Varnishing -help needed

[Rigger]

The other day I applied a single coat of International clear varnish to my wash boards. They had previously been coated with clear West epoxy. I used a 50:50 mix of varnish and white spirit. After 5 days they remain tacky.What now-apply anotheer coat, or rub down and start again,or will they eventually dry.(they are inside a warm room)? Help please!

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[reginaldon]

I've been having similar drying problems (altho' not as extreme) with Int varnish on sanded wood - Ronseal no problems even in cold garage= my only connection is as a buyer at Homebase!

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[Casey]

Ring International in Southampton on 023 8022 6722 and put the problem to them

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[Benbow]

White spirit ? That means diferent things to different people and could well be the cause. I always use the overpriced International stuff for thinning and white spirit just for cleaning up.

There should be no compatibility problem with putting varnish over epoxy, but it seems an odd thing to do.

However, none of this helps with your present problem. I agree with the suggestion to ask International, you may have to remove it and start again. I would be interested to hear what they say.

(is the warm room well ventilated ?)

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[Talbot]

Did you clean the wax of the epoxy first before applying the varnish?

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[aitchw]

50:50 sounds extreme to me. It would be like water. My guess is that you have just dispersed the resins too much and it is going to take a long time with white spirit for the diluent to evaporate of and allow the chemical reaction of drying to take place in the resin. I think it will happen but not for a very long time. On a porous untreated surface you would not have the same problem and you would have got the resins deep into the wood. Warmth and patience are called for I think.

Howard

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[jsl]

I regularly use very thin mixtures of varnish and w/spirit without any noticeable extension of drying-times. Whenever I have had a problem of the sort described, it has been caused by stuff under the varnish. Wax polish, for example. Drying happens eventually.

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[Cantata]

I agree with Benbow about using 'proper' white spirit from International or whoever for thinning. Had some strange results occasionally using supermarket white spirit. One lot I bought a few years ago (from Homebase!) smelt just like diesel.

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[Rigger]

Thanks for advice.I havent had a chance to contact International yet but will post their reponse if interesting. The boards are drying on the dining room table (!!!whoops) which is a fairly well ventilated room. I did not de wax the epoxy first,(how would you do that?) I think for now I'll just wait a bit longer despite the earache from SWMBO!

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[Spuddy]

I'd guess the white spirit is just a carrier - its a solvent that evaporates. There was atime when the cognoscenti were saying that natural wood turpentine was the only stuff to use.
The wax that rises to the surface of the epoxy would affect adhesion certainly. It might for all I know also affect drying.


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[Benbow]

Indeed, the thinner should all evaporate, that's why it is critical to use high quality stuff that does not have contaminating oils and gunk that won’t evaporate.

As for wax rising to the surface; not sure what that’s about but of course surface prep is also key. It should be wet-and-dried to provide a key and then degreased with good quality solvent.


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