All hardwoods will fade to a soft silver grey over time depending on exposure this could take a few months or up to a year.  If the tiles are used indoors for instance for a trade show booth floor, they will never fade.  This is the natural patina that occurs with all hardwoods as they fade with UV exposure overt time.  Out tiles are treated with a natural timber oil from our factory, this is not a UV protector and will fade quickly.  Some of our clients love the silver weathered look, and some like to keep the original color. If you would like to keep the color you have the option of sealing your hardwoods with a product such as Cabot Stain Australian Timber Oil (we recommend the mahogany flame tint for Ipe and Curupay).  Others that we have had good results with are Messmers Exotic Hardwood sealer and Penofin hardwood sealer (brown can)  these color tints add UV protection to the wood and make the sealer last longer.  They do not alter the wood color but rather bring out the natural colors.  These oil sealers must be wiped on with a soaked rag and wiped off with a dry rag before it sets. Do not let the oil dry without having been wiped with a clean rag or it may dry to a tacky consistency. Ipe and our other ironwoods may take 2-3 applications before the Timber oil will settle in and stick for a long period of time.  This is just the nature of hardwoods.  Please remember that at any time in the future even many years after owning the tiles you can eliminate all surface scratches and discolorations by sanding the tiles with an 80 grit circular sander and re-apply the oil to the surface.  The deck tiles will look like the day you purchased them, even 20 plus years after installation! This is the advantage of hardwoods over stone or composites.  The beauty and natural look of the wood is always there.

Below are examples of Cabot Australian Timber Oil  before and after We used the mahogany flame tint for this job.

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For an easy once every few months application. Use our soy based natural oil sealer shown below. This natural water based sealer is easier to apply and depending on UV exposure will vary in how long it will last. Since it is so easy to apply we recommend an application every few months if the full rich color of the wood is desired. Simply use a sponge mop to apply over the surface after cleaning the deck. This sealer will soak in and dry within an hour and will darken the wood back to its original color. We highly recommend this product not only because we sell it, but because it is the easiest and most convenient to use. Simply clean the surface with water, let dry and mop the soy oil sealer on. That is it! You can use this sealer on any of our hardwood decking tiles with great results.