Quick Advice for Oiling an IPE Deck
Hi All, Last w/e I power washed my ipe deck. All the mildew and mess is gone, yay! So now I want to oil it (with Cabot’s Australian Timber Oil) to restore the original, lovely dark brown color. But am I ready yet? It’s certainly clean but mostly still a grey color (with a few…
Hi All, Last w/e I power washed my ipe deck. All the mildew and mess is gone, yay! So now I want to oil it (with Cabot’s Australian Timber Oil) to restore the original, lovely dark brown color. But am I ready yet? It’s certainly clean but mostly still a grey color (with a few brownish tints coming through). Will it turn brown when I apply the oil — there is some stain in the oil — or do I need to first sand it to actually take off that layer of silver weathering? Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Thats great!! glad to hear your update, going with Jarrah Brown was a good Choice as it is darker and I bet evened it out a whole lot better than it would have with the natural ATO. Good Choice!!
Have a great time with friends and family enjoying your newly sealed outdoor space 🙂
Thanks, everyone. I did a little hand sanding where there were stains the power washing didn’t get out or lap marks. Used the ATO (jarrah brown — pretty dark). Got it done on Friday ahead of the rain. Looks pretty decent if not quite shelter magazine level. Maybe next year I’ll go the whole hog and have it professionally sanded and refinished.
Our Ipe deck is relatively new, so no need for sanding etc.
I just wash it a few hrs before and apply the Penofin CityDecksNewYork mentioned.
Wash, wait for it to dry.
Brush the Penofin on.
After 30 mins rub it in.
That is all
Looks like new
My deck is cedar & I use Deck Boss to bleach it.
Penofin (brown Label) is also great and in our arsenal as well, the finer grit is simply an immediate and quick pass right behind the heavier grit, Exotic Hard Wood Treatment is also a good option, indeed the best option is hand sanding the deck with an orbital sander.
Pressure washing an Ipe deck can raise the grain, and leave a fuzzy surface. I never recommend it. You can scrub your deck with a deck wash product containing oxalic acid. That will prep it for the sealer. Better, but not the best.
IMO, the best way to restore your Ipe is by sanding. I hand sand all of my decks with a random orbital sander loaded with 40 or 50 grit disks. You only need to sand once, because if you sand again with a finer grit, you will burnish the surface and it won’t absorb much sealer.
I’ve never used ATO. I always seal with Penofin. Easy to apply, and it looks great…win/win
steve
I suggest you sand it down to restore the lustrous color of the IPE wood and get rid of the weathered gray first, after all of the deck surface has an even tone, then you can stain it, the amount of sanding you will have to do depends on how weathered your deck is, that is why I always suggest our clients not to skip a year on their maintenance or to call us back end of year, otherwise they will find themselves in need of a repair sanding to achieve a new look once again, a repair sanding may be a bit more technical for a DIY project.
I also suggest sanding it down with two different grids first a heavy one and then a lighter grid to smooth out the surface
Feel free to visit our website http://www.citydecksny.com to see some of our great work in your area.
Good luck with your project
Anthony