I tell ya what; I have never experienced such a phenomenon that exists around a product like IPE. The seems to be no real consensus from more than two people what works and doesn't work for finishing it. You would think this stuff is some kind of voodoo material the way it is able to dodge any type of unanimous decision in regard to finishing it. For every person who swears by a finish such as Penofin like yourself there are 3 that will tell you it is the worst thing in the world to apply and they will each give you 3 other products that work for them! Then if you ask someone else about those products they will tell you they are the worst thing you could put on and you will eventually find somebody who brings you full circle back to the original sealer you asked about in the first place. It just boggles my mind.
Just the "To sand or not to sand" before finishing decision depends upon who you ask.
I think the first thing I need to do is set aside a few pieces of IPE and apply a variety of finishes and nail them to something in the sun and review them every six months, it seems to be the only way to really tell. It is just shocking to me.
Nathan - you should start a website to field test products, where people can get controlled and tested evaluations of products in real world circumstances.