# Best Finish for Ipe Deck



## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

..Well it is actually for a pickup truck bed replacement. A friend of mine is restoring or rather rebuilding from the ground up an old pickup truck with a wood bed and decided to use ipe instead of the standard oak boards it originally had. He is thinking about using Deckwise Ipe Oil to finish it, instead of leaving it natural. I know that on exposed decks, you have to reapply the oil every few years but his truck will likely be garaged when not in use so will see minimal UV and weather compared to a deck so should last a few years longer between new applications. With as much time as he spending to rebuild it I doubt that he will haul anything for a while that would scratch the paint much less the bed decking so wear is probably not much of an issue.

So my question is first what do you think of Deckwise Ipe Oil and second do you have any better choices and why? I appreciate any experiences or watchouts you may have, especially for this application.

Here's a picture of the bed after mounting the ipe.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Wow that looks great. If it were mine to show off I'd just build up some shellac. Shellac is more durable then most know especially button lac that still has its wax. 
Plus I have lots to use.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Shellac is not very water resistant 
Most outdoor finishes break down in sunlight, I would use teak or walnut oil and renew it every few months ,going this route means there's not any build up and no removal of old buildup old finishes like you would have to do with a poly or marine varnish.

Edit 
after rereading your post sounds like that's close to what you had in mind, of course, Ipe will hold up very well without a finish.


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## tyvekboy (Feb 24, 2010)

Beautiful truck bed. I second teak or walnut oil.


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Nathan, you might consider clear paint. FWIW


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks for the input.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Long bed stepside, very nice! That ipe will last forever, even without a finish.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

> Nathan, you might consider clear paint. FWIW
> 
> - AandCstyle


That, and some of the newer automotive clears are tough as nails.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

If he decides on a film type finish, the clear (automotive) paint idea seems best to me as well. Any other film finish will need to be sanded/removed when re-applying.

If automotive paint is used, a flex additive should be used (like what is added for those plastic bumper covers). The wood will move some and the paint needs to follow suit.

Ipe is great outdoors without any finish, but it will turn grey.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

> If he decides on a film type finish, the clear (automotive) paint idea seems best to me as well. Any other film finish will need to be sanded/removed when re-applying.
> 
> If automotive paint is used, a flex additive should be used (like what is added for those plastic bumper covers). The wood will move some and the paint needs to follow suit.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I'll pass that along to my friend. I doubt that he will want to go that route because of the trouble it'll take to strip to refinish it down the road. I am also concerned that a film finish will trap moisture inside at some point because cracks or scratches in the finish are inevitable which will eventually lead to mildew. With the oil based finish, if and when he decides refinishing is too much trouble, he can must let it go grey, which may actually go very nicely with the blue color. He painted the truck to match its original color by the way.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

The bed of my truck was painted with the same lacquer that the rest of the truck was painted with. It holds up better than you might think.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

> The bed of my truck was painted with the same lacquer that the rest of the truck was painted with. It holds up better than you might think.
> 
> - Dark_Lightning


I loved auto lacquer.

It's a lot softer then the activated paints, but it doesn't "tear" like they do, instead it scratches, but is incredibly easy to blend and repair.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks again for all the input. He went with Deckwise Ipe Oil and it looks great. He sent off for a free sample expecting to get a ketchup pouch size sample to try on some scraps but they actually sent him enough to finish the entire bed…so he did


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