Varnish recommendations for wooden spars

[Max Campbell]

10 years ago I started off with epoxy, protected with 2 pack polyurethane. This is impractical to patch, and seems brittle - the epoxy cracks and water gets in. I've tried Woodskin on the cabin sides, etc, but this wears really quickly, and isn't hard-wearing enough for the spars.

I want a one-pot product that will seep into the wood, but form a resilient but flexible layer.

I've got the mast back to bare wood, and will do the same for the 'sprit - gaff and boom need minor patching.

Recommendations?

 

[jamie N]

Le Tonkinois.
Anything else is less.

 

[Sandy]

+ 1000 for Le Tonk

Woodskin evaporates in salt air.

 

[Hacker]

Never used Le Tonk but Deks Olje would also work. Part 1 seeps into the wood. Wood has to be taken back to bare first.

 

[Sumara of Weymouth]

I'll give a shout out for Epifanes Gloss Varnish. I only needed to strip my mast back after 23 years which included trips to the Caribbean and Arctic. There was no marking on the timber but the varnish had a couple of large blisters. The varnish came off sweetly with a scraper and a hot air gun. I revarnished with Epifanes again in 2013 and the mast still looks like new. However, I do unstep the mast give it one or two coats every year without fail. It is also has a heavy canvas cover tied over it during the winter. I have described the spripping process and my varnishing technique on my blog www.sumaraofweymouth.co.uk

 

[Plum]

10 years ago I started off with epoxy, protected with 2 pack polyurethane. This is impractical to patch, and seems brittle - the epoxy cracks and water gets in. I've tried Woodskin on the cabin sides, etc, but this wears really quickly, and isn't hard-wearing enough for the spars.

I want a one-pot product that will seep into the wood, but form a resilient but flexible layer.

I've got the mast back to bare wood, and will do the same for the 'sprit - gaff and boom need minor patching.

Recommendations?

I have had a different experience on my mast. West System epoxy coated (two coats) then maintained with two pack Blakes varnish which was last applied 13 years ago and is still looking good having had no maintenance in those 13 years and 365 exposure! Remarkable, durable and not brittle. It's not been back to bare wood since the epoxy was applied in 1996. I wouldn't use anything else.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[Tranona]

10 years ago I started off with epoxy, protected with 2 pack polyurethane. This is impractical to patch, and seems brittle - the epoxy cracks and water gets in. I've tried Woodskin on the cabin sides, etc, but this wears really quickly, and isn't hard-wearing enough for the spars.

I want a one-pot product that will seep into the wood, but form a resilient but flexible layer.

I've got the mast back to bare wood, and will do the same for the 'sprit - gaff and boom need minor patching.

Recommendations?

Sikkens Cetol HLS duluxtradepaintexpert.co.uk/en/products/sikkens-cetol-hls-plus followed by Cetol Filter 7 plus duluxtradepaintexpert.co.uk/en/products/sikkens-cetol-filter-7-plus. Superior for UV protection and long life to any of the conventional yacht varnishes. Properly applied you could look to a life of 10 years + with maybe a rub down and refresh after 6 or 7 years. The mast in the photo is now finished in this way. Previously finished in an earlier Sikkens 2 part product 20 years or so previously that was recoated after 6 years and then left out in the open for 9 years. Only the upper face had degraded and on well over half of the mast the coating was still sound. Most of the rest of the boat is finished in Woodskin, much of it over 10 years old when this photo was taken.

These products are designed for external woodwork in harsh conditions. I have sheds and barge boards at my house that were coated with similar products over 30 years ago that are still sound. Downside is that many give dark flat surface finish BUT the one suggested in the light tint looks great with a sheen. My only reservation for your application is whether it will withstand the gaff saddle if you have one. On the other hand, Cornish Crabbers use Woodskin which is a one part stain (and nowhere as good as Sikkens) on their masts.

 

[Poignard]

Epifanes RapidCoat or ClearCoat is what I would use.

I have no timber spars but these give very good results on other exposed timbers on my boat.

 

[billyfish]

Epifanes for me as well. Easy on easy off.

 

[Plum]

Sikkens Cetol HLS duluxtradepaintexpert.co.uk/en/products/sikkens-cetol-hls-plus followed by Cetol Filter 7 plus duluxtradepaintexpert.co.uk/en/products/sikkens-cetol-filter-7-plus. Superior for UV protection and long life to any of the conventional yacht varnishes. Properly applied you could look to a life of 10 years + with maybe a rub down and refresh after 6 or 7 years. The mast in the photo is now finished in this way. Previously finished in an earlier Sikkens 2 part product 20 years or so previously that was recoated after 6 years and then left out in the open for 9 years. Only the upper face had degraded and on well over half of the mast the coating was still sound. Most of the rest of the boat is finished in Woodskin, much of it over 10 years old when this photo was taken.

These products are designed for external woodwork in harsh conditions. I have sheds and barge boards at my house that were coated with similar products over 30 years ago that are still sound. Downside is that many give dark flat surface finish BUT the one suggested in the light tint looks great with a sheen. My only reservation for your application is whether it will withstand the gaff saddle if you have one. On the other hand, Cornish Crabbers use Woodskin which is a one part stain (and nowhere as good as Sikkens) on their masts.

Totally agree. I've been using the above HLS and Filter 7 for well over 20 years and very low maintenance but as I wrote in post #6 for my mast I have found that 2-part varnish is far superior for abrasion resistance if, for example, you have a gaff like me.

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[Rappey]

Interesting that two of you have used epoxy then varnish but had opposite results.
Many years ago I varnished my mahogany cockpit coaming using epifanes and it looked stunning. Eventually it needed removing and doing again. Not sure whether it was lack of subsequent coats to keep it going or the wood itself.
At 40 years the wood has fine cracks which will always be a failure point of most coatings.
Woodskin worked better than varnishes as it could fill the cracks without being too hard which lasted around 6 years with most the failure on the horizontal surfaces.
Patching stands out like a sore thumb with woodskin.
A blog about wood coatings suggested 3 coats of epoxy and three polyurethane. Any less and water could get into the wood causing more expansion and contraction leading to eventual failing of the coating. It explained how one coat soaks into the wood leading to premature drying and poor bond.
Years ago I tried thinning up to 50% and putting on coat after coat finishing with a few 100% varnish coats. The finished result did not last any longer than previous methods.
A guy at our club has been giving his wooden mast 2 coats every year for the past 35 years. The depth of varnish looks amazing.
Wood bonded to non wood with epoxy often cracks through the epoxy as it seems the epoxy can't cope with the different expansion and contraction rates. Add a line of mesh tape and the same joint seems to last forever.
Years ago some wooden boats were cascovered. That seemed to last. You can get fibreglass tissue. If this was placed over the wood and then epoxied and varnished how well would it last? Has anyone tried it ?

 

[ChromeDome]

Just want to point attention to Jotun Benar, a product that remains elastic, hence won't crack or flake.