Spraying Varnish

[Kristal]

I have a friend who restores antique furniture, and we have been talking about spraying on varnish (said friend has their own equipment). I said I have never heard of varnish being applied to a boat in such a fashion, nor can I imagine it would be easy (too much masking, odd angles) without completely stripping the hull of fittings etc (which, incidentally, is something I'm longing to do with Crystal - pull her out of the water, take everything off including portholes and winches, and do the job properly. Not likely for the foreseeable future).

Has anybody ever had a go, or heard of anyone who's tried it?

/<

 

[Joe_Cole]

There's no problem in spraying modern varnishes so long as the right thinners are used, it's frequently done in the furniture trade.
However, for the reasons you give, I can't see any point in doing it on the brightwork of a boat. Maybe down below if you're doing a major refit.

 

[Kristal]

That's a good point, actually - it would be worth the effort of masking off the painted bits for that, with the amount of Mahogany we have below. Now I think of it, I might well look at doing that as part of the next big overhaul...

/<

 

[Peterduck]

I haven't tried it on my boat, but whenever I have tried spraying varnish it always comes out with a satin finish at best - never a decent gloss. For exterior work, though, the varnish relies on thickness of coating to achieve any stamina, and this is going to be difficult to achieve by spraying, without getting lots of runs or 'orange peel'.
Peter.

 

[ccscott49]

Spraying varnish is fine for furniture or boat furniture that is fitted after it's sprayed, forget it for doing inside a boat, the overspray in the air will be horrendous. Outside, the cover will be inadequate, think of trying to spray on 10 coats?? No thanks. Get a good brush, even a roleer is pretty good, especially the real nice, expensive mohair ones.

 

[miket]

And some of the modern varnish like Skippers or Epiphane. They seem much less prone to brush marks and with Skippers I am told that one coat bonds to the next chemically so you can put about 6 coats on in a day!

 

[fishermantwo]

[ QUOTE ]
I haven't tried it on my boat, but whenever I have tried spraying varnish it always comes out with a satin finish at best - never a decent gloss. For exterior work, though, the varnish relies on thickness of coating to achieve any stamina, and this is going to be difficult to achieve by spraying, without getting lots of runs or 'orange peel'.
Peter.

[/ QUOTE ]

Satin finish is caused by too much air. I've always found marine varnish sprays extremely well. Much easier to get a smooth finish than with a brush. The trick is to get the gun set up right. Spraying outside or spraying racing dinghies is the same as spraying cars, keep over coating till the desired depth is reached. Use the correct spraying thinners. Inside on smaller areas you could get away with a touch up gun or a quality airless gun. Quality marine varnish seems to "wet out" better than gloss paint.

 

[aknight]

From "Sailors' Secrets" (ed. Robinson & Badham), published by International Marine, 1997:

"VARNISHING WITH AN AIRBRUSH

This is a way of laying on five coats of varnish in one day without sanding between coats. Prepare the area to be varnished in the normal manner: sanding, wiping down, tack ragging, and masking. Then take a high-quality varnish such as Epifanes, cut it with 30 per cent Japan drier, then airbrush it on. After finishing the first coat, go back to where you started. If the varnish is dry enough to touch but leaves the imprint of a fingertip, start to spray on the second coat. On a sunner summer day in New England with temperatures in the mid-70s, five full coats can be laid on, and the effect is mirror-like."

Never tried it myself, but offered for whatever help it may be.

Andrew

 

[Kristal]

T-Cut Shortcut

I am a varnishing novice, so I couldn't comment on the "five coats at once" technique either way, but whilst speaking of secrets and cheats...

I was told another secret last night - apparently, giving your final varnish coat an application of T-Cut brings out a perfect shine - it has something to do with removing a microscopic layer which dulls a little during the drying process, almost like an oxidisation layer on metal. I'm going to give it a go, and report back, as I have decided to do a little, simple varnishing whilst sitting on a mooring during my holiday.

/<

 

[nrorke]

My brother-in-law sprayed varnish on a dinghy once. It was nice sunny weather and he did it outside. Unfortunately, a lot of varnish drifted across the yard and settled on someone's car. The varnish did have a good finish, but wasn't as thick as when applied by hand!