Ipe Deck finishing

[Joe Koren]

Hi,

I have just installed a Ipe deck on my house and was considering what to use as a finish on it. Up for contention is

1. Cabots Clear Solution
2. Cabots Austrialian Timber Oil
3. Olympic Waterguard.

Has anyone used any of these or has a strong opinion on another brand? I DO NOT want an opaque or semi-opaque sealer.

Thanks,
Joe

P.S. I will put this in the Finishing forum too. :-)

[julie Graf]

you could just leave it as is - it will age, but it's naturally rot-resistant.

in my experience, ipe doesn't finish well. perhaps someone else has tips.

[Scott Rader]

you could just leave it as is - it will age, but it's naturally rot-resistant.

in my experience, ipe doesn't finish well. perhaps someone else has tips.


I built a pergola out of ipe and then with some leftovers, built a table/stand to enclose a ceramic bbq grill that I have (ipe won't burn). The bbq remains covered when not used, and retains the original appearance. The pergola has turned to a silvery gray...which is natural. I wouldn't fight it.

[DougButterfield]

Used TWP Rustic 110 on the very strong recommendations of an Ipe deck builder on several other sites. I will admit, it looked absolutely stunning....for the 1st 6 months. Now, I'm no pro at putting the stuff down, so it's probably me, but the nice part about TWP is it's like a laquer...you can build coats to get that "wet-on-wet" look if you want it. I'll probably give it another shot next spring, as it's held up fairly well where I didn't leave the layer too thick, and that's just a board or two.

[Rick Peek]

Penofin oil works great. Expensive as heck,but gives a deep brown
look to the wood.

[Howard Acheson]

Ipe a a wood that contains quite a bit of natural oil. The natural oil will create adhesion problems with film finishes. They just do not adhere well and fail in relatively short periods. Because ipe is dark wood, sunlight causes it to heat up and causes the oils to attempt to move to the surface.

To maintain the finish requires that it be sanded and recoated probably annually. If you want to try an oil type finish your maintenence will be somewhat reduced as you can generally just power wash and apply a new treatment.

I would recommend just letting it attain its natural, aged look.

[Kendall Landry]

I use a product called DEFY clear UV on cedar. Works great. Also works on naturaly oily hardwoods.
http://www.saversystems.com/woodproducts.php

[SteveKrim]

I too have a IPE deck and I tried cetol (I think that was it) - I used acetone to get rid of the natural oils prior to application and it still flaked off on me. I had the factory rep come out and they eventually gave me my money back. I rented a floor sander and removed the finish - it has a nice grey patina now... I would advise to save your money and let it weather naturally...

[Stephen Gist]

I have used Cabot's Australian Timber Oil and have been happy with it. The flame mahogany color gave a beautiful mahogany look. I am reapplying after 2 years with the same. I did use linseed oil on some of the deck, but did have some problem with it gumming up and later blackening.