Varnish

sighmoon

sighmoon

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The inside of our tub is in need of a lick of varnish. I was going to get some yacht varnish, as I figured it would stand up better to a little damp, but it's labelled "exterior use only".

I asked the chap why it was and he says "cos you can only use it outside".
"Why's that?" asks I.
"Because it says on the tin 'Exterior use only'"
"Does it give off noxious fumes?"
"Exterior use only means you can only use it for exterior use."
"What would happen if we use it inside?"
"You can't"

Can anybody here be more helpful?
 
So if the assistant had explained the chemical properties that make the maufacturers put "For exterior use only" on the tin you would have been fully conversant with what he was saying. Ring the manufacturers - give them a laugh too /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
DIY 'Yacht Varnish' is not suitable in a marine environment. The term 'Yacht Varnish' only relates to a particular shade of varnish, and does not imply and form of suitability for use aboard a yacht.
 
I think there was a thread on yacht varnish not too long ago, where it was mentioned that some "yacht varnishes" weren't suitable for use on yachts. There was even some huffing and puffing about trading standards and mis-representation..... not sure what the outcome was though.

For many years I used International Varnish, both Goldspar and Schooner for topsides woodwork..... last year I bought a tin of Ronseal and it's lasted just as well.
 
Is there any good reason we can't use exterior varnish for the boat's interior? I suspect it would wear better, but don't want to poison the baby (if that's a risk).
 
I personally can't see why not, but then I'm a long way from being an expert (OK, I admit it, I know sweet FA really /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif) I suppose it boils down to what you think would be harder wearing, as it's not something you'd want to do too often.

As for poisons, the only way to find that out would be to contact the makers. The Ronseal I used was "Outdoor Varnish"...... which supposedly "outlasts conventional yacht varnish". Apart from the usual warnings on the tin about what to do if splashed whislt using it, and to keep out of the reach of children, it doesn't give any warnings about what it might do after curing.

LS>> My varnishing usually includes bristles from the brush enveloped in great globs of goo, along with cigar ash and cat footprints. If it doesn't look too bad from 20ft away, then that's normally ok for me. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

<edit> that last bits not very helpful....... so I'll add a serious footnote. Normally I varnish over woodstain, using about 3 coats. With the International, I find that after 12 months or so, the layers of varnish start to take on an eggshell like appearance, with very fine cracking. The Ronseal used last year seems fine so far, just lost a little of the gloss......
 
Used by mistake the varnish for outside, for the inside, went a funny colour with age. I think the bits in the exterior require UV to activate the final drying process, on stripping the old varnish found that it had gone very brittle whereas the outsides have always gone hard requiring elbow grease and pleny of it,to remove.
 
Have recently discovered Le Tonkinois and have used it for my teak washboards and presently using it for the teak faced ply on the cabin floor. An impressive, and entirely natural product. Search for "le tonkinois" on the classic boat forum for more info.
 
Funny statement which makes me think back to the class room days of paint physics and make up etc.

Things and technology change so this was true in the past, (I do not see why it owuld be different now)

If a paint product is suitable for use outside.... It can also be used inside but not the other way around.
 
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