Ipe advice

[Mountain View 14]

Attached are some pics of an Ipe deck I'm working on. I have tried to strip it twice (original stain was Aussie Timber Oil). First time with HD-80 at 4oz per gal. I could still see stain. The did another treatment at 7oz per gal. By this time the wood was so dark I couldn't tell what was residual stain and what was not so I decided to brighten it. The customer, about 40 mi from me, took these pics this morning after the deck dried out. I felt that I was about as aggressive on the wood as I felt comfortable with. After looking at the pics I see a defelting pad in my near future!

The question is; what is the next step? If I had my choice I would coarse sand and defelt the deck, after that I would percarb wash and ox rinse. The thought of stripping again doesn't give me a "warm fuzzy". Some of the areas were in part shade/sun, one area that looks rectangular (the last pic) had a mat over it thus blocking out all sun. This customer has not had a good experience with this deck so far (referenced in previous posts) and just wants it done "right". He is also willing to go on a six month maintenance plan. I just want to get the "canvas" ready for staining.

What would you do next? Anyone can call:817.372.3743 if you want to discuss. Thanks.

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[PressurePros 248]

Pete.. looked at pictures 1,2, and 3. That decks looks good to go. It does look like it could use a sanding but perfection is not something that is a worthwhile investment on a deck. I'm all for it if the customer want to pay for it but the majority will not.

I think I had mentioned to you that Cabot's ATO can sometimes be a difficult strip. I believe it is the tung oil.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Buff the deck, spot sand the remaining sealer that was in the later photos. It will even out when you seal it.

Beth

p.s. CATO is no different to strip than WT or SRD. All the alkyds strip about the same. Judging by the % of sealer left you should consider it a deck well stripped.

[James 624]

Stripping Upe' Sucks. I have in the past with very good success stripped multi layers of ATO on Ipe'. Let it sit for 6 months and redo it at what cleaning I thought wood work. The weather and sun do a great job at breaking down that crap. Sanding the stuff blows.

[PressurePros 248]

Beth, tell Rod I want him to snap some pictures of you stripping decks. ;)

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Seek....and ye shall find! ;)

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/wood-cleaning-restoration-decks-fences-etc/896-beth-stripping-deck.html

Yes, I have stripped a deck...:lol:

Beth :seeya:

[RPetry 564]

Pete,

Aussie oil on ipe', to put it in Jim's terms, "Sucks". There is something about the product that is near impossible to remove. Especially in the gaps between deck boards.

From your pics, looks like a light sanding (60 grit) to remove any surface errant stain is needed. After that, I would let it sit a year to weather, then a percarb clean and acid neutralize. But of course, your customer does not want to hear that.

Get it prep finished and apply some WoodTux or WoodZotic or Ready Seal or whatever. Call him back in a year to redo.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Hows that spa trim cleaned or stained without thrashing the water?

[Mountain View 14]

Hows that spa trim cleaned or stained without thrashing the water?

Weeeeeeeell, that's kinda funny. I laid some 4 mil plastic gently on top of the pool water and taped it around the side of the pool coping. It did a decent job of holding the run off water from the stripping (about 10 gal). I thought about bailing it out with a bucket, pumping it out, etc. There was just no satisfactory way to do it. When it came time to remove the tarp, five of us pulled it up like you would a napkin full of food and tried to lift it out of the pool to dump over the side of the deck. Of course this had no hope of working. As we were lifting it out......you guessed it, the whole thing dumped right into the pool! The owner put on the filter pump, shocked it, and we made sure there was no residue on the sides of the pool. 20 minutes later the pool was clear; you would never know what happened. The stuff was so diluted it turned out to be no big deal. Just one of those stories sure to be embelished as time goes by.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

After hearing that I think if I run into one like this I'll plan on making a custom cardboard cover big enough to go under the lip. A knotted rope coming through center up to a pole or 2x4tripod setup would work to hold it up. Won't keep water out but probably be tite enough to keep grunge and wood residue out. Once the card board dries on top it could be removed some point after staining and the debri would be stuck or trapped by the stain to the top or it could be vacuumed or blown off.

[MudDuck 20]

You couldn't siphin the water out over the side? Good thing it worked out like that but I don't think I would even have concicered getting near that pool with stripper chems and stain before it being pretty empty and lined, then pump chems / waist water out of lining with a $6.00 cordless drill pump and then lift liner w/ trash out.

[plainpainter 217]

Just curious - why do all you guys advocate letting an ipe deck weather for a year after stripping? What's wrong with stripping a deck, then throwing some Ox at it - then coming back a couple days later and doing a little sanding and then stain? Why bother waiting a year?

[James 624]

Dan, you have to do a few to understand.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

It's all about the density....

Beth

[RPetry 564]

It's all about the density....

Beth

Add in the natural oils and/or resins in the wood.

[James 624]

Are you talking about the wood or Dan ( density) ? LOL

[plainpainter 217]

Are you talking about the wood or Dan ( density) ? LOL

H

Hey Jim - that parrot ever poop on your head?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I don't recommend anything longer than 6 months. The cracking can become to extensive by the year mark.

But to answer your weathering question: Ipe contains extractives that are basically impermeable to sealers. Allowing weathering to take place can deplete the extractives close to the surface and give sealers a better chance to penetrate and last longer.

Washing with a percarb or an acid alone does not (according to our evaluations) aid in penetration. You could however wash with a caustic stripper at low concentrations and expedite the removal of extractives but it still does not help as much as the weathering process.

To answer Mountain View's question, get yourself some defurring pads or Osborn brushes and finish the removal with either of them. Evenly buff the entire deck. I can understand your fear of getting stuff in the water but let the customer know that they will have clean the filters a couple of times or offer to clean the filters yourself if you know how. We have encountered the same situation over the past few days getting all our Ipe customers ready for the season and we buff every deck to finish the prep. Be sure to take advantage of the buffers to remove the silvery areas too, these are fuzz left behind due to the chems.

Rod!~

[James 624]

I take care of a few Ipe's that have never been sealed. There's no cracking. The cracking or spliting that happens is going to happen weather it's sealed or not. The wood it meant not to be sealed.

[James 624]

Dan, Yes!!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I've seen ipe crack and split, and in those cases the builder also failed to anchor seal the ends of the boards during installation...

Beth

[James 624]

Ipe' cracks but it has nothing to do with the sealing the floor. It is at the ends different problem.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/attachments/wood-cleaning-restoration-decks-fences-etc/9200d1208007867-woodtux-ipe-rsipe12month.jpg

Peek -a- boo.... cracks....

Beth :groovy:

[plainpainter 217]

You know folks - just stop all your hem'ing and haw'ing over letting ipe weather. Just make up a real strong brew of oxalic 9oz./gallon and nuke the friggin decks. That will open up the 'pores' just fine. And allow you to stain the decks right away without telling a homeowner to wait for 6 months - talk about losing a job!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

We have not lost ANY jobs where we told them to wait.

Beth

[Celeste 341]

Ditto to Beth. We have found that our ipe customers are VERY appreciative of our advise, even if it is waiting.