For new decking what I would suggest doing is a pressure wash after the material has been installed. This will ensure you are dealing with a clean surface. Allow the material to dry for about 24-48 hours after the pressure wash. Once the material is dry you can apply the oil finish. The product we suggest doing this with is Ipe Oil. This can be applied using a 3/8” nap paint roller. Once the oil has been applied allow it to sit for about 5-10 minutes and then wipe the surface of the material with a dry rag to ensure there is no excess oil on the surface of the decking. The oil finish will need to be applied when you will have 24-48 hours of temperatures of 50 degrees or high and also the same time fame with out any rain. You will want to re-apply the oil finish about 6-8 months later following the same steps. After the second coat the oil finish will need to be re-applied as needed. This will depend on how much sunlight the decking will see, on average you would be looking at every other year for re-application. Thank you for your time and if there is anything else we can help with please don’t hesitate to ask.

We are about to have a front (covered) porch installed with Ipe wood. We definitely want to keep the brown color in the wood. Do you suggest that we put an oil finish on it? Some people that I have talked with say there is no need because it is covered – others say do an initial coat and you will never need to do it again… I would guess that we need to do an initial coat, but figured I would ask the expert. If we do need to oil to keep the natural beauty of the wood – how often if the porch is covered?

Ipe decking can not have a sealer applied as the material is very dense and sealers will not adhere to the surface. In turn they will peel and chip away. The only product that can be applied to Ipe is an oil finish such as Ipe Oil. This is to maintain the natural color of the decking and will bring back some of the natural brown color of the decking. If you are looking to keep the grey color of the decking but clean the surface I would first suggest doing a pressure was at about 1000-1500 psi. You can also use decking clean products. The products that we have found to work best on Ipe are Messmers Part A Cleaner and Part B Brightener in which we do offer both.

I hope this helps please let me know if there is anything else we can help with. Thank you for your time and inquiry.

After you sand the material you will want to pressure wash the decking to ensure you get any left over saw dust off the surface. The reason you have to pressure wash is that when sanding an oily wood such as Ipe you will be pushing gummy saw dust in to the pores of the wood and a pressure wash is one of the best ways to get this out and open the pores up to accept the oil finish. Once you pressure wash, allow the material 24-48 hours to dry. After the material is dry then you can apply the oil finish. The product we suggest using is called Ipe Oil. To apply this use a 3/8” nap paint roller when you will have 24-48 hours of no rain and temperatures at least 50 degrees or high (that’s 24-48 hours of 50 degrees). If you are like me and you won’t see 50 degree temperatures at night for another 7 months or so then its best to wait on applying the oil finish until the spring. While the material will fade slightly in color, once the oil finish is applied it will bring the natural color right back for you. I hope this helps please let me know if there is anything else we can do for you. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you.

I would pressure wash the verticals and rail system. This way you can ensure you are dealing with a clean surface. Allow the decking to dry (24-48 hours) and then apply the Ipe Oil. The Ipe Oil can be applied using a 3/8” nap paint roller. After applying the oil finish allow it to sit for about 5-10 minutes and then wipe any access oil off the surface using a dry rag. This must be done when you will have 24-48 hours of no rain and temperatures of 50 degrees or higher. I hope this helps please let me know if there is anything else we can do for you, thank you for your time.

It really depends on location and amount of sun light. Generally speaking, your first coat will last 6-8 months, second coat about a year and third coat about a year and half or so. Before each coat you will want to ensure you are dealing with a clean surface. Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist with. Thank you for your time.

Install the material tight just as if it were still summer. The only thing you most likely will not be able to do is apply the oil finish. Chances are, if you’re in the North like I happen to be, we will not see night time temperatures be over 50 degrees anytime soon. That being said, simply hold off on applying the Ipe Oil until spring. You may see the material fade in color, but once the oil finish is applied, the natural color of the material will come right back. So to recap, feel free to finish installing the decking material but I would advise against applying the oil finish if you will not have 24-48 hours of 50 degree or higher temperatures until the spring. If you do not install the rest of the decking please do not store the material in a garage. The material needs to be stored outside, uncovered, and off the ground. Here is the link our ipe installation instructions as a quick reference.

I hope this helps please let me know if there is anything else we can do for you. Thank you for your time.

We recieved our Ipe about a week ago and are now in the process of building our deck. However, the weather suddenly turned cold and rainy half-way through the build. Because of this, i have a couple questions. If I am unable to finish installation, is it best to stack the Ipe boards in the garage for the winter? Any risk of cupping? If I won’t get 24hrs where it is above 50 degrees for the rest of the winter, and therefore can’t apply Ipe Oil, will my installed boards turn silver? If so, what process is there to get them brown again and prepared for Ipe Oil in the spring?

5-10 minutes after the oil finish has been applied it needs to be wiped off. With a deck your size, it would be easier if there were two people. I hope this helps. Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with.

Thank you for your time.

I’m sorry to say but it seems at this point you will need to sand the surface of the material. To sand the decking use 80 grit sand paper on the machine you feel must comfortable using whether it be a drum flooring sander, or an orbital sander. After the material has been sanded, you are going to want to ensure you are dealing with a clean surface with no saw dust or oil residue still left. The easiest way to achieve this is to do a pressure wash on the material at 1000-1500 psi with a 40 degree tip (normally the white tip). Allow the material to dry for 24-48 hours. After the material is dry, then you can apply the oil finish using a 3/8” nap paint roller, allow the oil to penetrate for about 10 minutes and then wipe the surface to ensure no pooling or excess oil. I hope this helps please let me know if there is anything else we can do for you.

Also, I understand the deck needs to dry at least 24 hours after applying the IPE oil. Does that mean we should not walk on it during that time?

It all depends on the application. Generally speaking, a top coat after installation is all that is needed. There are a few instances where we would suggest applying the oil finish too all 4 sides. One of these would be for low ventilation applications as this will help stabilize the material. If you don’t mind let me know a little bit about the application and I can make a suggestion as to what should be done. Ventilation space as well as what the material will be installed over would be my main questions.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you.