IPe problem

[jimbo970]

Everywhere I looked, pros say not to sand ipe as it will close the pores. who is right - btw I have a cleaned ipe deck and am thinking of putting ATO on it - heard mixed results from others so will it be worth it to seal it with timber oil or should I just leave it alone and let it turn grey - I would prefer the rick oiled color and protection. Any advice is appreciated

[RPetry]

Originally Posted by jimbo970

Everywhere I looked, pros say not to sand ipe as it will close the pores. who is right

Do not know where you are looking, but I would guess that most contractors here that work on ipe' lightly sand before staining. Ipe' is so dense, supposition that a 60 grit sanding will "close the pores" is a specious argument. Unless there is credible evidence to the contrary, this may be nonsense.

In practice, a light sanding will enhance the visual quality of most stains on ipe'. Especially for drying (example is linseed) oils, which is the most common type of exterior stain. I have seen no difference in stain longetivity between sanding and not, on my own ipe' deck.

Originally Posted by jimbo970

- btw I have a cleaned ipe deck and am thinking of putting ATO on it - heard mixed results from others so will it be worth it to seal it with timber oil or should I just leave it alone and let it turn grey - I would prefer the rick oiled color and protection. Any advice is appreciated

Cabot's ATO use to be a good product prior to the VOC changes in early 2005. We have not used it on any hardwood jobs since that time. Ready Seal, WoodTux, or Armstrong-Clark stains would be good choices.

Letting the wood just grey out and weather for a year is fine, we recommend this for new ipe' to leach out natural extractives so that a stain will last longer than 3 to 6 months. As you stated in another thread that your ipe' is 10 yrs. old, this may not be helpful but it will also not be harmful. Good ipe' can go for decades without a stain. The wood is just that bullet proof.

[RPetry]

Jim,

On the off chance that you have not stained your ipe', here is a pic I took while working this morning. This ipe' deck was stripped with a weak, 3 oz./gal. NaOH mix, brightened with citric acid, and is being lightly sanded with a random orbital using 60 grit paper.

Note the white areas to the right and "top" of the sander. This is typical "firring" of the ipe' boards, even with a diluted stripper and low pressure rinse. From past experience I can guarantee that a semitransparent oil stain will look much better on ipe' when lightly sanded.

[jimbo970]

I stained yesterday with ATO and it looked awsome until this morning. Overnight the dew settled on the deck and you can wipe off most of the stain with a rag!!!

It wnr on light and there were no puddles or glossy area last night before I finished up. How can you avoid the dew scenario from over night drying? I started staining about 2 pm and finished at about 8pm. I am hoping once the sun gets fired up today it will dry it off good and I will wipe down with a towel. Any advice here or just let it go for the year? Can I wait a few days and lightly sand the boards that dont looks so good and re apply? or can I iuse a different oil stain to do this?

[jimbo970]

Well all the stain has not wiped off. The deck still has a dark color but there is certain boards which appear orangy in the sun. I lightly sanded one board and wiped it off and it looked ok - most important question is can I re apply in a few days after a light hand sanding or is that a mistake?

[RPetry]

Jim,

You said,

I did stain before checking back to your replies with ATO

Well that is a bit irritating. You ask questions, someone is kind enough to spend time and effort to try and help you, and do not even check for a response.

My last advice is to just leave your ipe' as is for the winter. Strip it and do the job right next summer.