Composite decking fading and scratches: the first year and after

A new composite deck will change colour in its first months outside. The makers expect it and say so in their own documents. After that, capped and uncapped boards part ways. A capped board has a plastic shell over the core, and the capped ranges with a fade warranty put a limit on how far its colour can move. Without a cap, a board lightens until it reaches its weathered colour, which may not look much like the new sample you picked. Scratches are the other half of the story, and the makers' own documents are frank about them.

Does composite decking fade?

Yes, in two stages, and the first is quick. ModWood says its uncapped boards change colour mostly in the first couple of months, as the sun bleaches the wood fibre at the surface, and that weathering is usually finished two to three months after installation¹. It also says the smooth face fades more than the brushed one. Ekodeck's manual describes a slight colour shift on first exposure to UV for its capped boards, most noticeable where a pot or mat has sat for a long time³.

On an uncapped board that first change can be a big one. A ModWood owner on ProductReview wrote three years ago that a Jarrah deck "faded to a soft pink" within three months and was fully discoloured by six⁹. Jarrah is one of the maker's Natural Grain colours, and not one of its capped range. Another owner, giving four stars, said the boards fade, "which again they tell you", and that it's hard to pick the right shade from a sample of new board⁹.

After that, a capped board's colour is meant to move slowly, but owners don't always see it that way. A NewTechWood owner in Melbourne who put the boards down during the pandemic wrote nine months ago that they had faded¹¹, and that maker caps its boards on all four sides. Trex owners are split. One in Perth wrote two years ago that five years in, the deck had completely faded and greyed out in patches¹⁰, while a Whirlpool member said in December 2025 that a Trex deck built about ten years earlier "still looks exactly the same"¹⁵. Those reports leave out the colour each owner chose and the amount of sun on the deck. I'd read them as a reason to test your own colour rather than a verdict on any brand. "It never fades" is one of the claims I check in composite decking myths.

What the fade warranties actually promise

Read the number, not the headline. The capped ranges with a fade warranty promise the colour won't move by more than 5 Delta E, a lab measure of colour difference⁶. One holds that line for 25 years and then allows up to 15 Delta E for the rest of the term⁶. Another uses the same 5-unit figure on a different scale, Hunter rather than CIE, so the two numbers aren't directly comparable⁷. The makers also say, in the same breath, that no material is fade proof⁶.

Before you lean on one of these, read the exclusions.

• Two of them cover the walking surface only, and exclude fading on the ends and underside of the board⁶.
• The uncapped ranges I checked have no fade cover. One uncapped warranty lists fading, staining and mould among the things it doesn't cover², and another excludes natural colour change⁵.
• The remedy is replacement boards or a part refund, at the maker's choice, never a new deck. Labour and freight are excluded, and replacement boards are matched as closely as possible with no guarantee⁶. One pays out a fade claim as a part refund only⁷.

I've set out the pro-rata tables and the rest of the fine print in lifespan and what warranties really cover.

Does composite decking scratch?

Yes, and if you have a big dog or heavy outdoor furniture, scratches are the problem I'd plan for first. One maker's FAQ says everyday use won't scratch its capped boards, but dragging heavy furniture, skateboards and stiletto heels can scratch or chip the cap⁸. Ekodeck's manual says its capped boards are "not impervious to scratching" and recommends protection under furniture³. ModWood strongly recommends protective feet, such as rubber stoppers, on all furniture on its decks¹.

Owners say the same. On Whirlpool in December 2025, Gooboy, who was arguing for timber and said he didn't own composite himself, put it bluntly: "Composite scratches and cannot be fixed unless you replace the board"¹⁵. Honey Badger said much the same in a 2014 thread, where another poster, who had built a sample block, replied that normal walking around doesn't scratch it as much as you'd think¹⁴. An Ekodeck owner on ProductReview wrote five months ago that pushing a fingernail into the surface leaves a mark, and a four-star reviewer on the same page found the thin plastic coating gouged when a tool was dropped on it¹². On Bunnings Workshop in April 2020, Adam_W said composite scratches "like pine" and dents too, and that sanded patches stay obvious¹⁶.

The cap is a separate layer of plain polymer over the core. Ekodeck sells its uncapped Classic board on being the same colour all the way through, so scratches can be sanded out⁴. Its capped boards come with the opposite advice, which is never to sand them. So the trade I'd weigh is this. An uncapped board fades more but can be repaired, and a capped board holds its colour better but keeps a deep scratch. Scratching is on the list in composite decking problems and disadvantages as well.

The sanding myth and the heat gun

You'll hear that scratches sand or heat out. Sometimes they do, and it depends entirely on the board. ModWood says the brushed face of its uncapped boards can be wire-brushed or lightly sanded with coarse sandpaper, and that the brushed area quickly fades out and hides the repair¹. In 2014 a Whirlpool poster, docoz, said a small scratch from dragging heavy furniture across a grey TimberTech deck "easily brushed out" with a wire brush along the grain¹⁴.

Capped boards are different. Ekodeck's care guide says plainly not to sand the deck, because it can cause irreparable damage³. One warranty is void if the surface is damaged or punctured⁶, and another excludes gouging, scraping and puncturing outright⁷.

Heat is the other trick. On Bunnings Workshop, ProjectPete wrote that lighter scratches can be fixed or hidden with "a heat gun on SOME products"¹⁶, and the four-star Ekodeck reviewer above melted a gouge back into shape with a soldering iron. Go carefully, because one warranty excludes contact with heat sources above 120 °C⁷, so if it goes wrong the board is yours to replace. On Whirlpool in 2023, op12345 reported "some success" scraping light scratches with a sharp chisel held at 90 degrees to the board, though a sheen still showed from some angles¹³. I'd try either trick on an offcut before the deck.

Matching a replacement board years later

This is the trap. Scratches and gouges aren't covered, so a damaged board is yours to replace, and the new one won't have weathered like the boards around it. A ModWood reviewer on ProductReview wrote a year ago that after one board broke, the boards across the whole area had to be replaced to get a colour match. The reviewer's follow-up says the boards were in a screen, and the same fading applies on a deck⁹. An Ekodeck owner found a new board much lighter than the older boards around it¹². The warranties say the same about their own replacements: matched as closely as possible, with no guarantee.

My advice is to keep a few spare boards from the same batch when you build, because colour varies from one batch to the next. Store them flat and covered until you need them. If you have to swap one in, I'd take a board from a spot nobody looks at, such as under the barbecue or along a shaded edge, move it to the damaged spot, and put the new board where the old one came from.

What I'd do

Order samples of the colours you like and leave them outside for a month before you commit, with a fresh sample kept indoors to compare. Put felt or rubber feet on every chair the day the deck is finished, and use a mat under the barbecue. Choose a capped board if the deck is in full sun and the colour matters to you. Keep those spare boards. Clean spills within the time your stain warranty allows, which is 72 hours in one document² and a week in another⁶, and I've set out the routine in how to clean composite decking. And never paint or stain a faded board without reading can you paint composite decking first, because a coating voids the fade warranties cited here⁶.

If you're still comparing, the brand pages show which ranges are capped, and each range page lists its published warranty terms with the document they came from.