Tiller Varnishing For Numpty

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roblpm

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Ok my Father built an Eventide in the back garden.

I have inherited zero percent of his wood working ability.

I have removed 90% of the varnish on my tiller I think! So questions are..................

a) How do you know when it is sanded properly?! What am I aiming for for an OK job?!
b) How do I clean it up before the first coat of varnish? White spirit?
c) I have some Epifanes varnish. Do I thin the first coat? White spirit ok?
d) Can I varnish in the garage when it is 5 degrees?
e) Do I need to sand between each coat?
f) Do I really need to do 10 coats?
g) Can anyone sell me a carbon tiller for a tenner? Why would anyone want any wood on a boat at all??!!

Cheers

Rob
 
a) you will need to remove all of the old varnish, now you've removed 90%. Varnish doesn't hide any imperfections, so you need to remove all of them (or accept you'll see them). If you give it a wipe with a white spirt soaked rag, you'll get a good (but temporary) idea of how the varnished tiller will look.
b) white spirit should be fine.
c) follow the instructions on the tin.
d) no, it will take a long time (couple of days) for each coat to dry - far better to do varnishing in the house this time of year, unless this would lead to divorce......
e) I do a very gentle rub with fine (240 grit) sandpaper, just to take the shine off
f) from memory I did 5 coats of International Original yacht varnish on our tiller 3 yrs ago. It now needs re-doing. The more coats you put on now, the more uv resistant the varnish will be, and the longer it will be before you need to repeat the process.
g) no. Because it looks nice.
 
I agree with Andy and would recommend getting a tiller cover made, as it certainly reduced for me the frequency/amount of sanding and varnishing.
 
Marvellous. Thanks.

(two threads started this evening. two excellent solutions in less than an hour!)
 
I sometimes varnish wet on wet, ie painting a coat every day for a few days in a spare bedroom and not bothering to sand. I will sand before the last coat of course, and usually thin with a dash of Owatrol, painting with a foam brush. I'm claiming that this is perfect, but it works well enough. Whatever you do, it is hard to avoid a few knocks during the season and with my ash tiller I need to keep on top of any defects.
 
Buy yourself a can of Bonda Wood Hardener. (have tried other makes and they don't work as well)
Strip the tiller.
Apply three or 4 coats of bonda, (fast and easy to put on and it dries very fast, uses moisture in the wood and not heat to go off)
Apply three or four coats of varnish.
Remember to tip-off with another fine brush.
Just lightly key between coats. (240 or 320 grit)

It'll look like you have 12 coats of varnish on it.
We kind of fell over this method by accident in the yard a few years back and now we all swear by it.
 
Last edited:
Javelin said:
Buy yourself a can of Bonda Wood Hardener. (have tried other makes and they don't work as well)
Strip the tiller.
Apply three or 4 coats of bonda, (fast and easy to put on and it dries very fast, uses moisture in the wood and not heat to go off)
Apply three or four coats of varnish.
Remember to tip-off with another fine brush.
Just lightly key between coats. (240 or 320 grit)

It'll look like you have 12 coats of varnish on it.
We kind of fell over this method by accident in the yard a few years back and now we all swear by it.
Click to expand...
Sounds good.
 
Bonda does sound good but is new to me.

I have used Deks Olje on a tiller with great success. Paint it on until the wood doesn't absorb anymore, let it dry.
Amazingly resilient finish - but not the one to use if you want the sort of gloss you see your face in.
When it looks a bit tired just paint on some more. I find it excellent and so much easier to do than the traditional varnish-work elsewhere on board.
 
Javelin said:
Buy yourself a can of Bonda Wood Hardener. (have tried other makes and they don't work as well)
Strip the tiller.
Apply three or 4 coats of bonda, (fast and easy to put on and it dries very fast, uses moisture in the wood and not heat to go off)
Apply three or four coats of varnish.
Remember to tip-off with another fine brush.
Just lightly key between coats. (240 or 320 grit)

It'll look like you have 12 coats of varnish on it.
We kind of fell over this method by accident in the yard a few years back and now we all swear by it.
Click to expand...

Bonda is a good product, BUT... be very careful how you keep it, only use it from a separate container and make sure the lid is well on, ohter wise it goes solid in the can....
 
You may as well be asking what anchor is best! There is a good book by Bob Flexnor about wood finishes, you can get it as a PDF, best to read that and formulate your own method.

I'm a fan of Le Tonkinois, easy to get a good finish, doesn't need thinning. Buy a decent brush.
 
Rather than re-varnish, consider using International's Woodskin. Flexible, UV resistant and breathable. If you get a scratch, just wipe over with a tissue dipped in it. I did my tiller with it at the end of last the season before last, so it's now done two winters uncovered without any sign of deterioration. Where I hold the tiller has now taken on a very attractive satin sheen.

I recently bought a new axe (Gransfors Bruk, if you're into axes) and did the handle with Woodskin straight away, and very nice it looks too!
 
Great axes those, I never considered treating the handle though, does it not make it more slippery?

Have you ever managed to get it as sharp as when it arrived? Mine was sharp enough to shave hair off of my arm at first!
 
Use an oil rather than a varnish then you can shove another coat on whenever you want.
Get a cover for the tiller so that when you are not using it, it is protected - I bought one of those collapsible cheap "deck chairs" the ones that come in a long thin bag for £3, threw the chair away and use the bag as a tiller cover
 
PotatoNavigator said:
Great axes those, I never considered treating the handle though, does it not make it more slippery?

Have you ever managed to get it as sharp as when it arrived? Mine was sharp enough to shave hair off of my arm at first!
Click to expand...

No, the surface of the wooden handle has a slight "sticky" feel to it. As for sharpness, a 6000 grit Japanese water stone brings it back up quite nicely. :) (My thumb now sports a deep cut from a couple of weeks ago)
 
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