How do I fix a wrong colour wood filler

[Bob92]

I have 5 posts on my porch, 90mm, that I've clad with 138mm merbau decking boards, with edges mitred, then sanded after fixing to the posts so no joins are visible. I screw fixed them to the 90mm posts, then bought some merbau colour wood filler from bunnings to fill the screw holes. It looked ok when it was going on but now it's dry its far too light!

When i sand it back it also leaves light coloured sections in the merbau which looks really bad. 

I asked at the paint desk at Bunnings and they recommended staining the sections with a small brush, but this doesn't help as it colours the merbau around it too.

Any ideas would be much appreciated, I really don't want to start from scratch.

The filler I used: 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Bob92. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about filling Merbau.

Unfortunately, Merbau comes in a range of different colours, and the filler is an approximate match to some of them. Were those the pre-oil decking boards? If so, applying an oil over the filler and immediate area could assist with blending the repair. To check this, wet your finger and run it over the filler. If it turns to a closer match, then it is a good indication that an oil is needed to match the rest of the timber. However, you should treat the boards as you would a deck. You need to prep them for oil with Cabot's 2L New Timber Prep to strip the transfer oil coating and tannins out of the timber. You then would oil them with Cabot's 1L Merbau Natural Decking Oil. The prepping process will be an issue over your light coloured bricks and pavers as the tannins will stain them. You'll need to cover and tape up around the post base and the pavers to prevent dripping on them during this process.

If you avoid the prepping and oiling process, any rain that hits the post will run down with red colouring and stain anything it touches permanently.

Once the timber is prepped and oil applied, your filler will blend more consistently.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Bob92]

Thanks for the response Mitchell.

The posts will rarely get wet but to be on the safe side I had left the boards outside for a couple of months before installing them and they are no longer leeching.

I'll try staining the entire post in Cabots merbau, maybe a bit of a thicker coat around the filled areas and see how it goes.

[Remarka6le]

Start on the side that isn't visible as often, and be cautious with your coat, some stains can go really dark if you apply too much. 

[Bob92]

I meant to upload pics of how this turned out, must have slipped my mind. It worked really well, you can see the filled holes only when looking directly at the post, or in strong light they are shinier than the surrounding timber. 

Thanks for the help, I'm pleased with the result. 

 

 

[EricL]

Hello @Bob92

Thank you so much for that project update. Had you not mentioned the location of where you filled it, I would never have guessed. 

Again, thank you for sharing your wood filler project.

Eric