This post was updated on March 5, 2024
Blending New and Old Deck Boards
Here at DeckStainHelp.com, we strive to remain the Internet’s number one reference for your deck stain questions, opinions, and reviews. In this updated article, we suggest how to blend new and old deck boards for a beautiful even surface. We would like to hear what you think, so feel free to leave a comment below.
New and Old Deck Boards
There are many reasons why you would have a mix of new and old deck boards but it can be a common situation. The most frequent reason is that some of the boards needed to be replaced due to decay or wood rot while other boards were still in good condition. It is also very common for a deck owner to protect the deck with a stain once all the repairs have been made. The dilemma is that new boards and old boards look very different when they are stained.
To understand why this happens may help you to minimize the problem. Once old deck boards weather, the top layer of wood fibers begin to gray and become soft. Newer deck boards are denser and are very hard. The older boards will absorb more deck stain and appear much darker than the new denser deck boards which appear lighter.
To better blend new and old deck boards, it is necessary to wash the entire deck. Use a good wood cleaner and a pressure washer to remove any dirt, mold, mildew, and graying from the older deck boards. The newer deck boards will normally have mill glaze on them which can prevent good stain penetration. Use the same method to clean all the new boards as well to remove any mill glaze.
Cleaning the entire deck in this manner will also help the new coat of deck stain perform better. A clean wood surface prepped correctly will ensure better performance, coverage, and lasting protection.
After cleaning the wood, apply a wood brightener to the deck. A wood brightener will lighten all the older darker boards and open the wood pores of the newer deck boards for better stain penetration. This step can help a lot when trying to blend new and old deck boards.
It can also help to sand the boards once the deck is clean and dry. Sanding the old wood boards will remove additional soft wood fibers to create a harder surface. Sanding newer already dense boards will have the opposite effect and soften the wood fibers up a little and remove any mill glaze that cleaning did not.
In addition to these steps for blending new and old deck boards, using a quality semi-transparent deck stain will help. Follow these prepping and staining tips and your newly repaired deck will not only be safer, but it will also definitely look better as well.
Need Help Blending Deck Boards? Ask Below
Deck Stain Help & Questions
Stain Reviews & Comparisons
I had my cedar deck, privacy lattice and railings professionally stained 2 years ago with twp 200 series in honey color. I would like to change now to a light to medium grey color.
Can you recommend the correct product to apply? the deck is easily sanded if needed but the privacy lattice is and railings would be impossible to sand down. can I just go over the stain with a compatible oil stain??
No, you need to strip and brighten for prep to remove the current coating. Use the RAD Stripper/Brightener Kits for this. Once done you can choose any brand of gray stain that you like. BTW, don’t sand.
Recently built a new deck with pressure-treated lumber. Did not think about the weathering process before putting an umbrella base on the deck. As a result, I now have this uneven weathering, and I’m afraid that it will come through when I stay in the deck down the road. Is there anyway to recover from this problem?
Weather all wood for 3-6 months and then clean and brighten for prep. It should even out.
Good deal. Thank you for the prompt response. Much appreciated.
Our deck is located in south Mississippi. Mostly shaded. Very humid. Pressure treated pine. Lots of rain. What is the best stain? We have used TWP 1500 in the past.
Try the TWP in their Semi-Solid colors.
I bought a home with a wrap around deck. It’s badly weathered in Florida. We had some of the boards with black mildew replaced with new boards as well as adding exterior wood stairs. How do I get the light and dark wood boards to match?
Weather the new wood: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-long-should-you-wait-to-stain-a-new-deck/
Once done, prep all with a deck cleaner and a wood brightener. The grease from a grail in the one picture will probably not come out of the wood.
Thanks for being available. I have pressure-treated 1 1/4 deck surface boards that were installed a year ago and weathered without staining.
I just replaced the steps this summer with different pressure-treated 2×8 pine, so it is lighter color.
If I put Thompson’s Water Sealer on the deck boards now and wait a year to do the steps, will they likely come closer to the deck floor color before I seal them, please?
Also, does water sealer application require all the preparation steps you described above for applying stain?
Thanks for your help!
Thompson’s is useless and can cause harm so do not use it. https://www.deckstainhelp.com/thompsons-waterseal-finish-review/
You will also have to strip it off before staining. Best to just leave as is and clear and brighen all in the Spring to stain.
Can I use cedar to replace damaged redwood planks? The available redwood is far too red in color and will not take the stain the same way as the older sanded original redwood.
Sure but it will not match your redwood.
Wait. See this for tips: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-long-should-you-wait-to-stain-a-new-deck/
some of my varnished mahogany porch partially peeled. how do I make old/ new varnished areas level? Thx
Sand it all off to remove the current coatings and then use a penetrating stain, never a varnish for a deck as they peel.
https://www.deckstainhelp.com/ipe-exotic-hardwood-stain-review/
It’s my covered front porch. How do I send a picture to you?
Post it on the comment thread.
handyman mixed old porch picks and new ones to fix my porch. I was told it is a bad idea. How do I paint them to look same color?
Use a solid stain: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
Contractors put wood putty in the nail holes will stain cover it
No, and it will not blend with a semi-transparent stain.
What do I need to use
You would have to use a solid stain.
I was planning on using thompsons how long do I need to wait for new steps that were replaced
3-4 months for the new wood to wether and prep. Thompsons is a very poor brand. Anything but really. See here for the best solid stains: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
Why is front and back deck 2 different shades. Thanks
The darker area has had more weathering or is older wood resulting in more absorption and a darker color.
Will another coat darken it up a bit?
Probably not to the point it will match.
Had one section that was too warped after power washing that I had to get rid of. Two new boards look so out of place. I’d like to keep the old boards since they have weathered beautifully and have character. Any suggestions on getting new treated wood to match? I’d really appreciate it.
Clean and brighten all and then stain with a semi-solid color like the TWP or Armstrong Clark.
We replace all
Railings, floor boards and stairs with new the frame still exists with the old dark stain, any suggestions on how to brighten them up to match the new lighter wood with black spindles? The desk is a dad rust terracotta color
You cannot get old wood to match new wood.
Hi,
I have a deck that my dog scratched up while jumping to chase his ball (silly mistake!). Anyway, my parents wanted to stain the deck so they sanded the scratches out as best as possible and tried to apply stain over top. Of course the stain did not apply evenly as the other boards have been weathered for two years and the sanding stripped some spots to be like new. Any suggestions on how to create an even stain across the entire deck and get rid of this blotchiness?
Thank you,
Kristen
The only way to fix is to remove all and start over. Strip and brighten for prep:
https://www.deckstainhelp.com/best-deck-stain-strippers/
Last June I replaced my deck boards all PT lumber and waited to stain this spring, but I had laid down a rug over the summer. Now the deck is unevenly sun faded where the rug and furniture were.
What is the best way to bring the areas all back to closest appearance before staining? Entire deck is same age, appearance only related to uneven sunning.
Clean and brighten the wood for the prep.
Thank you!
This is the answer to the question, I originally am looking for but not quite. We removed a shed and wasn’t stained. How can I blend that AND touch ups on other parts of fence? (You can see two failed attempts at matching but, 3rd time is a charm and I think we have the right color now, lol )
Only way to get this to blend using a semi-transparent stain is to remove all current stain and then stain with the same color for all. Other option is to use a solid opaques stain. that would blend as it will look more like a paint. https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
What is the best wood brightening product?
We like the Restore-A-Deck Products. You can read some reviews here: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/category/deck-product-reviews/deck-brightener-reviews/
Would it help to put a light sealer like Thomson’s on an older deck before staining
You can never apply a sealer prior to or after a deck stain.
I guess my question is there anyway to stain old wood next to new wood and have them match in color
Thanks
No, new wood is less absorbent so the wood will stain lighter. The only way to get them to match would be to use a solid color stain.
My decking which has been down roughly 8 years hasn’t been stained probably for the last 3 years. I have last week had a handful of boards replaced and new rails due to them rotting(see pic back right and left side ) I really wanted to stain the old stuff before any further damage happens but have read online about waiting before painting new decking. I’m worried with winter coming more damage will happen to the existing deck. What should I do? I have currently brought screwfix own decking stain to apply.
Wait until Spring for the wood to season: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-long-should-you-wait-to-stain-a-new-deck/
The wood will be fine.
We have a five year old deck and have replaced nearly half of it with new pressure treated wood. We have used a deck cleaning product already in preparation to paint it with Deck Correct. My question is does this sound like a good plan? We are concerned that the Deck Correct will not adhere properly and eventually peel due to the difference in the wood. What process and product would you suggest if we don’t go with the Deck Correct?
The Deck Correct will most likely peel. If you want deck resurface coating then look at this one: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/gulf-synthetics-deck-revive-review-2015/
Also, read this about new wood: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-long-should-you-wait-to-stain-a-new-deck/
I am redoing a deck that is Redwood. All boards are being sanded. Bad end being cut off. Some of the old screw holes don’t line up and will be left empty. Some damage to the boards where to old screws were taken out. Should I ignore the old empty holes or fill them with a dowel (redwood) or “RockHard”. I am using Defy semi-transparent stain.
Another thought is that after staining should I fill in the old holes with putty?
Wood filler will not work or stain to blend with a deck stain. Just leave them as is.
I am staining my deck with light oak semitransparent Readyseal deck stain , it looks too orange can I immediately go over it with a darker stain ,? It is a oil base product
Probably not as it will not soak in and will rub off on clothes and shoes. That is one of the biggest issues with Ready Seal is that does not dry and rubs off.
I have a four year old pressure treated wood deck. I waited a year and used semi transparent Thomson water seal and it was blotchy and flaked within a few months. This year I power washed, stripped, and cleaned then applied ready seal. The coverage is very uneven. Some boards looks great. Others look dry for lack of a better word. But when it’s wet after rain it looks great and much more uniform. Any suggestions to get the wet look all the time?
You would need to remove it all by stripping and then brightening and go with a better brand of stain. The RS has issues as it never actually cures or dries.
I recently had a renovation done on my deck, the contractor replaced half the deck boards with cedar while the other half is a combination of new PT and old PT. I have already pressure washed, cleaned and sanded my deck( all the boards). I live in Calgary, Canada deck is east and south facing so alot of sun but also get alot of snow and cold weather. As the deck has different boards what type of stain would you recommend?
For a uniform appearance, you would need a solid stain: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
Would a semi-solid stain work or would the different type of boards hold the stain differently creating mismatch of colours?
The newer boards are less absorbent so they will stain lighter in color with a semi-solid or semi-transparent. Not really a big if you can deal with it as the next time you redo the deck in a few years, it will blend much better. New food by the wood, cannot be stained right away no matter what type you use: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-long-should-you-wait-to-stain-a-new-deck/
Does Thompson’s water seal peel? In a dilemma and don’t know how to go about it. Used behr semi transparent cedar natural tone and love the color but it peels terribly. Want to use the same shade but want something that won’t peel. Any suggestions would help! Thank you.
Remove the Behr and use a fully penetrating stain. Thompsons is a very poor product. Use one of these brands: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/the-5-best-deck-stain-reviews-and-ratings/