it is imperative to know how to restore them so that they last over time.

In fact, if you leave them in the sun or rain for too long, their colours will tend to fade, regardless of the material they are made of.

Rather than throwing them away, give them a second life using our restoration techniques.

Restoring a Garden Gnome: A Step-by-Step Process

The garden gnome has many reasons for getting damaged over time: wind, everyday damage, a lost ball or simply an animal that isn't paying attention.

By the way, if you have animals like cats, be careful, because they have the unfortunate tendency to sharpen their claws everywhere .

The restoration process must obviously begin with a thorough cleaning of the gnome (garden gnome, don't go kidnapping someone).

Cleaning your garden gnome

• Take a basin, fill it with cold water, dip your figurine in the water and leave it for about ten minutes to allow the dirt to start to soften.
• After the specified time, use a sponge to pour liquid soap (preferably pH neutral so as not to attack the dwarf's materials).
• So start cleaning the entire surface of the statue , possibly adding more soap if it looks sparse or still a little dirty.
• Apparently, garden gnomes have a lot of little cracks (eyes, mouth, ears, etc.) that can't be cleaned with a sponge, so for this to work you'll need to use an old toothbrush.
• Once all the dirt is removed, all you have to do is rinse the statue under running water and dry it in the sun.

Rebuilding a Garden Statue: Gluing the Broken Pieces Together

The second phase will involve rebuilding, as gnomes can fall apart due to wear and tear and thus suffer damage in places.

1. So put on a pair of latex gloves and prepare a small bucket of mortar and catch up on the wear on the elements.
2. Then, using a small spatula, take some mortar and apply it to the broken area.
3. Do this very carefully, trying to follow the original shape of the part. Obviously, if the section to be rebuilt is large enough, it may be necessary to apply the product several times until the desired thickness is obtained.
4. After that, wait a few days for the mortar to dry completely, then equip yourself with sandpaper and work on the repaired area.

With this operation you must make the mortar perfectly smooth, but above all remove the excess, perfectly reproducing the surface of the dwarf when it left the factory (or from its fairy tale).

Repainting a garden gnome: the final step

1. Cover the gnomes completely with white paint to leave a good undercoat.
2. When the paint dries, use a pencil to trace the lines you want on the figurine .
3. Mix the paint in a yogurt pot to obtain the desired color.
4. Use colors sparingly, placing a small portion of each color in a separate pot for the finishing touch.
5. The paint can be mixed well with a small stick and wiped off with a cloth. Paint every other line with the resulting color, possibly gradually. When everything is finished, seal the jar with plastic wrap, rinse the brushes with white wine and let the paint dry for the time indicated on the jar.
6. When the paint is completely dry, mark out the new strip to be painted with masking tape to obtain straight lines and paint the remaining lines between the strips of tape.

Be sure to keep the paint if you want to paint gnomes from the same collection.

The finishes

• In case you are careful, you can skip the tape step and go straight to specific areas (beard spaces, etc.) with a slightly wider brush and a finer brush.
• To dry halfway, carefully remove the masking tape that was used to mask the parts not to be painted and wipe the drops under the tape with white oil.
• Finally, remember to let it air out, then once the paint is completely dry, let it breathe outside for a while.
• Then check that the paint has not peeled due to humidity (if so, apply another coat and remember to apply a waterproofing product).

Congratulations, you have now been able to give a new lease of life to your favorite decorative object! Now discover the reasons to own garden gnomes .