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You kjnow, Rick, I haven't tried the defelting pads on ipe. Once I started using the osbornes I didn't look back. Those things just might work with the smooth surface and nothing to snag on. Hated those things on splinters or nail heads! You might find the 60grit is overkill on ipe. I do about 1000ft an hour defurring with the osborne, makes for a far better finish on ipe.

Ken, We use 7" R.O.'s with 60 grit Klingspor paper, usually two of us so it goes pretty fast. Most times very light, it seems to go about as fast as a Makita and 3M pads. Neil, Have yet to try an Osbourn brush. Know McMaster Carr has something very similar and one of their distribution centers is about 6 miles away. Is it faster than 3M pads? Do it for all hardwoods. Stripped a mahogany Aussie oil job today and will give it a quick sanding tomorrow if the weather stays dry.

The 'undo' part is the spot sanding of plugs and the resulting effect after applying finish. I defur all ipe with Osborne, not a sanding, IMO. Most projects I'm on have iron or cable railing...I like that combo of metal / wood. The face screws (when done neatly) looks good...to me! When plugs are sanded and oil applied, sanded spots stand out as shiney against a mostly matte finish. Most ipe decks get the EBTY's here and trim boards are sunk and plugged. /neil

Rick, how do you sand it? Do you use RO's or a floor sander?

Neil stated, True, if you are countersinking without plugging. But ipe' plugs on an ipe' deck look way better than exposed SS fasteners. Don't see how countersinking to 3/8" or so has any structural effect when using 5/4 stock or better. Trimheads seem best.If countersinking and plugging is normal in NC, I hope the builders are getting a ton of $. What a tedious, time consuming job. Why would you want to "undo" a countersunk and plugged ipe' deck? A light sanding is normal for us when first prepping ipe', whether stripped or unfinished, plugged or not.

Do I see wand marks all over the place>? Still looks grey.

Ken, Looks like someone tried to sand just the butt joints to get off excess AnchorSeal. Although, there are all those marks on the steps. Bad wood chisel work on plugs and spot sanding?