Rain on wet varnish

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PhillM

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Spent this morning scratching back and putting varnish coat 5 onto the new cockpit. Tried to setup a temp tarp but with the wind as it was, it would have blown into the coamings (which were being varnished) so decided to go without.

5 hours work, just finished, went to the bar for a celebratary drink. Rain comes lashing down. I guess that the newest varnish would have been an hour old.

I guess that the varnish will bloom, but will there be any other side effects.

Will I be OK to just scratch back and re-do coat 5 next time we have warm, dry weather, or do I need to go deeper and start the whole process again from coat one?
 
Went back down today and believe it or not, its perfect!

In fact better than the previous coat that went on, on a decent spring day in March (yes we did have one or two earlier this year).

I was soooo pleased. I really throught that it would have been runied.
 
innesker said:
Coat #5 eh? So another 7 still to go?
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Yep, although I dont want to put too many on in a short time because they dont seem to really harden up for a month or so. So we did the first four in March / April and now I am doing one a month for the next few months until we get to 7 or 8. Then hoping to get into one at the start of the season and one at the end for a few years.
 
PhillM said:
Yep, although I dont want to put too many on in a short time because they dont seem to really harden up for a month or so. So we did the first four in March / April and now I am doing one a month for the next few months until we get to 7 or 8. Then hoping to get into one at the start of the season and one at the end for a few years.
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Good on you! But you had better warn the seagulls to wear socks and not land on your varnish with bare claws......
 
innesker said:
Coat #5 eh? So another 7 still to go?
Click to expand...

Your a 12 coats person ah, try 18 coats sailing yacht Adele.

Spray varnish is the way forward. It looks amazing better than brush varnish does i find. Hassle tho, more so than dong it by hand.
 
PhillM said:
Went back down today and believe it or not, its perfect!

In fact better than the previous coat that went on, on a decent spring day in March (yes we did have one or two earlier this year).

I was soooo pleased. I really throught that it would have been runied.
Click to expand...

Well,now you know.For a perfect finish alway hose fresh varnish down with plenty of water...
 
PhillM said:
Went back down today and believe it or not, its perfect!

In fact better than the previous coat that went on, on a decent spring day in March (yes we did have one or two earlier this year).

I was soooo pleased. I really throught that it would have been runied.
Click to expand...

I hope that my varnish today will hold up, im hoping for the "perfect result" too. Waiting all this time for the wind to drop to start with the varnishing and then it does but brings rain and now wind. I had to do it managed to protect 90% of it. Fingers crossed for the other 10% hard dryer out on the teak where the water was gathering to drip onto the varnish hand rails but with another down pour i lost interest to focus on the real problems on board. Domestic water pump!
 
Jamesuk said:
Your a 12 coats person ah, try 18 coats sailing yacht Adele.

Spray varnish is the way forward. It looks amazing better than brush varnish does i find. Hassle tho, more so than dong it by hand.
Click to expand...

You think?
 
Some time ago, the mechanic on the Wells Lifeboat was known for the stunning varnish finish he achieved on his wooden racing dinghy. Being keen to learn any 'trade tips' I worked with him one day on his boat to learn any secrets.

Unfortunately all was pretty standard to the point where I thought it was perhaps just luck that made his decks look so good. When we had completed brushing on the final coat to his satisfaction, we retreated to the pub for a celebratory drink or four.

Just when I was about to write-off the remains of the day, I was surprised when he suddenly declared it was time to 'go and finish the job'. This turned out to be using a very powerful hose to soak the varnish for about five minutes. He added that the key was knowing exactly when to do this, but as he gave no hints about how you would know 'exactly when' this might be, it's not a technique that I've ever had the bravery to use. But there's no doubt it worked for him and perhaps your shower of rain came at exactly the right time!
 
I had the same experience earlier this year when stripping back all the woodwork/spars etc on the Drifter. No problem with rain, I used International Woodskin with resulting bubbles or brush marks - it's good stuff, easy to slap on. It used to be known by a different name which was highly regarded - can't remember what :rolleyes: but somebody will know...
 
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