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How to fix deck that is too red?

Hi team

Amateur question here - I had a crack at cleaning and re-colouring/oiling a deck but have made some mistakes and it’s come out a bit too orangey/red for my liking and wanted to seek some advice around what I might have done wrong and how best to correct it,

I used deck cleaner and a brush to clean back the deck as best as possible before starting - starting photos attached. You’ll see the areas nearer the glass doors (in the lower wear/shade) were more stubborn and less scrubbed back

I used what I thought was the existing product (carbots deck oil jarrah) and applied 3 coats - I did 3 as the areas in more sun / worn areas didn’t really seem to finish the way I thought they would.

The lock I was going for was more a darker brown standard deck colour but what has come through is more red/orange

I think this is partly a result of over oiling, particularly in the lesser worn areas.

See photos.

Seeking advice on whether I should

Re apply deck clean thoroughly to strip back some of the oil and apply a new coat of a darker walnut colour to get the deck presenting darker and more uniform?
Strip it right back and start from scratch with another oil colour?
Strip it back and use a stain or paint instead of oil - maybe this is also part of the issue why part of the deck looks different to the other?

Appreciate any advice at all!

Thanks

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Comments

J-P

To me this looks perfectly fine. Merbau (I assume) has varying colors in its natural setting. You would have stain to get a darker look but still will have variations in darkness. Painting only will give uniform colour but won’t look natural.

Dave-1

Good evening @Anthony_

I dont mind the colouring tho I do get where you are coming from.

I would hold off addingf more oil or doing anything for a few weeks or evn 6 weeks just to let the timbers soak in what you have. You may find it becomes a little more uniform after a bit of time. The sun drenched parts will probarlly stay lighter so maybe at the 6 week mark you do another coat of just those boards? As a test you could do a few extra coats to some unobtrusive area and judge how it looks?

I know when I reoiled the timber around my place the colours were intense at first bvut then they seemd to become more "normal" It could be becuse I got use t the redo but I think it beds in.

As an example of what was and what it lloked like afterwards Annual timber and decking maintenance All the super dark shade has dropped back a notch or two with time. And yes I probarlly should do the annual coat about now. 🙂

Dave

JacobZ

Hi @Anthony_,

You've actually done a good job, and functionally, your deck will be well protected for the next year or so, but I have a few things to note.

First, the prep. The deck cleaner will remove surface dirt and some old oil, but it will not fully remove deeper-set stains and the previous coating, which you can see in some areas. From your photos, I can see that the areas near the doors still had some of the previous coating that was likely protected by the shade, so you effectively had bare timber in the high-wear sunny areas and partially coated timber closer to the house. That alone will cause darker patches and uneven colour because the oil absorbs very differently in these different situations.

Second, the colour choice. Cabot’s Jarrah is a very red oil. Even when applied correctly, it will always lean red-orange rather than a neutral brown. Adding three coats has amplified that colour, especially in the shaded areas where the oil could not soak in as much and has sat closer to the surface.

Third, the number of coats. With decking oils, more is not better. Two thin coats are usually the sweet spot. The third coat will often deepen colour and exaggerate differences rather than even them out.

Functionally, your deck is well protected, which means you have time. So, I think the best thing to do in this situation is give it a month or two to settle in and then reevaluate. The intense colour will reduce with time and weathering, and you may find when it settles in a bit that it is not as bad as you had first thought. I propose this because if you want to get everything perfectly uniform, you will need to strip back the coating and then sand everything to bring it back to a consistent, uniform state. There is no way applying more product over the top is going to remove inconsistency; it will just amplify it. If in a month or two you are still unhappy with your deck, then there is no reason you couldn't do this, but it is a lot of work, so it would be worth giving yourself some time to think it over and the deck some time to settle in.

Let me know if you have any further questions or anything you'd like clarified.

Jacob

Anthony_

Thanks for the responses everyone, much appreciated. Will give it a little time and see how it develops and then go from there!

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