Thank you lindymike for your follow-up. I am not very pleased to hear the TWP 116 only lasted a few months on Ipe with the acetone prep treatment!!!!

As many of us have discussed, I am trying to find a reasonable solution to keeping a finish on my Ipe deck. Based upon John HyattÂs testimonials, I am also going with TWP116. For me the big plus for this product is JohnÂs claim that you do not have to remove all of the older stain before applying a new coat. This is a big deal for me since I have 1000 square foot deck, a 150 foot fence (finished on both sides), a 90 square foot entry with doors, and numerous window trims all made with Ipe. An annual stripping and wood preparation of all of these projects would be a lot of work. My hope is TWP 116 will allow me to simply clean the ipe wood and reapply the finish every year or better yet 1 ½ years!

In regards to the acetone, was it worth the trouble? From your description, it does not sound very positive. Ken (pressurepro) also stated he used acetone, but does not have any long-term testing results.

How about coloring? Did the acetone improve the wood coloring after the finish was applied? I also look forward to hearing from others who have tried acetone and/or TWP 116.

When you put the acetone on, the color of the ipe improves dramatiocally. It washes the yellow gunk out of the pores of the wood grain, allowing the deep reddish brown of the ipe to show through. The caustic cleaning methods may do this also, I don't know, I haven't tried them. I think it would be wise to clean with something, as everything I've heard about finishing is that the key is to have a clean surface.

Re-application was easy. I did not strip the finish. I cleaned the deck and put another coat of TWP on. It blended right in. I don't remember what I used to clean for the January re-coat - maybe water maybe acetone. For the spring recoat, I bought a pressure washer and used it at very low pressure - low enough that I could put my hand comfortably in the stream at the same distance as the deck.

Like I said, the big advantage of acetone over the caustics for me was not having to carry out chemical reactions on my deck. I wouldn't know if everything had been neutralized, and if everything had been rinsed off adequately.

I don't think you will have a problem on any protected surfaces. It seems to be the water that washes the stain away. If your entryway is inside or under a roof, it should last a long while. Also, vertical surfaces hold up better.

I wonder if when the stain washes off, it is just washing off to the point that it would be at if I had wiped it (as the manufacturer recommends). It is not meant to be a surface build coating, but that is how we (those of us who follow John Hyatt's method) are using it.

That sure is a lot of ipe!! Is your project complete? Have you noticed any surface checking? This was the big disappointment for me, most of my boards developed some checking upon exposure to the sun, whether or not they had a finiish on them. Curiously, most of my 2x8s did not develop any checking.

I have had a discussion with other deck restoration professionals, two manufacturers of sealer and deck cleaning detergents, and a seller of ipe. The general consensus is that acetone is NOT a good idea. Acetone is much too damaging to to the wood. Believing you are not carrying out chemical reactions on your deck is also a misconception. You are changing the characteristics of the wood with a very volatile chemical. The result of using acetone is indeed that sealer may penetrate more. The cost and reason for this is that you are damaging the wood by removing much of the natural sugars and oils in the wood. This would seem counterproductive to the goal of wood restoration and preservation. In a quick search for the volatility and health risks of using acetone I came across this chart which will help you understand that this is a dangerous chemical.

http://www.chemrest.com/Toxicity%20and%20Risk%20Codes/Acetone.htm

Chemicals like what is in RAD have been buffered and field tested. Our brightener now contains very little oxalic acid because of the irritant effects of this chemical. Apply step one, rinse, apply step-2 rinse, no real science is needed as the testing has been performed for you. You could drop a match into either prepared solution and it will go out like it would in a pail of water. Build up a nice ppm of acetone in an area and introduce a spark and you (or your executors) will be rebuilding your home. For those whom do not know what acetone is, it is nail polish remover.

I am not ruling out the use of acetone or even telling you not to use it. I just think the use of this type of chemical should be performed by people whom are educated as to what type of risks they are taking.

I agree with Ken(pressurepros) here...acetone is extremely flammable and should not be used in such large quantities needed for a deck by inexperienced people......it is a health hazard as well....and his statement about removing ALOT more than his RAD or other treatments is correct....you notice the wood grain much more with acetone....really creates some deep crevices in the wood grain where it has removed the "yellow dust" (laphacol) and wood resins....and as Ken mentioned it is not that helpful to wood as it removes too much moisture from the surface

Tell me you Folks are not actually doing that!! John

You guys have talked me out of the acetone treatmentÂ.But I still need to find a solution of having a finish that last at least a year in HawaiiÂs climate and is easy to refinish. I am not 100% certain TWP is the answer?