Varnish and I are friends only because we don't expect much from each other.

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 Mar 2005
Messages
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Location
Buckingham
www.keepturningleft.co.uk
I have been varnishing spars

had a great time in the garage getting high on the smell of Rustins and watching bad TV

I get on well with varnish as long as it is a flat surface

any sort of slope and inevitably I get some drips

spars are all slope

some people seem to be endowed with a gift for putting varnish on just right

We always start off well., varnish and I, I lay it gently on the spar = thin as you like

I watch for half an hour to see if anything is going to happen - clean, clear drip and fly free

I go into the house, looking back at them shining and perfect. I return two hours later to admire my workmanship

I am always dissapointed - more a hot wax effect than a supersmooth coat.

Then I console myself with the thought that I have at least protected the spar from wet and light and next year I will do better

Dylan
 
I'm probably similar.

I varnish my spars (all 8 of them) to protect them, so a fine furniture finish is not required. I always have a few runs as I slap it on fairly thick. So what - you can't see them unless you stand right next to them - and most of the time most of the woodwork is way out of reach anyway. The boom would be most noticeable, but it's square so runs are fewer anyway.

When I built the new chart table I did take a bit of care over that, because that is furniture and because the varnishing was more or less a one-off job rather than an annual task.

Pete
 
Commiserations Dylan,
The spars on my old Drascombe weren't perfect but you could only see the runs and sags when you were raising or lowering them. Your spars won't work any better with a mirror smooth finish & life's just too short.
 
When we varnished the spars for our dinghy I asked the finisher at Rustler for a few tips. He told me to:

1. Thin at least to the tin recommendations.
2. Hang the spar vertically.
3. Varnish from top to bottom. Finishing with downward strokes of the brush.

That way the only run you get is a little knob on the bottom end. Wait for it to dry and cut off with a blade.

Worked for us, but then we didn't have a very tall mast.
 
good point

prv said:
I'm probably similar.

I varnish my spars (all 8 of them) to protect them, so a fine furniture finish is not required. I always have a few runs as I slap it on fairly thick. So what - you can't see them unless you stand right next to them - and most of the time most of the woodwork is way out of reach anyway. The boom would be most noticeable, but it's square so runs are fewer anyway.

When I built the new chart table I did take a bit of care over that, because that is furniture and because the varnishing was more or less a one-off job rather than an annual task.

Pete
Click to expand...

the boom....

just went back and re-sanded the runs on the boom, going to take special care

the other runs will be out of site

Dylan
 
water based 'varnishes and stains'

I am currently evaluating Ronseal 5year water based stain and Skippers water based clear varnish'.

I stained the wheelhouse door last year after scraping off the old flaking varnish and using oxalic acid based whitener to lighten the dark mildew stained areas that resulted from dampness getting under the varnish.

I was dubious about the result, but so far its been good despite the Argyll weather. In fact I've just applied the Skippers to it to see how the combination lasts.

I also stained the teak hatch and then gave it 2 coats of Skippers and did the same to the teak hand rails. The result is quite glossy although not as smooth (a good thing for hand rails) as would be the case with an oil based varnish.

(The woodwork is 33years old and the teak well oxidised and has lost some of its thickness as a result. So I risked defying the well known recommendations of leaving well alone!)

I hate trad varnish and all the effort required to maintain a good finish, but at least the water based products give a decent result on an old yacht and will be easy to sand down and recoat, as and when necessary.
Pics to follow.
 
Robwhelton said:
Eight!? Let me have a go...
Bowsprit
Main Mast
Topmast
Gaff
Boom
Mizzen mast
Mizzen yard
Bumpkin
Click to expand...

Nearly - you missed out the mizzen boom, and I don't have a topmast. Also mizzen gaff rather than mizzen yard.

EDIT: Also forgot that I varnish the tiller and the two boathooks at the same time as the spars. There's plenty of other bits as well, but they get done separately.

Pete
 
Last edited:
what a lot of string

prv said:
Nearly - you missed out the mizzen boom, and I don't have a topmast. Also mizzen gaff rather than mizzen yard.

Pete
Click to expand...

you must have a lot of strings of different sizes on board

as for those who suggested that I hang my mast vertically to varnish it.....

I do not know many people with garages tall enough to do such a thing

and I am frightened of heights

I was okay until I heard Nigel fall off the roof

that aside....

It has been great to hear from you fellow drip creators

I no longer feel alone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWiIeoL6Oh0


Dylan
 
parsifal said:
As somebody wrote (might have been Larry Pardney): "There's no such thing as a final coat of varnish"
Click to expand...

:D I like it. I tried some "woodfinish" varnish (epiphanes I think) that said you didn't need to sand between coats. Unless you'd prefer it to be flat and shiny, they could have added. I might as well have used a trowel after 5 coats, I couldn't see how bad it was in the bedroom where I was varnishing, until I took it out into the sunlight. At least it'll be a good base for next year's attempts at varnishing.
 
dylanwinter said:
you must have a lot of strings of different sizes on board
Click to expand...

Yep. About two dozen or so bits of running rigging, if you count burgee halyards etc.

dylanwinter said:
as for those who suggested that I hang my mast vertically to varnish it.....

I do not know many people with garages tall enough to do such a thing
Click to expand...

When I moved to Southampton for work, I spent the first 18 months renting a room in a shared house with a bunch of dinghy sailors. It was one of those modern-ish "town houses", the kind with three floors with a couple of rooms on each.

When I got home after my first day's work, I opened the front door to find the whole hallway and stairwell filled with fluorescent pink asymmetric spinnaker. It was attached to the loft hatch at the top of the stairs, and hanging down all three floors.

Not that I'm suggesting you hang your mast down the stairwell; I'm sure the missus wouldn't approve.

Pete
 
There must be so many threads on 'how to ......'

We could 'blame' the temperature of the spar, the temp of the varnish tin, the cheapness of the brush, the lack of wet and drying first, the application of too much too quickly, the not dragging it out as thin as it will go on rounded horizontal sections..the poor light

Personally I would blame 'atmospheric conditions'. So what were you watching on the telly at the time?
 
as you can see in the background

Blueboatman said:
There must be so many threads on 'how to ......'

We could 'blame' the temperature of the spar, the temp of the varnish tin, the cheapness of the brush, the lack of wet and drying first, the application of too much too quickly, the not dragging it out as thin as it will go on rounded horizontal sections..the poor light

Personally I would blame 'atmospheric conditions'. So what were you watching on the telly at the time?
Click to expand...

the only way is essex and father ted

you can see them in the background

of the DripMeister film

D
 
The video was a bit like watching paint dry, but the results looked pretty good to me. Good enough is good enough in my book, but I pride myself on being a world-class bodger and champion cheapskate...

dylanwinter said:
I always start so full of optimism

and end in a slightly resigned that'll do sort of feel

Dylan
Click to expand...

I believe Woody Allen said the same about his films...
 
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