Merbau color

[anelmyn]

Hi there,
I am in the middle of completing a Merbau deck, (my first deck) its reasonably large and is both under cover and open to weather in sections.
I have two lots of timber that has been purchased one is a deep red color and the other is a very light brown.
My question is will the deep red timber go a similar color after some tannin is leached or will they always be such a different color and therefore force me to stain it?
or should I shop around and ensure that I purchase the same deep red color so that they are all the same.

[zathras]

IMHO, don't stain it!

That's what I love with a natural product, colour variation.

Have you tried wetting down the deck?

The lighter timber really darkens up a fair bit, and this is much the same effect you'll get with a clear oil.

[anelmyn]

Thanks Ray,
I am fan of natrural color variation also, but these colors are really extremely different. I feel if I lay them my deck may end up like a patchwork quilt unless they come closer in color over time.
I haven't finished the deck yet so have not wet it yet, but with rain due over the next few days I will lay them out and see what happens with respect to color.
Andrew

[pharmaboy2]

definately mix the colours in the build - the colour variuation I think is from close to heartwood to sap wood. i've built a couple out of yellow balau which has a very pronounced colour diffeerence, if you let it age a little the light timber sucks up a bit more oil, so if you use a merbau tinted oil, the darker sections should get closer to the lighter. it might be worth buying a litre of a tinted oil to compare - oh and also sanding first seems to get more oil absorbed to darken colour - so a 1/3 sheet sander run down the light ones might help as well.

[silentC]

The merbau I bought had a great degree of colour variation in the one pack from light brown through to a deep red. You might have bought colour sorted packs? Mine was random and I just laid it as it came out without any attention to colour. The variation in colour wont change much - any red boards exposed to the sun might even darken - which some of mine did.

I used an oil with a stain - merbau tint - because it lasts longer - the stain protects the finish from UV. It all looks the same colour now.