Varnish!

[Kukri]

I seem to have an awful lot of varnish in my life.

This is probably because a single parent father and two teenage boys have between us:

1. A 26ft clinker gaff cutter
2. A 9ft glued ply clinker tender to (1.)
3. A Firefly (still varnished)
4. A cold moulded International Canoe.

After 40 years of messing about with wooden boats I am currently in favour of:

A. The fit and forget bits, eg spreaders, bowsprit, rails, which get hard wear and don't get looked at closely - Coelan. It will do ten years and is worth it. Be sure to get the application right, as it is eye wateringly expensive. Thin it and rub down between coats; don't just slop it on.

B. The bits that are small and fiddly and get clobbered a lot - wooden block shells, sliding seat and carriage of I.C. - Deks Olje. Use No 2 over no.1.

C. Bits that may get a boiling kettle stood on them i.e. the saloon table - Crystal for teak 2 pot. Obliged to Annie Hill for that one. Being a two pot varnish one pair of tins will last for many years.

D. Everything else - Epifanes, regular, and you really need eight coats. Thin the first four. Use Owatrol in the last four.

 

[ccscott49]

Coelan every time.
Well worth the cost.

Just re-done my masts with coelan, lasted 14 years previously, will do for me. Doing more again on the rest of the boat. Yes expensive, but excellent.

Other stuff gets epifanes rapid clear 10 coats and then two or three of epifanes high gloss. Excellent results. Also use epifanes hardhout olie, great results also, but lots of coats, even the coalns aboard has 10 coats.

 

[Poignard]

Le Tonkinois

http://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/VarMain.html

I have been a fan of Le Tonkinois for many years. It's very durable and doesn't flake but it fades to a yellowish colour.

However, I'm beginning to have second thoughts about using it. Last weekend I decided to scrape it off my coachroof but it won't scrape off like conventional varnish because it has soaked into the grain of the wood. I ended up having to take it off with a sanding machine so my coachroof sides are now a few thou thinner and spending a hot day in a cloud of sawdust isn't my idea of fun!

Maybe I'll start using Epifanes, which seems to be a popular choice.

 

[Ccsa]

I'm using le tonkinois on my freeman interior's mahogany wood but I'm finding lots of particles in the finish .
I've applied 6 coats with each coat being nibbed off before re coating .

Question.
Can the varnish be nibbed back and any imperfections polished out like car paint on the final coat?

 

[Kukri]

I don't think so; the surface is not hard enough for that.

The particles are either dirt in the brush or the can or dust in the atmosphere.

This is a link to the Epifanes Q&A site which I have found useful; it is not trying to sell you their stuff particularly; just good advice.

http://www.epifanes.com/qanda.htm

 

[KINGFISHER 8]

Standard International varnish ... the ordinary stuff ... the secret is in keeping the boat covered when not being sailed so just the toerail needs doing very year.

(sorry, pics didn't attach!)

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I'm using le tonkinois on my freeman interior's mahogany wood but I'm finding lots of particles in the finish .

Not trying to teach about sucking eggs. Are you sure that you are using the right brush cleaner? Some aggressive thinners react with the remains of the traditional varnish and provoke the formation of little flecks within the bristles that are quite difficult to remove, even with thorough washing. Don't ask me how I found out...

P.S. FWIW I keep my brushes immersed in clean diesel, suspended off the bottom by about 10mm.

 

[Gone sailing]

I'm using le tonkinois on my freeman interior's mahogany wood but I'm finding lots of particles in the finish .
I've applied 6 coats with each coat being nibbed off before re coating .

Question.
Can the varnish be nibbed back and any imperfections polished out like car paint on the final coat?

Yes it can. I would leave it at least a week to cure completely then flatten with p1500 before machine polishing. You can get it like a bit of glass if you have enough material to work with.

 

[Admin]

test

 

[Kukri]

test

Test patch?

Richard Hare used to be the expert on those!

 

[Poignard]

Not trying to teach about sucking eggs. Are you sure that you are using the right brush cleaner? Some aggressive thinners react with the remains of the traditional varnish and provoke the formation of little flecks within the bristles that are quite difficult to remove, even with thorough washing. Don't ask me how I found out...

P.S. FWIW I keep my brushes immersed in clean diesel, suspended off the bottom by about 10mm.

The 'BrushMate 4' is also a very effective way of storing paint brushes on a boat. No liquids to spill and the brushes are instantly ready for use.

http://www.brushmate.co.uk/productsummary.html#Trade4

They also work for Jenny foam brushes. I have been storing one in a BrushMate for more than a month and it was fine when I used it yesterday for varnishing. This surprised me as I thought the chemical fumes might damage the foam or at least affect the glue.

 

[ccscott49]

The 'BrushMate 4' is also a very effective way of storing paint brushes on a boat. No liquids to spill and the brushes are instantly ready for use.

http://www.brushmate.co.uk/productsummary.html#Trade4

They also work for Jenny foam brushes. I have been storing one in a BrushMate for more than a month and it was fine when I used it yesterday for varnishing. This surprised me as I thought the chemical fumes might damage the foam or at least affect the glue.

Now I would like one of the brushmate 4, how could I get one delivered to a UK address, I can then get it brought to Corfu. Anybody any ideas?

 

[Poignard]

Now I would like one of the brushmate 4, how could I get one delivered to a UK address, I can then get it brought to Corfu. Anybody any ideas?

You can order it from Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brushmate-T...F8&qid=1401818169&sr=8-1&keywords=brushmate+4

 

[ccscott49]

You can order it from Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brushmate-T...F8&qid=1401818169&sr=8-1&keywords=brushmate+4

Thank you, I will do just that!

 

[SHUG]

I'm a convert to RUSTINS
http://www.rustins.eu/Details.asp?ProductID=827

 

[Rosie1963]

What is International Blue Peter like? I have found a gallon of it in the bilge.....

 

[Kukri]

Good find. Its a perfectly OK conventional varnish. Maybe not quite as good as Epifanes but given the difference in price between "found on board" and "bought ar Fox's" I would not worry for a moment!

 

[Rosie1963]

I keep on finding.... I will use this for the interior then. Tins very rusty, but will tin open the tops off.

 

[Kukri]

It's quite good enough for outside. Unless you are pushing the boat out with Coelan...

Tip - buy yourself quite a lot of Waitrose fresh soups, possibly with some Tim's Dairy yoghurt as well.

Having put the contents where they go, use the soup containers (the labels come off easily) to store the varnish in when you decant it from the knackered old tins,

The thin yoghurt pots fit nicely inside the thicker soup containers and can be used as disposable mixing containers for thinned varnish.

You will need some Owatrol.

"Don't ask me how I know this!"

 

[Sandy Bottom]

Deleted