How to blend a new deck with an existing one?

[cbrowning]

G'day, 

We recently added a new section to our deck using merbau wood.

The existing deck has a much darker stain or paint, and I'm currently sanding it back because we’re aiming for a lighter look—something closer to the natural color of the new merbau section.

I’d really appreciate your advice on identifying the wood type of the old deck (possibly pine?) and tips on how to best blend the two areas using stains or oils.

I understand it might not be a perfect match, but getting them to look similar would be ideal.

I’m considering sanding down the new merbau section and applying a merbau stain across the entire deck, but I’m unsure of the outcome. Any guidance would be helpful!New deck (top left), sanded old deck, and un-sanded old deckNew deck and sanded old deckNew deck (left) and sanded old deckOld deck edgeSanded old deckSanded old deck

Thanks in advance!

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @cbrowning. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about staining a deck.

Your older deck is not Pine; perhaps it's Ironbark. Applying a Merbau tinted decking oil across the lot would likely be the best way to achieve a similar appearance. I'd recommend starting by applying one coat over your older timber to send the colour in the right direction, then apply a coat over the whole lot, then a second if needed. That way the older timber has one extra coat on it to the new.

You might like to do a side-by-side test section just to see if you are happy with the results.

Here's a helpful guide: How to oil your deck.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[cbrowning]

Thanks very much Mitchell! So probably no need to strip back the new deck section before applying that second all deck coat?

[MitchellMc]

New Merbau decking needs to be aged before applying your first coat of oil @cbrowning. You can either wait several weeks for that to happen naturally or do it in an hour with Cabots New Timber Prep. Once you've scrubbed it down to remove tannins, you must flush the deck with water and then clean it with Cabot's Deck Clean. Once dry, you can apply your oil.

If you could do that today and we have some warm weather on Saturday (with no rain), the deck would hopefully be dry by Sunday afternoon when you could start oiling.  

Mitchell

[cbrowning]

Hi Mitchell, I'm at the point of staining now. For the stripped back timber, I'm wondering if I need to use something like Cabot's New Timber Prep. It not ne timber, so I'm assuming there's no need to mitigate tannins seeping etc and that I can just use a standard deck cleaner?

[EricL]

Hi @cbrowning 

Yes, using the Cabot's Deck Clean can be used on the stripped back timber. There is no need to use the Cabots New Timber Prep on the old deck just the new section.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric