half and half

[CLASSICPW 14]

I've got a job with a deck where they added on an addition. One half of the deck is stained dark brown(semi trans) and the other half is 1 yr old unsealed/unstained treated lumber. I was thinking of stripping the stained half, cleaning the other and applying a solid color, but the customer wants the same color as the semi across the whole deck, how do I maintain a uniform color?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

First order of business is tell them it will not be an exact match. Why?

1. remaining pigment from the other stain wil darkent he wood

2. older wood will be darker than the newer addition

Strip the onle area and lightly wash the other. Apply the semitransparent of their choice. You could bid to sand the older area a bit, so you get back to boards that are approx the same color, but charge extra for that.

Beth

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

A little trick that has helped when i get decks like that........apply stripper to the new wood and power wash....this helps the new area to match more closely to the old area. Not a perfact match but better than just staining the new area

Andy

[Guest rfitz]

I have done decks side by side that were 10 years apart, and after we were done, they looked as though they were just built and sealed, as long as both decks are at least 1-2 years old, getting them to match is pretty simple, sometimes if they are really different, just tweak your stain a little darker on the newer wood, should be identical match when finished..

[Aplus 525]

Rob,

I'd sure like to see pictures of ten year old wood next to new wood that matched when stained.

While it is true that adjusting the color of the stain between the two will lessen the difference, you'll never get a match so close it's not noticable.

[Guest rfitz]

Tony,

I have no reason to stretch the truth, you guys and gals are not my customers, and Im not selling anything to anyone on this board, but just sharing my experience's, as a matter of fact just 3 weeks ago, I did a huge job in a very wealthy neighborhood, I did the house, gutters, driveway, walkways, etc.. and the customer had 2 decks, 1 in a screened in covered porch, and the that walked out onto a uncovered same size 20X40 deck, both being approx 3 feet off the ground, the exterior deck was built 9 years after the interior porch, anyway, I stripped both, as usuall, but hit the older wood with approx. 35-40% stronger oxalic acid, sanded both, with defurring pads as I do with all my decks, it is included in my pricing, then stained with Ready Seal gold color, with the older interior deck I used gold with the newer deck I used gold and added 20% lite brown, it was a perfect blend, it matched identical, as the customer was also amazed, he said and I quote, this is amazing, you could never tell these decks were built almost 10 years apart,

I always try new things every day, I try and never stop learning, testing, sampling, etc.. I did tell him up front they might not be a perfect match, but I will try my best to get them as close as possible, as sure enough, they did..

But this wasnt my first, Ive done several like this decks that have additions

and I get them pretty damn close, where the normal person looking could never tell the differrence, and with Ready Seal, as time goes on and they get maint done every 2-3 years they will get closer and closer, I just love trying new challenges every day...

Hope This Helps....?

[CompletelyClean 14]

I sure hope I can get this deck to turn out like "you can't hardly tell the difference". You can see that the upper part has AT LEAST 2 coats of paint on it (beige over dark brown) and the lower portion has only 1 coat of beige paint. I believe the age difference between the two sections is about 7 years. I wonder if the paint has helped "preserve" some of the woods integrity? I doubt it.

Beth, This is why I am anxious for the HD80 Booster to come out. I'll need it for stripping this paint.

[Aplus 525]

Rob,

You should be taking pictures. They would be great sales tools. A picture is worth a thousand words.

I've not yet used the RS Gold for a deck, so I haven't tried that combo, but I have used RS Cedar, and mixed in additional light brown or medium red for blend jobs like you mentioned. It works pretty well, but not to the point you couldn't tell the new from the old.

Did you know that RS cedar is made from a 50/50 blend of light brown & medium red? It's nice to know if you have leftovers and need to mix to make more cedar. Pierce has told me that many guys have told him they regularly mix various colors to achieve certain results.

I did a huge deck two years ago, where one portion was fire damaged and repaired. I mixed the RS Cedar with some RS medium red, but the wood grain was the noticable thing. The new wood had tighter grain, and the older was more open and had more surface cracks. Well, I was just back there last week to quote a re-do, and the wood surfaces look closer than they did two years ago. Maybe if I didn't know where the repairs were made it would be harder to notice. Or maybe my expectations are higher, and I tend to notice things that most customers wouldn't notice.

[Firedkm 14]

Tony,

I think we are the worst critics on our own work. I have had some deck that I was not that happy with the results and kept banging my head trying to get what I wanted. The customer was estactic at the finished product and I still was not happy. In the long run, if the customer is happy that is all that matters.