Wow!

I'm doing mine now - from advice of John Hyatt and PressurePros...

Restore-a-deck and TWP...

I'm hoping it lasts at LEAST one year - 2 would be gravy!

Your finished product was BEAUTIFUL! I can see why you would like to retain THAT look.

John Hyatt and pressurepros seem to be the best resources on this site, so if they stand by that than I'm sure it's good. Just wonder if anyone from the NorthEast has had any luck with these products (TWP - will the contractor know what that is?). Or if anyone knows of a reputable contractor to use for this type of job.

My last guy charged me an arm and a leg and it started turning silver in less than 6 months!

I live in South Huntington (LI) and can comment only on a couple of things...

1). John and PressurePros (Ken) are the authorities on this forum, no doubt they know their stuff!!
2). John uses TWP 100 series which is not available in NY (and other states as well). I think 400 is available here.
3). Ken doesnt think sanding IPE is a good idea.
4). John says go for it
5). Ken doesnt agree with John's "Wet on Wet" technique with TWP.
6). Both are nice guys and are very helpful.
7). After laboring with Wolmans deck brite and cleaner, I'll be ordering Ken's "resote a deck" soon. (if only he'll offer me that 15% off like he did in March.... :-)

I went to a "home show" back in Feb and there was a guy who used the same technique as Ken (no sanding, just chemicals and a Pressure Washer) followed by Cabots ATO. I'll see if I can dig up his info for you....

Mike

Thanks Mike! So much information out here - it's pretty overwhelming! What's the difference between the TWP 100 - 500? I was doing a little surfing and saw the TWP 500 - is that a stronger formula? Offer more protection? Although I realize that I will need to do annual or at least bi-annual maintenance, I want to keep the work down to a minimum or at least cut my maintenance expenses down a little bit.

Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again!

Jim

Jim...

Us "liberal, blue states" have stricter VOC laws. I know enough about this to hurt myself, so I'll leave it to a pro, or you can google it. The 500 series is probably "weaker".. but thats my guesstimate only.

I tried remembering the gentleman's name at the home show.. but can only remember him being in Shirley or Mastic or somewhere out there.. I did a superpages.com search and found this company, its probably the same guy. I remember him using some products like he mentions on his website. The guy used to be a deck builder, but he's getting older and doesnt want to swing the hammer and carry wood anylonger.
See if they will give you an estimate. In the mean time, I'll see if I can find his exact info....

http://www.perfectsolutions.info/

Mike

Thanks Mike!

Welcome A board Mike the Ace Mon!!!you got it all right and we need a score keeper over here!! J

For what it's worth here is my experience.
Summer 2004 had my existing PT deck expanded and all of the floor boards replaced with ipe. I did not stain it. By fall there was obvious fade in color. May 2005 I, yes I, sanded with 60 grit using a hand orbital sander. 350 sf took me about a day. I then used a penofin product, I think it's called deck prep-it's primarily isopropanol. I then gave it a single coat of penofin natural for hardwoods. Looked fantastic but again fade by the fall. This year I decided to forgoe the sanding and pressure washed it (cheap low pressure unit from sears). Advice on this board was to treat for mold before staining. Additinal advice was that penofin sucked but that I was stuck with it-even though it was mostly gone-go figure. Anyway, I used cabot's problem solver wash mold killer. This made the deck look kind of ugly compared to power wash alone. After 2 days I stained with penofin---looks fantastic. Penofin claims multiple treaments will increase fading resistance. Once a year is fine by me. Afetr a while you kind of get a knack for it--what tape prep you need -don't need. It's pretty easy as long as you don't mind spending a couple days over the better part of a week.

aceshigh....the 500 series TWP is actually "stronger"...ie is has less volatiles (VOC's- volatile organic compunds) and more solids....the 500 series is I believe 65% solids whereas the 100 series that John uses is 30% solids.....so there is just less "carrier fluid" that evaporates off of the 500 series and thus is not advisable to do the wet on wet with the 500 series as it is touted to "set up" get tackier quicker.

Master Deckers (Hyatt & PressurePro) - many moons (May 05)ago I asked about attaching ipe to metal. Your advice was sound and the deck is finally complete and rock solid. I've finished plugging, and plugging, and plugging the plethora of screw holes. I stained the railings and the pergola last year and they seemed to be holding very nice - although I will have to do the railings again.

I've sheared the heads of the plugs and am ready to sand the deck (around 700 square feet on two tiers). The local hardware store rents a drum floor sander. Good to use? What grit? I've waited a year so now the wood has gone a little silver in the Texas sun. Should I keep sanding until I get down to natural color, or sand until smooth and use PressurePro's cleaning and brightening solution to bring back the beautiful ipe color?

I did the railings and pergola in TWP 100 and plan to use this on the sanded deck.

PressurePro - been to your website - looks good. Now that I've waited a year

jsan, it's amazing that no matter what deck stain people use they are out there again every year or 2. We hear all about mold, mildew, cleaners, different stains.. and everyone says 'see ya in a year'.
I hope technology improves so that we all can get a miracle product that lasts at least a quality 5-10 years.
We can go to the Moon and Mars but can't protect a deck to last 10 years. Oh wait, it's called bark. lol

Hey Ya WF, I do remember that project,good to here it went well!Man after all that work I my own self would not use a drum sander, just too much chance of going too deep in places and making groves here and there,really go with a 5'' orbital,I use a makita,finish off the project with sanding your can control after all that work.The thing with twp 116 is you can build coats, the first two can go on right away. It takes time to build coats after that,the more coats the longer it takes to set up so you have to just work with this material,its not really all that hard try a test area after the first two and you will see what I am saying. J

My onoy question would be, what are you attempting to accomplish by sanding? You should go no higher than 60 grit so you cannot really achieve a fine furniture finish. Is the deck splintering?

The two cleaning steps will return your color and set you up with proper pH balance for sealing. I'm happy to hear your project turned out well.

Nice looking deck, I also live on LI, and was looking to have my deck built...who built yours?

Thanks guys for getting back with me. PressurePro - only reason to sand is to get plugs as smooth as wood. They are sheared but not flush. No splinters. I figured that after I finished sanding 1/4 of deck to get plugs flush and smooth that I might as well sand all of it to get the color back. Your product sounds much much easier. I'll be calling shortly to order - you ship to Texas? John, good points on the drum sander. I'm was just trying to save myself a few more hours on my hands and knees with the orbital sander but you're right (as usual) better off a little slower and safer and risking grooves or a gouge. Later guys.

Thanks for all the feedback. To oliezz, I had a company called Precision build my deck. They did a great job and provided a great experience along the way. They were recommended to me by the architect that drew up the deck plans based on my initial drawings.

wford,

I see about the plugs. You are probably going to have to sand the entire deck unfortunately. We ship RAD everywhere in the US. For the time being all orders are taken via 128 bit encrypted e-shopping cart. Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, PayPal

We have been getting excellent results for our ipe and hardwood decking projects with One Time Wood Protector. It is a bit expensive, but is the best we have used so far. I have talked to several other contractors who have used it even longer than us, and all agree: One Time is definitely worth checking out.

Here is a link that might be useful: deck care blog