Cedar and Ipé restoration · Olney, MD
Cedar and Ipé Restoration
Softer cedar and dense hardwoods like Ipé don't get the standard pine treatment. Kurt treats each wood on its own terms.
Chapter 01
Why cedar and Ipé don't get the pine treatment
Most decks around Olney and Montgomery County are pressure treated pine, and that wood can take a fair amount of pressure and a standard cleaning pass without much risk. Cedar is softer, and Ipé, an exotic hardwood, behaves differently again, dense and heavy in a way that changes how it responds to both pressure and chemicals.
Treating either one like a pine deck is how you end up gouging soft cedar grain or leaving streaks on Ipé that a standard wash wouldn't cause on pine. TS Pressure Washing and Deck Restorations is restoring Ipé wood with its own approach, not a scaled-down version of the pine process.
Gray weathered deck and railing before restoration beside a bright stained cedar deck after
Gentler pressure, wood-appropriate cleaning
The pressure gets dialed back on cedar so the wash lifts dirt and old finish without tearing into the softer surface fiber underneath. Ipé gets a different adjustment again, since its density means it can handle more mechanical cleaning than cedar but still needs the right approach to avoid streaking or uneven color.
Earth friendly detergents do the actual cleaning work on both, the same products used across every job. What changes from deck to deck is how much pressure and dwell time gets applied, judged by the wood in front of Kurt rather than a fixed setting.
Chapter 03
Dense hardwood finishes and re-coating
Once a cedar or Ipé deck is clean and dry, the finish that goes back on has to suit the wood, not just match the color of what was there before. Dense hardwoods like Ipé hold finish differently than a softer cedar board does, which is part of why restoring one takes real judgment rather than a single routine.
If you're in Olney, Bethesda or anywhere else in the service area and you're not sure whether your deck is cedar, Ipé or plain pine, call Kurt at 240-372-7267. He'll look at the boards before recommending anything.
“A 15-20 year old Cedar deck restored.”