Treating new ipe deck

14 years ago

Just had a 920 s.f ipe deck installed and I considering Woodrich brand wiping stain. It has plenty of venilation as its above a walkout. I am not sure about the process on a new deck. We have had it screwed down ( not hidden fasteners) so to knock down the burrs it seems we may have to sand it with a 50-60 grit paper from what I have read. It seems one can sand just whats needed but may need to sand the entire deck to give consistant look. There is the predictable dust, dirt etc as well as wax emulsion on ends that show. I guess Im curious as to the best practice to applying it.

1. Does sanding help? Should sanding dust be blown or washed off or wiped off or does it matter. Didn't want dust to plug the grain ???

is it ok to wash /spray the deck with water to clean it and let it dry before applaying stain

2. Are there temperature ranges we should avoid putting it on in ? In columbus Ohio here and getting colder.

May decide to hold off till spring if weather is a problem.

3. Do I need to use one of the other cleaners /brighteners prior to use of the wiping stain ? If we hold off till spring I am assuming the cleaners etc would be required.

Thanks for any help.

I have posted this on Woodriches site as well but wanted to see what some of your experiences and recommendations are.

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Comments (6)

weedyacres
14 years ago
Sanding is good...just a light sand to rub off the burrs. If the spot sanding makes the coloring uneven, you should sand the whole thing to make it look even. We rented a hardwood floor sander to do ours. You've got a lot of square footage and I'd recommend it to save time and your back from doing it by hand. I used a shop vac to vacuum the dust off after sanding.

You can wash, but then need to let it dry for 48 hours before staining.

Temp is on the can of stain. Usually needs to be above 50 degrees.

Don't need other brighteners. They get rid of the natural graying, but if yours is newly installed, it won't have grayed yet. If you do end up waiting until spring, then you'll want to use oxalic acid or other brightener.
bigkahuna
Original Author
14 years ago
Weedy, thanks for the advice. Its looking more like waiting till spring because the weather is not wanting to warm up and if so not for long. Maybe if we get an Indian summer we can get lucky.

Does the temp need to stay warm for a while after application or does the stain tend too penetrate and dry fairly quickly ?

Thanks Again
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cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
14 years ago
We were considering ipe for our deck which needs a complete overhaul. I thought the ipe wood didn't need any stain or sealer. Am I wrong? That was one of its big appeals for me.
weedyacres
14 years ago
Ipe doesn't need stain or sealer if you're fine with it weathering to a gray color. The stain keeps out the UV rays that make it gray and helps preserve the original deep brown color.
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
14 years ago
Thanks, weedy!
grnman
14 years ago
There is a new product out there which is a modified stone protect product which was modified for hardwood called Wood Protect. I am testing it on an Ipe driveway in South Carolina and it is performing better than I would have expected. The mfg claims 3-5 years between applications which is way better than the performance of the products out there today. It is waterbased with no VOC's. I will post photos soon.