Gone sailing
New member
We can't have a wooden/classic boat forum without a thread going on varnish!
What do you use and how well does it last?
What do you use and how well does it last?
Varnish!
- Thread starter Gone sailing
- Start date
Gone sailing
New member
For the last couple of years I have switched from traditional yacht varnish to two pack.
I don't use the expensive marine stuff but I source some from my local automotive supplier.
I find the main benefit is I can pile lots of coats on in one day! I managed to get ten onto my boom the other week in one day!
It lasts prety well although I find it goes white and peels where it has been broken.
I have also applied it over old single pot stuff with no negative effects.
Jim
I don't use the expensive marine stuff but I source some from my local automotive supplier.
I find the main benefit is I can pile lots of coats on in one day! I managed to get ten onto my boom the other week in one day!
It lasts prety well although I find it goes white and peels where it has been broken.
I have also applied it over old single pot stuff with no negative effects.
Jim
tillergirl
Well-known member
Epifanes.
2011 - 10 coats after back to bare wood
2014 - three refresher coats
[URL=http://s217.photobucket.com/user/rgaspar_album/media/P1010059-1.jpg.html]
2011 - 10 coats after back to bare wood
2014 - three refresher coats
[URL=http://s217.photobucket.com/user/rgaspar_album/media/P1010059-1.jpg.html]
MinorSwing
New member
If you are going to apply varnish then you need to employ professional crew to maintain it. It's never ending and will alter the most cheerful person into a manic depressive if they attempt it themselves.
Mad Pad
Member
Coelan every time.
Well worth the cost.
Well worth the cost.
sailorman
Well-known member
I use Epifanes on my classic Holman & Pye Oyster37 :encouragement:
![[32511]](https://ybw-data.community.forum/avatars/m/32/32511.jpg?1576058889){kind=avatar}
[32511]
...
Deks Olje.
No peeling!
No peeling!
PuffTheMagicDragon
Active member
This year I intend to try Epifanes Rapid Clear for the outside Iroko woodwork. Does anyone here have an opinion about it?
dur
Member
Epifanes, usually with some Owatrol oil to help flow. Thin with geniune turps for the smell. If you want to darken it up sling a little Stockholm tar in. Also worth doing for the smell. A bit of raw linseed oil smells nice too. One of these days I will find a nugget of gold in the bottom of the tin, I know I will.
Poignard
Well-known member
PhillM
Well-known member
Epifanes. Love it. Usually lasts well although in the storms I did get a couple of places where water got below the varnish and has darkened the wood. On this summer's to-do list.
About three years ago the Gunwales were stripped bare and then had a few coats of Skipper 2 pack on them, then one pack on top (yard did this not me). Cannot say I am impressed. Will have to take them back to bare again soon. Suppose that's what you get when you try to get somebody else to do what one should really do oneself.
I'm not sure how to go about repairing 2 pack. Suggestions welcome.
About three years ago the Gunwales were stripped bare and then had a few coats of Skipper 2 pack on them, then one pack on top (yard did this not me). Cannot say I am impressed. Will have to take them back to bare again soon. Suppose that's what you get when you try to get somebody else to do what one should really do oneself.
I'm not sure how to go about repairing 2 pack. Suggestions welcome.
tillergirl
Well-known member
Personally I think two pack is the invention of the devil. I tried the Blakes/Hempel version about 10 years back. It lacked any depth or colour, did not seem to provide any significant UV protection and after about 6 years lifted. The only good think you could say about it was that you could (after 6 years) get a palette knife under it and peel it off easily. I suppose I did something wrong in the prep but I don't know what. Moved to Epifanes and have never regretted it. I'll grant you that 2 pack is tough.
sailorman
Well-known member
2 pack crystal is very good on teak for the first primer coat
pmagowan
Well-known member
Epifanes but you really do need to get a large number of coats and I think the thinning of the initial coats is the most important. I am going to have to redo a lot of varnish this year as some areas I did not have time to get enough coats on and then it only lasts a season or two. The other job I have is to build a winter cover as it is the exposure over winter that seems to do the most damage. 2 Pack stuff can't compensate for the movement of wood and once it has cracked then the water gets under it, it does not have any of the self healing properties of varnish or the flexibility. At the end of the day, when the varnish is good the boat really stands out. If we wanted zero work we wouldn't have wooden boats.
Gone sailing
New member
I agree with all the negative points on 2 PAC varnish.
Like a lot of people I have limited time to maintain my boat.
To get a good finish and durability with any product then I think 8 coats is a minimum.
I just wonder if two pacs ability to have many coats added in one day makes up for its short comings!? Especially in high wear areas when no product would last a season or two.
Jim
Like a lot of people I have limited time to maintain my boat.
To get a good finish and durability with any product then I think 8 coats is a minimum.
I just wonder if two pacs ability to have many coats added in one day makes up for its short comings!? Especially in high wear areas when no product would last a season or two.
Jim
pmagowan
Well-known member
One of the problems that I have heard which makes me cautious is that the expansion causes the 2pac to fail quickly, within a season, and then the wood under it starts to get water ingress damage. At the same time the rest of the 2pac is good and so it is a hell of a job to get it off to repair. The yard painted the hatch on my grandmothers boat and they had awful trouble trying to patch and repair the 2pac finish. In the end they had to sand it all off with difficulty and replace with epifanes.
oldvarnish
Active member
I tried to get 2-pack off a cockpit table and failed. Took it to a furniture stripper who attacked it with all the chemicals in his armoury -nothing shifted. Ended up doing it with a Stanley blade used as a scraper.
For me, Woodskin is the way to go. You don't get the deep gloss that makes real varnish such a wonderful sight, but I'll trade that for an easier life.
For me, Woodskin is the way to go. You don't get the deep gloss that makes real varnish such a wonderful sight, but I'll trade that for an easier life.
chal
Member
I'm with oldvarnish on this - Woodskin is pretty easy and looks good if not super shiny - a fair compromise between varnish and oil. It rubs off relatively easily but is easy to touch up. Boat was afloat throughout winter and took a fair battering from the storms, but the varnish still looks good.
Pye_End
Well-known member
Tried this a year or two back on bowsprit. Seems to stick well, and can get several coats on quickly. It is quite thin so may well be worth putting something more traditional over the top to finish it off.
My washboards are finished with epoxy and then a 1 part varnish, and the stability of the epoxy has meant that the annual requirement to bring them home every winter and add coats no longer happens, so can understand the desire to try 2 pack, but as yet have not tried it. For those who have I would be interested in knowing if the 2 part gives the same level of stability as an epoxy coat.
Having used a variety of jolups over the years, my current favourites for single pack are Le Tonk and Woodskin.
Easticks28
Well-known member
Been using Ravilakk for three years now. Very durable with a good gloss which holds up for a season and beyond. Dries well at lower temperatures as also.
