How to stain a unevenly weathered deck?

[Kala]

Morning,

had a merbau deck built 12 months ago down the coast, due to restrictions of covid  have been unable to get to stain it. The deck is not covered and is now weathered with some parts where furniture was are still unweathered.

can l just clean it and put a water base stain over the top and will this blend the weathered areas with the areas that aren’t weathered?

l would very much appreciate some advice.

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Kala. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about coating your deck.

It would be really helpful if you could post some images of the deck's condition. That way, our members would be much better informed, allowing them to advise on the next steps.

It comes down to how much of a colour difference there is in the weathered areas. A stain will disguise the discrepancy, but there is a good chance the deck coating will appear motley. 

You'll likely need to artificially weather the areas that haven't been with Cabot's 2L New Timber Prep. Unlike a cleaner, the new timber prep strips tannins and some colour out of the timber. Once you have a uniform appearance, you'll be assured of a consistent finish once stained and oiled. The issue with just staining and hoping for the best is once the oil and stain is on, there's no real going back. You can try adding more stain to the lighter sections, but it could end up a huge mess that will take years to weather out naturally.

We look forward to seeing some images, and please let us know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Kala]

Thanks Mitchell,

If l use the Cabot's new timber preparation do l apply it just to the areas that haven't weathered or all over and then do l still need to use a cleaner?

Kala

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Kala,

It's hard to answer that without seeing the deck. You could try to keep the new timber prep to just the unweathered section. However, you'll likely need to blend the transition areas.

If the deck is dirty or discoloured, then you'd need to use the cleaner all over it as well.

You should find this guide useful: How to stain and protect decking timber 

Mitchell

[Kala]

Thanks Mitchell,

l didn’t know there was a timber prep so will have a look at that I’ll keep you posted when done.

cheers Kala.