diff --git a/types/convert/merge/merge.go b/types/convert/merge/merge.go
index b37c9d09..3d9424a5 100644
--- a/types/convert/merge/merge.go
+++ b/types/convert/merge/merge.go
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func APIUpdateMerge(schema *types.Schema, schemas *types.Schemas, dest, src map[string]interface{}, replace bool) map[string]interface{} {
-	result := mergeMaps("", nil, schema, schemas, replace, dest, src)
+	result := UpdateMerge(schema, schemas, dest, src, replace)
 	if s, ok := dest["status"]; ok {
 		result["status"] = s
 	}
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ func APIUpdateMerge(schema *types.Schema, schemas *types.Schemas, dest, src map[
 	return result
 }
 
+func UpdateMerge(schema *types.Schema, schemas *types.Schemas, dest, src map[string]interface{}, replace bool) map[string]interface{} {
+	return mergeMaps("", nil, schema, schemas, replace, dest, src)
+}
+
 func isProtected(k string) bool {
 	if !strings.Contains(k, "cattle.io/") || (isField(k) && k != "field.cattle.io/creatorId") {
 		return false