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Porches & Decks

Ipe eventually goes grey, no matter what?

17 years ago

I think I've read 100's of useful ipe posts, but I don't remember reading what my dealer told me. He said that in the humid southeast, ipe is eventually going to go grey, no matter what sort of washing and coating routine you use. In other words, short of sanding it, it's never going to look as good as the first time you put a high quality sealant on it.

Does this sound right to you? Have any of you found a maitenance strategy that works over a long period of time in a humid area?

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Comments (7)

pressurepros
17 years ago
Not even close. Humidity has nothing to do with a deck turning gray. The gray is caused by UV rays bleaching the natural pigmentation of the wood.

If you apply a sealer that has pigmenation that pigmentation becomes the sacrificial protection. Eventually the sealer will give up it color but the wood underneath will be fine. If you wait too long and the sealer fades off then of course the deck wil turn gray.

Topic 2: Sanding of ipe after initial construction is completely unneccessary. You can use a cleaner and brush and rinse away the gray. Once you recoat it, it will look like it did the day it was first sealed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Read More about cleaning here
john_hyatt
17 years ago
Building coats of TWP 116 has worked for me for hmmmmmm 8 years or so.Your dealer is totaly wrong,I agree with the Ken. J
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i'm so sorry i didn't follow up...the kids were off for spring break and i'm just getting things back in order now. here is my inspiration... http://www.flickr.com/photos/60751940@N04/5642073636/in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/60751940@N04/5642072206/in/photostream thank you everyone for all your thoughts. they are so helpful and point out that you really need to see everything in person. celeine, i also saw a large sample of the rosemary and i agree that it is very green. being away for a little bit has helped me a bit...i think. i seem to run circles and always end up with virginia mist. but that's today and i'm sure i'll change my mind by tomorrow. i think i need to make a decision soon though...mostly for my sanity! debbie...i appreciate your thoughts. i have a feeling if i end up with the virginia mist granite i will need to go more white. i like the idea of warming it up with creamy walls and we will use our current "warm" hardwood floors. francoise...think i'm going with virginia mist but i could be swayed. did you decide? what color of cabinets are you working with? thanks again everyone. take care.
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whk1
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you, this is very helpful. I just might try some of that Restore-a-Deck and TWP on my head, and see how good of a rejuvenation routine you've really got.
devorah
17 years ago
it worked for me
joyce54
17 years ago
Ive used messmers uv plus for about 4 years on my decks and it looks great year after year and im told as long as there is an oil finsih applied when needed the deck will stay its natural beautiful color...
char23
17 years ago
joyce54 - It's just amazing that we both chose Ipe from Advantage Trim and Lumbar from different parts of the country. They are steering us toward Messmer's but now to add to the confusion, Messmer's offers a product specifally for exotic hardwoods. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this.
andersog
17 years ago
I'm about to try the Messmers UV Plus For Hardwoods on my mahogany and will report back. I stained a small sample piece and it went on fairly well, and looked great. I am expecting to have to restore/recoat every year.

Question, do I have to do anything to my new mahogany before staining or can I just apply?

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