This post was updated on May 30, 2024
IPE Oil Hardwood Stain Review
Welcome to Deckstainhelp.com, your source for industry insights and tips on executing the perfect deck stain project. Please leave me a comment if you’ve used IPE Oil Hardwood Stains and the type of hardwood and brand of stain used.
My Pro Tip: IPE Oil is Messmers UV Plus for Hardwood Stain, just relabeled with a slightly different “browner” color.
Note: See here for other exotic hardwood and Ipe Stain Reviews: Exotic Hardwood Stain Reviews
Ipe Oil™ Hardwood Deck Finish is the best solution for your hardwood deck. Ipe Oil™ Hardwood Deck Finish will penetrate the densest of exotic hardwoods, protecting and conditioning while at the same time maintaining a completely natural appearance.
IPE Oil Stain provides excellent penetration into naturally dense woods to provide adequate water and UV protection. IPE Stain is recommended for woods such as Tigerwood, Cumaru, and IPE decking and wood siding surfaces. It aids in preserving the natural beauty of these exotic wood types. IPE Oil Hardwood is an oil-based VOC compliant formula.
Important Note: Testing for Exotic Hardwood Deck Stains
Naturally dense hardwoods such as IPE are difficult to penetrate. The stain will always fade quicker on these wood types than other types of exterior woods like cedar and pressure-treated pine. Therefore our typical 2-year test will be changed to 1-year.
IPE Oil Hardwood Stain Stain Scores (1-10)
Appearance After Initial Stain Application: 8
–IPE Oil is available only in a natural finish. This pigmented transparent finish helps enhance the natural wood grain beauty. The final finish of our test IPE surface after drying was a rich, warm brown tone with a slight reddish glow. It really was quite beautiful.
Preventing UV Graying at 1 Year Mark: 4
–At our exotic wood stain inspection after 1 year we observed 70% color retention. Considering the dense nature of IPE this was a fair amount of color retention compared to other hardwood stains we have tested.
Wear/Tear and Peeling: 9
–No peeling was visible after 1 year. This is common for a good penetrating oil stain. Even the high traffic areas showed no peeling or wearing.
Cost Per Square Foot: 6
–IPE Oil Stain for Hardwoods is on the more expensive side at $60.99 per gallon. Luckily IPE Oil has a great coverage rate. We experienced a coverage rate at over 300 square feet per gallon. This is twice the coverage rate of softwoods. For our 600 square foot IPE test deck, we used 2 gallons in total.
Preventing Mold/Mildew/Algae: 8
–There was some mildew present after 1 year on the outside rails and in some corners.
Ease of Application: 8
–IPE Oil Hardwood Stain was applied using a stain pad. We back wiped excess stain after waiting 20 minutes. Coverage was very good and the whole stain project was finished in 3 hours.
Color Shifting (darkening) after 2 Years: 8
– With small amounts of mildew growth, there was no noticeable darkening or color shifting with IPE Oil Hardwood Stain after 1 year.
Difficulty of Reapplication: 8
–Prior to a recoat of IPE Oil Hardwood, a thorough cleaning would be needed using a wood cleaner to rid the wood of dirt and grime. This is all that would be needed for a proper prep before a recoat of IPE Oil.
Overall Score IPE Oil Hardwood Stain at 1 Year Period: 7.38
–Besides the user-friendly application and excellent coverage rate, the finished appearance is very rich. We believe that IPE Oil Hardwood Stain is a decent product for any exotic hardwood that requires yearly maintenance.
Note: See here for other exotic hardwood and Ipe Stain Reviews: Exotic Hardwood Stain Reviews
Product Information:
Where To Buy: Mostly Online with a few retail stores
Cost: $60.99 per Gallon
Stain Type: Semi-Transparent – Oil-Based for Hardwoods
Available Colors: Natural Finish
Application Temperature: 45-95 F
Coats Required: 1 coat for most hardwood decking surfaces
Coverage Per Gallon: 300+ sq. ft for Exotic Hardwoods
Application Tools: Sprayer, Pad, Brush, Roller
Dry Time: 4-12 Hours
Cleanup: Mineral Spirits
VOC Compliant: 250 Compliant in all States
Manufacturer: IPE Clip
My Test Deck Stats:
Deck Wood Type: IPE Exotic Wood
Deck Square Footage: 800 Square feet
UV Exposure: Full Sun
How Many Years Tested: 1 Year
Stain Color Used: Natural Finish
*All products tested and results are from our experience. We offer no guarantee of similar results. Take into consideration that results may differ due to different wood types, exposure to UV radiation, and natural weathering.
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We are going to install IPE wood decking on our new porch. Once we have treated the wood with IPE Oil Plus, how soon can we install the flooring on our deck? Does the newly oiled IPE need to cure before installation of the wood on our deck
Do not prestain the new wood. Install wood, weather, and then prep: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-long-should-you-wait-to-stain-a-new-deck/
Does a brightener need to be used after cleaner before reapplying IPE oil?
Yes.
will this product work well for pressure treated wood
I supposed you could but it will not perform that well for PTP nor will it look anything like it does when applied to IPE.
what are your thoughts on Flood CWF for Hardwood?
Average. Not the easiest to maintain. There are better options for exotic hardwoods.
Just finished new Ipe deck and siding on home in coastal home in Montauk NY. We are preparing to use Ipe oil throughout however painter informed us that we may prefer to let this gray naturally without initially staining if we are not prepared to re-stain annually as we may see peeling on edges and other adverse problems if we skipped a year or two. He recommended a clear preservative instead. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Also, it appears that parts of our deck that have received more sunlight than the siding have already grayed faster than the siding by the time the home was complete. Do you recommend any special procedures prior to oil application in the different areas?
IPE is a penetrating oild so it does not peel. It will need to be reapplied annualy or sooner. Nothing lasts more than a year on IPE.
You must clean and brighten all wood for the intial prep. This will remove any gray and any mill glaze.
Do you see any issues if we were to decide to let it grey later down the line after our initial application?
No issues.
Can I use this on my cedar deck to get better penetration of the oils & color?
You can use this on cedar.