If you clean your deck on a regular basis, you can let it weather. Ipe (and some other hardwoods) is the only time I would suggest this.

Besides the Atlantic city mile long boardwalk and all the other big ipe com jobs the only long tearm project I have seen first hand is the demo deck outside of my local lumber yard, its done with bullet wood and has been out there for 5 years or so, it looks good and never gets cleaned unless it rains. I like the texture of the wood as it has weathered and its still pretty smooth, little sharp whiskers coming up on unfinished ipe have been the only complaint I have heard. John

well I let my IPE weather for about 1yr...not on purpose but because I ran out of time at the end of the summer preventing me from cleaning and staining it....and I can tell you this..personally I hated the natural look....I saw alot more checking than I expected and the grey look, to me looked old and beat not "distinguished grey"...I like the dark rich color best....if you want weathered I think maybe another wood species which may be cheaper is the way to go...my $0.02 worth....

What about using a percarbonate-based cleaner every 3 months or so? It is very easy to clean an ipe deck this way and would quickly restore the natural rich ipe color (we all wash our indoor floors on a regular basis). Would this deplete the natural oils and lead to excessive cupping or checking? Would it cause the plugs to fail? Would it in any way be harmful to the wood? Just a thought...

So many questions: Here's another...

Do those huge boardwalks clean and stain the boards regularly if ever?

Our deck was oiled and I've got to say that I prefer this look to not oiling. It completely enhances the beauty and richness of the wood.

The boardwalks are not treated and they hold up fine they just look grey, dingy and old.

Last year I had an ipe deck built around the hot tub. Before the construction, I belt sanded and sealed the boards with penofin. BAD CHOICE! An experienced ipe deck builder told me to not sand ipe as you remove the layers of dead cells which absorb the sealer. That was why it turned grey in about 4-5 months. Also, lay the boards end grain curving downward to drain better and avoid "cupping" after rain. I bought ipe to avoid splinters and because it looks great when new so I'm trying again. I plan to power wash the deck, then use Messmer's which is recommended by Thompson Mahogany, the hardwood wholesaler in the Philadelphia area. After reading all the comments, I'm resigned to an annual powerwash and staining as the deck is in direct sun half the day. Any thoughts/comments??

Sanding ipe with say 60/80 grit has no effect one way or the other far as the material taking finish.Grain up/grain down has nothing to do with cupping that idea is in the dark ages like using linsead oil as an outdoor finish.Unless you have been trained by Ken do not use a power washer on ipe, messmers pretty much sucks, same thing with penofin. John

I'm currently installing a new IPE deck in my yard. I'm end sealing the new cuts with Anchorseal and planing on sanding with 80 grit the sealing with superdeck duckback exotic hardwood sealer. my question is do I use an orbital sander do I sand at all and is this the best sealant to keep the natural color as long as I can?? And are there any other notes anyone can give me???

I stoped using superdeck years ago I have seen the hardwood exotic stuff on the shelf but I have no reason to try it twp is working so well for me. Its also over priced. Sand where you think it needs it. If you use the SD product let me know how it turns out if Ya want. J

To Susancoco, just curious. How did you go about oiling the ipe? I've read that it is hard to take up oil. Which product did you use? My deck isn't completed as yet but I will have to make a decision soon. Thanks.

I installed 1x4 t&g ipe porch floor 4 years ago. I did not seal it against multiple recommendations. My porch is covered and faces south. The area that gets the sun +/- 40% in summer and 80% in winter dryed out, cracked and joints opened as that some of the t&g are completely separated. Needless to say, I am here making sure I don't spend $thousands again after I redo it.

Susan, do you mean you just sealed it? What product did you use?

We didn't put anything on our ipe deck because of all that we read hear about gray patina - but it just looked like crap and we re-did it.

I agree the "patina" just looks old and decrepit. This is why I would never build a hardwood deck if I didn't have access to high quality sealers.

Hi,
im from germany and here are Bankirai is very common. So the expiriance with Ipe is very low.
Can me tell someone what gap between the lumbers is necesery.(mm)
And is TWP with collorpigments or only an oil.
I fin the Ipe wood very good.

thank you
verde

Given the weathered gray look or the redish-brown coloration, we have not had any homeowner prefer the former. We have found that periodic oilings with Penofin are the easiest way to maintain the beauty of IPE'. We would never suggest it is "maintenance-free". Because the wood is so dense, it absorbs a limited amount of oil per treatment. It is cumulative and successive oilings do extend the interval. Even dingy, grayed ipe' can be restored to its glory without sanding. Penofin offers a line up of care and maintenance products with good instructions and company support.

Here is a link that might be useful: Official Penofin website

I recently had an ipe deck and rainscreen built on the back of my house. It looks really awesome but the deck boards started to fade within three months. My contractor came back and applied another coat of the Superdeck transparent stain and sealer and suggested we do it every two months. He's a real honest guy so I don't think he's just trying to make some extra cash off me but it seems real excessive. The deck does get southern exposure but I was thinking this was only annual maintenance. Anyone have success with a product that has lasted a year?

I have used pressure washing and Cabots Australian Timber Oil Natural with reasonable success. It doesn't last a year though. On my ipe railing caps, I used helmsman urethane. It looked great for a few years than started to peel and let water in that darkened the wood. I sanded it off and used the Cabots. Now both deck and rail look the same and don't last long.

If someone knows of a product that will get me a whole year, I surely would like to know. Annual efforts aren't to bad, but I am not going to do it more frequently and the grey looks like crap.

We have found One TIME Wood Protector to be the best at preserving the appearance of dense hardwood like Ipe, mahaogany, and other exotic wood. One TIME usually gives us twice the life of the typical oil stains available. One TIME contains no water or mineral spirits, and cures with UV light, so it is not for screened in porches. Maintenance is simple detergent wash, and recoat when needed.

Here is a link that might be useful: maintaining ipe

I've built a lot of ipe decks and the majority of my clients definitely prefer to seal it. Unfortunately, do to ipe's properties, you will not get much penetration on any sealer. First application will get you about 6 mos and each succesive treatment should last a little longer.

I have had a few clients that let their ipe deck go natural. If they keep it clean, I think that it looks fine. I have some pics, if anyone is interested.

would love some pics 6 years later lol

Here is a close-up picture of the South Point Park Pier in Miami Beach. I don't know what maintenance regimen the city uses for the deck and the pier, but as you can see it holds up really well even though it is exposed to the sun all day (or rain during our rainy season) and is directly in contact with salt water.

That's pretty much what mine looks like. We have cleaned and stained it from time to time, but it's a lot of work and doesn't last long. I've gotten used to the gray., I live in western Washington - so lots of rain

Our ipe has never been treated. The part in the sun has great color restore with just scrubbing or power washing. But the portion under our arbor (much less sun) stays gray when we power wash. Go figure. Everything I have read indicates it will not hold a stain more than one season. And the stain “washes off” when wet, and leaves streaks. (What happened when we first installed). I love it anyway and glad we do not have redwood. Has been in for at least 15 years and no problems.

just opposite of my experience - what was in shade retained its color and what was in sunlight was just gray. I use Australian Timber oil. It is prettiest in the first year but stays nice for several years.

Iron wood! This is my third year with Brazilian hardwood- before and after. I used an exotic wood cleaner each year. Leave on and keep wet 15-20 min the scrub with broom. Hose off. They have 2 different strengths. Then I wait 2-5 days then I use and exotic wood “oil”. I love my deck! This year, I’m going to try power washing- with spray fanned out- then see how it looks- I can then “oil” again. I’m no 70 years young, but, it’s a job trust me. Thanks for sharing peeps.

This is the longest lasting IPE stain out on the market right now.