Best varnish for inside woodwork

Beamishken

Beamishken

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Hi my pal has asked me to varnish some of the interior woodwork in his benneteau oceanis , some vertical areas are chipped & flaking & the floor is generaly tired
Hes thinking about using international products & suggested 2 pac perfection which doesnt seem come in satin which is whats on now. Goldspar seems to be the only one that is satin is that correct? The cost is irrelevant so doesnt come into the equation he just wants the best & most hard wearing that will match his other woodwork
Thank you
 
I wouldn’t use 2 pack for the inside. It won’t sit on any single pack varnish remaining and is unnecessary when protected from the elements. Also don’t use diy store Yacht varnish - it’s Ok but only that.
if you want a flat or satin finish I wouldn’t use a yacht varnish but use a modern water based varnish such as Ronseal Diamond- (I use this for the pilot cabin floor). The beauty of it is it dries really quickly- 5 coats a day is quite possible- and is easy to apply without sagging unlike traditional varnish. Also it’s tough as old boots.
if you decide to use a yacht varnish then Goldspar is fine - I’ve got a tin on the go now.
Prep. is everything so take your time!
 
I would also not use two pack varnish inside, generally. But if you want to have a very hard wearing finish on some specific part of the interior, you could put on for instance International Perfection Plus (several coats) and then apply one or two coats of Goldspar satin on top to get an uniform appearance.

Edit: The above assuming you start from bare wood.
 
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I am in the middle of varnishing the floorboards in my boat. I did plenty of research. I decided to use a water based varnish for its quick drying properties and because it kept the colour of the wood as close to it natural colour as possible. I wasn't very happy with the ability of the varnish to build up layers to fill the grain of the wood. I did five coats but the wood still looked grainy. In the end I decided I didnt like the look so I sanded the five coats off. I was amazed how easily the water based varnish came off with the sander. The original oil based varnish was about 10 times harder to sand off. I am not sure how indicative this is of durability but the Blackfriar varnish I am now using is filling the grain of the wood far more easily and looks great. It goes on nicely and is quite viscous. I plan to finish off with Epifanes rubbed effect for a matt finish
 
+1 for Blackfriars one pack polyurethane floor varnish for floorboards.

As to the OP's question, very inadvisable to put 2 pack over an existing unknown coating. Good sanding with something like 320 grade wet and dry, then I have used Blackfriars conventional satin finish varnish, diluted down a bit with white spirit.
 
howardclark said:
I wouldn’t use 2 pack for the inside. It won’t sit on any single pack varnish remaining and is unnecessary when protected from the elements. Also don’t use diy store Yacht varnish - it’s Ok but only that.
if you want a flat or satin finish I wouldn’t use a yacht varnish but use a modern water based varnish such as Ronseal Diamond- (I use this for the pilot cabin floor). The beauty of it is it dries really quickly- 5 coats a day is quite possible- and is easy to apply without sagging unlike traditional varnish. Also it’s tough as old boots.
if you decide to use a yacht varnish then Goldspar is fine - I’ve got a tin on the go now.
Prep. is everything so take your time!
Click to expand...
+1
 
To a degree what you use might be how well you want it to match the existing varnish work and of course if the varnish is compatible with what is on. Most satin finishings are achieved by using a different top coats to the first coats. I use Epifanes gloss 2 or more coats finished with 1 or 2 of Epifanes rubbed effect finish gives a lovely satin finish.
 
dansaskip said:
To a degree what you use might be how well you want it to match the existing varnish work and of course if the varnish is compatible with what is on. Most satin finishings are achieved by using a different top coats to the first coats. I use Epifanes gloss 2 or more coats finished with 1 or 2 of Epifanes rubbed effect finish gives a lovely satin finish.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I've bought to do the job when I can get down to the boat but I intend to use Sadolin PV67 for the sole boards which, strangely, was used by the boatbuilder in 1986 and is still available today
 
A lot of interiors are lacquer, my Jeanneau SO from 1999 uses Koenig which is readily available.

Edit...Concerto beat me to it! ?
 
Beamishken said:
Hi my pal has asked me to varnish some of the interior woodwork in his benneteau oceanis , some vertical areas are chipped & flaking & the floor is generaly tired
Hes thinking about using international products & suggested 2 pac perfection which doesnt seem come in satin which is whats on now. Goldspar seems to be the only one that is satin is that correct? The cost is irrelevant so doesnt come into the equation he just wants the best & most hard wearing that will match his other woodwork
Thank you
Click to expand...
I am very pleased with International’s original Spar Varnish for deck cockpit bright work, and Goldspar should be of the same quality. Spar Varnish finishes with a gloss finish, and accommodates without cracking the swelling and shrinking of wood that occurs in the damp marine environment. As others have said, it would be helpful to find out what the original finish was so that you can choose something compatible.
Best of luck with the job; I did mine during last spring’s COVID lockdown when I could not get the boat into the water.
 
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