I don't think you'll go much better unless you go to marine spar. Even then,
only a light coat and prepare to renew it. Unless you have a pigment to block
the sun, the oils in ipe will oxidize while the finish degrades from the UV,
and the combination is what you described. SWMBO once had me try to keep some
mahogony small patio tables brown. No clear finish worked, even with extra UV
inhibitor, and a thick finish just peeled in time. Now, every two years I
lightly sand down the surface, then apply a thin coat of wb poly to just seal
the surface for awhile. The coat is thin enough that it doesn't peel, and
refinishing takes only a hour or two, restoring the brown color.
GerryG

On 24 Feb 2005 11:06:17 -0800, "Mike Reed" wrote:

I built a pair of adirondacks out of Ipe, and I just love the stuff. My
wife really wanted to finish them because the wood came out so nice. I
fought her a little on it, but she won (duh).

I ended up putting a "spar urethane" on it from the Borg, knowing it
wasn't quite as good as real "spar varnish." When I was done, the
chairs looked incredible. Like I could set them on the floor and Smith
and Hawken and get $400 each for them.

Well, the finish has just been falling right off the wood. It started
about a month after application, with some cracking. I'll be heading
out there with a scraper to finish the stripping job that the wood
started on its own. Shouldn't take long at all. I guess I win my fight
with SWMBO after all, but it's taken two years for the finish to
completely give out on us.

I've never seen wood shed a finish like this. It's like snake skin. The
wood itself is doing awesome. I don't see how this stuff could be 10%
of the way to its grave (25-year life). It just isn't aging (other than
color).

Patriarch wrote:
His wife got it into her head she wants a wooden vanity top.
Has anyone done ipe in this, or a similar application?t.

Patriarch