What's more, aluminum is light enough to be stacked and moved easily, a welcome benefit when rearranging for special events or for area cleaning. Finally, aluminum furniture entails much less maintenance than iron or other materials. Nicks and scratches can be touched up easily, stains can be removed with mild soap or detergent, and straps and cushions can be replaced inexpensively. Outdoor furniture built from extruded aluminum, the most common technique, uses aluminum tubing or hollow aluminum shapes to form the chair frame. This method of building outdoor furniture has been around for about 50 years.
Extruded designs tend to be contemporary or transitional.
The first step in creating cast aluminum furniture is to hand carve wooden models for each piece. These wooden models are then used to prepare metal molds, which are pressed into casting sand to form impressions. Next, the plates are removed, and molten aluminum is poured into the sand molds. After the aluminum cools and hardens, the sand is knocked away, leaving the finished part. With sand casting, design options are practically unlimited because even the finest details can be captured.