Varnish : The Real Thing - Awlgrip

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narcer

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Reading the recent posts about which is the best varnish and how to apply etc , maybe this might help those who are undecided.
Just finished a 3 month project restoring two 18m Sidka Spruce spars from a schooner here on Mallorca. I was thinking of trying Xtiffers very good method with the Epoxy Impreg but the owner had his own ideas and decided for traditional tung-oil varnish and we went with Awlgrip Awlspar HS, finished with Awlspar classic. After acid treatment and 15 coats (with the same badger hair brush) what a result ! This varnish is the real deal.

Some of you maybe familiar with a certain method of prep - we use it a lot in the trade. This method involves wet-sanding linseed oil into the grain of the prepared wood, repeating this maybe 7 times. You then varnish over this linseed oil base and eventually you get an incredible 3-D effect within the varnish from the grain (esp mahogany). However the Awlspar High Solids varnish from Awlgrip gives you this 3-D effect without wet-sanding the oil in with p400.

I´ve attatched some pics just to give you an idea of the difference "before" and "after"...
http://www.ybw.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7442&stc=1&d=1286388452
http://whttp://www.ybw.com/forums/a...ment.php?attachmentid=7443&stc=1&d=1286388452
 
Magnificent - if you have the time, the patience, money and the climate to achieve this result.

However, in damp old England working outside presents a real challenge to such labour intensive and time consuming processes. Hence the trade off between appearance and easy of use - plus of course durability in our harsh climate!
 
Yes the weather is the problem ! Even here it´s not so easy as what people maybe think. There is tremendous dew due to the temp range in summer, and of course the temp of about 35 degrees when your varnishing.

This stuff however has a great closure time, not only from dust but also humditiy. Somewhere along the way of 15 coats I was caught out by a short shower just 2 hours after application. However it held well with no side effects.

Due to the UV effects here we will make a "mast sock" for each spar so the varnish doesn´t get burnt - normally takes 2 years here and you can start again stripping back !
 
Wow! Recollections of my late grandfather who used to supply timber to, among other places, the Southern Railway carriage works at Lancing. He used to tell of wood with 12 layers of varnish, the first three were applied and essentially sanded off again just to smooth the wood porperly:-)

I've varnishing to do on Jedi this winter (yes, I know, bad time) but fortunately its below decks.
 
I see what you mean about the 3D effect - lots of elbow grease went into that !

yes please, boiled or raw oil ? I tried the raw and it remained sticky for over a month; probably ambient temp and humidity.
 
Boreades said:
Ooooohhh - nice!

What kind of linseed oil do you use to get started?
Click to expand...

He didnt get that finish with linseed oil sanded in, read the post again, the Awlspar HS, does it without and it can be used in UK, as it dries/skins very quickly. Just one coat a day, in UK. In the meddy, have to start early in the morning, wipe off any dew, then wait until its really dry, then get two coats a day on. I should have some photos of my toe rails/bulwarks, somewhere with three coats, looks like 10 coats of Epifanes. I'll try and find them.
 
If you want to go the linseed oil route then "boiled" is the only one. Like ccscott49 has said the high solids in the Awlgrip achieve this for you. However if you have far too much time on your hands (!) then rub in the boiled linseed oil as well and you will enhance the 3-D effect even more.

It´s a lenghy job using single component tung-oil varnish, simply because you have to polish between coats and keep it flat or "flatten back". If you go for Epoxy varnish or poly varnish then you can tack on 2-3 coats a day and be finished in a third of the time - much better method.

Also as ccscott49 has mentioned Awlgrip have the 3 component Awlbrite. I once varnished the topsides on a Puritana 50 with this stuff and it´s very complicated to apply (roller is best). You need to avoid any sun or wind to ensure a slow dry time. When it´s on it´s fantastic stuff - very hard like a coat of plastic. You can also apply this as the final 2 coats over an existing poly varnish to get more durability/ UV guard.
 
Sad, sad state of affairs...

I have just done my web research, and finally located the single Awlgrip importer in the UK. There was no listing of Awlspar on their web site, so I called them up.

They do NOT import Awlspar HS, or indeed any Awl varnish on a regular basis. They may have a single pint sample kicking around, not sure how good it is still, £39.

They said that if you were prepared to wait, they would see about special ordering it.

They are also the importer of Epifanes in the UK...go figure. :rolleyes:

http://www.marineware.com/default.asp
 
Awlgrip Sales

If it´s any help I buy all my Awlgrip, (and Epifanes) from Pinmar here on Mallorca, Palma. Maybe google Pinmar I don´t know if their in the UK - I know they´re an English company.
 
Email from Awlgrip UK distie...

I had to do it - I wrote an email to the Head of Sales for Awlgrip's UK distributor...their response and my original below, in that order:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Robert

Thanks for your interest in Awlgrip products

I appreciate your comments reference Awlgrip Awlspar HS varnish. It has
a very good reputation in the USA for a good finish when using a one
pack product.

As you quite rightly point out we also distribute Epifanes and have done
for a number of years, even before Awlspar HS came to the market place.

When Awlspar HS was released we did our own tests and sent samples out
to professional yards to compare application with what they currently
use. The feed back was good.

Unfortunately when we costed the product up (and even allowing for its
great coverage) we found that the selling price would cost out 3-4
times higher than Epifanes and similar varnishes.

Knowing that Epifanes was already used by the majority of varnish
finishing yards with great results and the limited advantages of Awlspar
HS over Epifanes it was decided that Awlspar HS did not offer enough if
any advantages to the majority of our customers and consequently we have
never carried it as a stock item. (in fact we have only sold 6 cans in
the past 4 years)

We do however sell the Awlbrite Plus for customers who want that
`premium varnish finish` but this is a two pack based varnish that does
offer something different to the Epifanes solution and is again used to
greater extent world wide than the Awlspar HS.

As you would have been advised we can get the Awlspar Varnish from
Awlgrip Europe (but they currently do not have stock) Like England they
do not have massive demand for this product I would guess less than a
dozen per month are sold in the whole of Europe. Which confirms that
like England European applicators tend to use different systems and
products than the USA.

It is quite common that products available in different continents vary
according to local trends and practises and unfortunately Awlspar HS
falls into this category. (we also come across this a lot on 3M products
that are available in USA and not in Europe)

I hope this helps answers why we do stock the Awlspar HS and can only
suggest trying the Epifanes Clear if you have not already or if you
wanted a higher tech solution maybe look at Awlbrite plus

Regards

Adrian Layton




-----Original Message-----
From: *************
Sent: 07 October 2010 17:16
To: sales
Subject: Awlspar HS

To the Head of Sales,

There has been a growing amount of discussion recently in the UK market
about the performance of Awlspar HS. Discussions such as this (with
pictures) from people using it in mainland Europe:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2665812#post2665812

From what I can see of those results, and the professional opinion of
the people using it, it looks to be a very high quality product. Having
an Awlgripped hull myself I know of the durability and finish their
stuff is capable of.

So...why not sell it in the UK?

Cheers,
Robert
aka
SailBobSquarePants
 
I've used Epifanes a lot and am well aware Awlgrips products are equally superb. However for what it's worth I've just had brilliant results from Blakes Diamond. A very good two pack
 
Slowtack said:
Narcer
I am interested in your recomendation for recoating cabin sole?
Click to expand...

I coated my teak and holly cabin soles with epoxy, sanded it smooth and then used four coats of epifanes gloss, then used wire wool and water to make it matt. Comes up a treat, with a deep finish.
 
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