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The test board is an IPE deck board that had never been exposed to the elements. The board was cleaned in January 2010 with a very mild stripper solution and neutralized with a very mild acid solution. The top portion of the board is two coats of A/C mahogany stain that has been exposed to the weather for 23 plus months at an elevation of 5500 feet. The middle section of the board is the balance of the top portion which has been cleaned with a mild sodium percarbonate solution and recoated with a medium maintenance coat of A/C mahogany stain (brushed). Now in 6 plus months of exposure. The bottom portion of the board is the original IPE. The board is being tested in a horizontal position.

The test board is an IPE deck board that had never been exposed to the elements. The board was cleaned in January 2010 with a very mild stripper solution and neutralized with a very mild acid solution. The top portion of the board is two coats of A/C mahogany stain that has been exposed to the weather for 22 plus months at an elevation of 5500 feet. The middle section of the board is the balance of the top portion which has been cleaned with a mild sodium percarbonate solution and recoated with a medium maintenance coat of A/C mahogany stain (brushed). Now in 5 plus months of exposure. The bottom portion of the board is the original IPE. The board is being tested in a horizontal position.

The test board is an IPE deck board that had never been exposed to the elements. The board was cleaned in January 2010 with a very mild stripper solution and neutralized with a very mild acid solution. The top portion of the board is two coats of A/C mahogany stain that has been exposed to the weather for 21 months at an elevation of 5500 feet. The middle section of the board is the balance of the top portion which has been cleaned with a mild sodium percarbonate solution and recoated with a medium maintenance coat of A/C mahogany stain (brushed). Now in the forth month of exposure. The bottom portion of the board is the original IPE. The board is being tested in a horizontal position. The second photograph was taken last week during a hail storm (This was the second hail storm in two weeks)

IPE test board:20 months exposure on original and 3 months on recoat The test board is an IPE deck board that had never been exposed to the elements. The board was cleaned in January 2010 with a very mild stripper solution and neutralized with a very mild acid solution. The top portion of the board is two coats of A/C mahogany stain that has been exposed to the weather for 20 months at an elevation of 5500 feet. The middle section of the board is the balance of the top portion which has been cleaned with a mild sodium percarbonate solution and recoated with a medium maintenance coat of A/C mahogany stain (brushed). Now in the third month of exposure. The bottom portion of the board is the original IPE. The board is being tested in a horizontal position. We are in the monsoon season, so the test board has been rained on almost every day.

The test board is an IPE deck board that had never been exposed to the elements. The board was cleaned in January 2010 with a very mild stripper solution and neutralized with a very mild acid solution. The top portion of the board is two coats of A/C mahogany stain that has been exposed to the weather for 19 months at an elevation of 5500 feet. The middle section of the board is the balance of the top portion which has been cleaned with a mild sodium percarbonate solution and recoated with a medium maintenance coat of A/C mahogany stain (brushed). Now in the second month of exposure. The bottom portion of the board is the original IPE. The board is being tested in a horizontal position.

The test board is an IPE deck board that had never been exposed to the elements. The board was cleaned in January 2010 with a very mild stripper solution and neutralized with a very mild acid solution. The top portion of the board is two coats of A/C mahogany stain that has been exposed to the weather for 18 months at an elevation of 5500 feet. The middle section of the board is the balance of the top portion which has been cleaned with a mild sodium percarbonate solution and recoated with a medium maintenance coat of A/C mahogany stain (brushed). The bottom portion of the board is the original IPE. The board will be placed in a horizontal position for additional testing.

As you can see from the photograph, the color is starting to degrade. The board was cleaned with Dawn and water and allowed to dry for a day.

Tom, you are 100% correct, My error of omission.

A/C Mahogany on the top half and the old Cabot 550 Mahogany Flame on the bottom half.

A/C Mahogany on the top half and the old Cabot 550 Mahogany Flame on the bottom half. There have been two snowstorms and heavy frost every morning for the last month.

First photograph is of the test location just as the snow was melting. Next two photographs are of the A/C Mahogany and then the entire board with the A/C Mahogany on the top and the old Cabot 550 on the bottom.

This is a cedar fence we restored 3 + years ago with A/C Super Cedar. The outside of the fence faces South and West.

Ron: Sent you a PM Mark

James & Pat: Your comments notwithstanding, this is a photograph taken from my back porch. The temperature this morning was 3 (three) degrees below zero. The fence in question is a couple of miles down the road.

The first two photographs are of the original application of The A/C Mahogany (Top half) and The old Cabot 550 Mahogany Flame (bottom half) and the test location. The next two photographs are the A/C Mahogany alone and the entire test board (A/C Mahogany on the top half and the old Cabot 550 on the bottom half) after one (1) year of testing. I lightly cleaned the above board with a weak solution of Dawn and water and let dry a couple of days before taking the photographs. As you can see, The untreated portion of the IPE board is finally turning gray.

Update: A/C Mahogany on IPE at ten (10) months exposure.

Beth & Rod: The testing method I refer to is universally accepted by all paint and stain manufacturers to test for the effects of ultraviolet radiation on their coatings. Arizona and Florida are the most severe areas in the country for ultraviolet radiation exposure. Higher elevations in Arizona being the most severe. I agree with you that there are many other conditions that contribute to the degradation of any coating, however, in order to maintain parity in the testing procedure, all coatings must be subjected to identical conditions. Remember, I am ONLY testing for the effects of ultraviolet radiation on a coating. I was asked to test various stains on IPE in this environment. Frankly, the results were less than satisfactory. The reason I posted the results of the Armstrong Clark Mahogany was that after six months the stain had retained most of its original color as opposed to all the other stains tested. It still retains much of its original color after nine months. As far as the untreated portion of the test board is concerned, I have no concrete explanation as to the reason it still maintains much of its original state. The board was in pristine condition before I cleaned it and applied the A/C Mahogany stain.I can only guess that the natural extractives and oils are not as effected in this environment as they are in your environment.

By way of clarification...............This is where the board is being tested. I take it down for purposes of photographing it. We are in our monsoon season now and the board is rained on almost every day. We also get snow in the winter months. This side of the roof faces South.

Good call. I will lay it flat (horizontal) and see it there is any difference.

It was on a 40 degree vertical plane on the roof.

Beth: The board is on a roof facing 40 degrees south.

The IPE deck boards used for the test were 9 months old and taken as samples from a deck under construction. The boards were kept in the shop and never exposed to the elements. The reason for the longevity is the greatly increased amount of red transparent iron oxides in the formula. This is a sample of test board exposed to the Arizona sun at 5500 feet elevation with a southern exposure. The test board is now in the ninth month with little perceptible color change (See previous photographs) I will send additional photographs as the test continues.

In the way of explanation: This is an IPE board approximately nine months old that we took from a deck under construction. We brought back several pieces to test colors. The boards have been in the shop and never exposed to the elements. We stripped two of these boards with a mild Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Metasilicate and NP-9 solution. The boards were then neutralized with Oxalic Acid and dried in the sun. The first test colors we used were A/C Rustic Brown and A/C Cedar Tone. Neither color held up very well. On this board we applied a light coat of A/C Mahogany, ragged it off, and applied a light second coat (probably equal to one heavy coat). This board has been exposed to the Arizona sun at 5500 feet for over 6 months with a southern exposure. We are going to try the same experiment with A/C Super Cedar and will report on the results of both colors.