so John mon...you tried the #516 and stated it was oily...did you notice the oily spots seemed fresh the next day (ie you could wipe some off on a cloth?)...it took several days for some of my spots to "soak in?"....what exactly do you mean by it "setting up"...what is your test? can walk on it without leaving marks? can rub it with a towel and none comes up?

I also noticed after only a few weeks the color has lightened CONSIDERABLY!...I notice the deck beads water but several boards have water penetration in an hour or so....therefore I am seriously considering the second coat....the second coat test area looks acceptable.

Food for thought. One reason that the 116 bonds to the coat below is because it is loaded with mineral spirits (ie solvent) A lower VOC version might not have that bonding ability. One thing I never really cared for with TWP was its one coat coverage and ability to hold its color.

One coat of any finish is not going to last all that long.

Sweetster,This was on a 12'' piece of 1x4 ipe,I raged it on and rubed it in first coat,10 min later I brushed on the second coat heavy, it set up in the 10 mins out in that weather.The next day I brushed on another coat it was done to the touch in about 4 hrs. TWP is a whole lot like working with lacquare,building coats can be dry to touch but it takes a while for it to completly set up down below.

On the first coat it was total dry with nothing coming off on my hand, same with the second,the third I did on Friday, I havent been to the Shop again but I will let ya know. With what I know now I say defently go with a second coat. Side Note>>>With new material Ipe included building coats to excess is not a good idea,This is hard to explain to my Wallets so I dont even try but the idea is the material has got to weather no matter how many are on there the first year the result down the road will problely be the same far as the color fading. Soooo I am thinking put one more on there Sweet and just leave it alone until say early Spring, the protection is still in there even if you cant see it. If this stuff handles like it seems it will,recoat is going to go the same as the 116 next year or next month.
One thing we do with the finish and the paint pad is work it in, that is we are going over the same area 6/7 times, back and forth, colecting the excess as we go, working it in and caring it over to the next area. Doing it this way we dont really have any shiney spots. Of couse ipe being what it is some of it is going to take finish diferently depending on how close to the center of the tree it came from. J

I remember talking to an online retailer of TWP 516 who recommended adding 50/50 mineral spirits so that it wouldn't take as long to set up. Has anyone tried this? Would it somehow alter the way the finish works? It seems like it could be a good solution to the slow-to-dry problems of low VOC stains.

rbfactor,

I'm no expert and all I can say is the directions on the can specifically state NOT TO DILUTE WITH MINERAL SPIRITS

Really,ya dont want to thin down any kind of twp becides being really thin already it tells us not to thin it on the can in bold print.

Sweet that third coat was still not set up compltely,I could wipe my finger over it and come up with some color. The second coat set up just fine. J

thanks for the info on the subsequent coats John mon!

Hey did you ever get pics of your deck up?...I checked your website the other day but didn't see them....really like to see that "shine" you talk about

Time Time Time, I had a recent run in with a worm drive saw that makes that ol saying very true with me right now. Probley not a lot of new pic are going on the site any time soon. Just work with the stuff Sweetster you will discover the same things I do. J.

Today even the third coat has set up,very uniform, no shini spots. It is a little dark but the grain is coming thru real nice,I expect it will mellow out in a couple of weeks with a lighter shade. J

I used TWP on my new deck and screen porch in 2003. I used the 100 series Cedartone. The deck is composite decking so the TWP was used on the trim and posts. the screen porch however has a wood floor.

It is time to do it again, and they can no longer sell the 100 series here in Northern Virginia, so I am using 511 California Redwood (which is the closest match). I am wondering if I have to remove the TWP that was put on in 2003 before applying this year? The directions say to remove old stain, but I think they are talking about an old deck which had been previously stained with something other than TWP. is that correct? It will be a real pain if I have to strip the old TWP off all those posts!! It's such a pain to put on in the first place.

How many coats do I need to put on? Like I said, it is such a pain to do even one, much less 3 or 4

No need at all to remove the cedartone,just clean and put another coat on, try a test area first the 500 series is a little new but it works for me. How many depends on what you want, three years on one coat...not bad. J