Anyone know about finishing Ipe(EE-Pay)

[Tom Solomon]

I have tried stripping the oil with DNA befor useing Helmsmans Exterior varnish and within a day I had silver dollar size blisters in the varnish. I'm up for anything, I would like to be able to finish my Adirondack furniture with something other than Messmers UV for hard wood..

[Jim Becker]

Any Ipe I've see with a "finish" on it was done with a penetrating oil finish, such as Pennofin or Sikkens

[Steve Schoene]

DNA wouldn't be compatible with the varnish, so if you still have some left in the pores when the varnish is applied that could be the source of the problem. Also be sure you don't sand too finely. I wouldn't sand past 150 or 180 maximum on "eye-pay".

If you want to varnish for exterior use you should at least use a half way decent spar varnish. There are three good traditional varnishes that work well on teak, another oily wood. These are: Epifanes Clear High Gloss, Interlux Schooner, and Pettit Captain's. Any of these will outlast the Minwax stuff by a factor or 2 or 3, perhaps 4.

You could extend the life by first encapsulating the wood in epoxy. As dense as Ipe is it should be a low viscosity epoxy such as that from Smith & Co. You still need the varnish on top since epoxy isn't UV resistant.

[DAVID CASHDAN]

http://www.woodsealants.com/twp-300-series.htm

Here's a website for t.w.p...................
Total Wood Protectant - Deck and Furniture Finish


dave