First the TWP. First year I just had a few boards that didn't hold their stain, so I cleaned them off with oxalic acid and restained. Second year, now that the snow has cleared, I've got significant wearing away of the TWP, worse in the more exposed (non-pergola'd) areas of the decking. These shots are of the fire pit deck, which has no cover.

The 2 boards on the bottom of this photo were restained last year.

This is the largest section of deck, which is covered with a pergola.

And this is a shot of the pergola, with One Time on it. No apparent wear, even on the top, which we can view from the second story.

I do need some advice on how best to refinish the TWP. Do I need to sand it down (parts are grayed) or just clean it with oxalic acid? And how many coats do I need to put on to prevent the weathering? John, I know you've got stuff with 7 coats on it. Does that sustain it through winter after winter?

I use a 14'' floor machine,ya know a buffer, with scrub pads red one would work for yours combined with the oxalic.

No need to sand, scrubing / wash off dry/ new finish.

I put the stuff on in stages. That is I dont just put two coats on and leave it alone for a few years. Actually I have found the first coat / coats wont last all that long the wood has to weather and do what its going to do. I would have put a couple on a few months after the first two. The one time finish and serval others have just put in more resins thats why it takes so long to set up. Building coat with twp does the same thing the more coats the longer it takes to set up but you will have more control
The S A one outside my house with all the built up coats is due a refinish right now but besides where the big hail hit it last year it looks faded but not bare like yours. The last time I did it was about 7 years ago.

Good to see youall again. John

Pics were taken at dusk, sorry for no sun.

J.

If it makes a difference, the post-stain photos map as follows:
#1: steps on southwest side of deck, match #1 of "before" photos. Exposed wide open to the elements, so had lots of graying. I did some spot-sanding of plugs that were proud of the deck.
#2: largest deck, matches #4 of "before" photos. Protected by pergola, so very little exposed wood showing through. No sanding done.
#3: steps on west side of deck. Exposed to sun and rain, some graying. No sanding done.

What are the possible causes? What should I expect to happen over the next couple weeks as I let it sit??

What do you do for gray areas that you can't get a floor scrubber in (under railings, vertical surfaces, etc.)?

And what do you do if the scrubbing doesn't get the gray off?

I did stir the stain well, so I don't think that was it, and I've only done one coat so far this time around. And remember, the first time it went on beautifully, so I don't think it's the Dark Oak.

I also think that while it's possible I didn't get all the oxalic off right when I scrubbed, all the subsequent rain should have taken care of that, right?

My only concern about waiting much longer is that winter is coming, and I'd rather have this thing done before then if possible.

Another year of weather hasn't made my decking (done with TWP) look any better. I need some suggestions for making it look beautiful again. I've done nothing since my post last fall. Jon mon, isn't it about time for you to come out of hibernation and join the decks forum again? :-)

All in all, everyone has their own recommendations for sealers and whatnot, I only use one product for Ipe, which is called Rubio Monocoat. It's expensive, and just as much as a pain to apply as sanding down your deck. But trust me it's worth it. I have no idea how to post pictures on here but every deck I've done looks like furniture. In fact, after you're done, you'll have to upgrade your house. Check the stuff out. You have to apply a water based sunprimer (pigmented, uv inhibitor) first, by hand, wipe on, immediately wipe off, application process, each individual board. Allow to dry, then you buff on a 2-component decking oil. Then you have to buff it off. Here's the tricky part, you have to work in sections with the oil, because you have a 3-15 minute window to apply the oil and then remove the excess.

If someone could please explain to me how to upload pictures on this thing, I would be happy to show you the difference between a regular deck, a good professional deck and then my decks.

Again, there is no miracle end all, maintenance free Ipe deck. You will still need to maintain this deck. Just like you do a pool or landscape vegetation. Dependent upon the sun you get, you'll need to apply a refresh coat (aerosol spray for vertical surfaces and buff on horizontally) every 3-6 months. This requires work, and money. I won't tell you what I charge to do the work per square foot, but I will tell you that it is expensive and does require recurring maintenance. But besides looking amazing, the great thing about this is it is completely repairable. Dogs, furniture, any sort of scratch or gouge can be fixed.

It was literally 40 labor hours of hand sanding to get it ready. I think I might try the chemicals if I ever do this again. Here's how we got it to. It wasn't as pristine as when we first built it, but it's as good as we could get it.

That last one you can see the handrails stained with 2 coats of TWP Dark Oak. I thought I had post-stain photos on my laptop, but I apparently don't, so I'll have to post them this weekend when I'm back home. I got one coat on the deck with the bench. The first coat brought back the golden beauty, though still not like-new. I plan to do the second coat this weekend on that deck and the first coat on the rest.

The One-Time on the pergola is showing lots of wear 3 years on. The gray on the cedar slats is starting to show through. They do face west, so get pretty harsh sun and the brunt of rain storms.