How to Take Care of an Ipe Wood Deck or Siding

Taking care of an ipe wood deck is easy!

Ipe exotic hardwood, when exposed to the elements, will develop a silvery white distinguished patina. If you choose this look for your Ipe, besides an annual cleaning of the wood, there is really not much you have to do to maintain your ipe deck. If you do plan on retaining the reddish brown tones of your new ipe, you will have to apply an oil that is suitable for exotic hardwoods.

My recommendation is to apply 3 very light coats of exotic hardwood oil to the Ipe in the first 18 months after your project is finished. Ideally a schedule of 1 coat in the Spring, 1 coat in the Fall, and a 3rd coat in the following spring. Once this “base coat” of oil is applied to your Ipe, put your Ipe on an annual schedule of cleaning and oil application. Because of the dense properties of ipe, the wood will not absorb much oil, so you have to make sure any coat of oil applied to the wood is light. If you go to heavy with the oil, it will dry on top of the surface causing a caked on look.

There are several great exotic hardwood oils available that will perform great on your Ipe. I have achieved some really great results using the Penofin line of coatings on several of my ipe projects.

Ipe is an exotic hardwood that can look beautiful for decades if you follow these simple guidelines on maintaining your ipe wood. Check out the Penofin website for some great options for coating your ipe: https://www.penofin.com/.