Varnishing

[Solitaire]

My cabin hatch and door have seen better days. I've decided to sand right down to the bare wood and revarnish. The thing is I've never done this before! What primer do I need, how best to apply it would some kind of acrylic be better?

Any help would be gratefully recieved as would product/brand recommendations.

Many thanks

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[bendyone]

Sand it right back to clean wood,finish with a fine paper. I would start with a mix of 80% white sprit / varnish for the first 2 coats the slowly add more varnish to tme mix for each coat, maybe 5 or 6 coats in total. Finish with a neat coat of varnish. The more coats the better. Sand dow lightly between coat. This takes time but its worth it.

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[tillergirl]

I guess there's a hundred answers to this question but I'll start. I like Blake's woodsealer as a primer. For non-flexing surfaces, two pot polyvarnish is certainly tough provided you don't mind all that mixing. On a surface that has some movement, they don't recommend a two pot and for those I've used Blakes Classic. Epifanes varnish is always well reported but a bit dearer. If you are sanding the cabin door take care if it's faced plywood, you can easily sand through the quality surface veneer and show up one of the internal plys. Once that has happened you're a bit stuffed.

One problem with the Blake's wood sealer is the tin. It hardens in air (obviously) and once used, seals the lid perfectly unless you meticulously clean the edges before closing the tin - even then I find it still ends up with a lid you have to mangle to get open. The alternative primer is a thinned down coat of varnish - thinned with about 10% white spirit. If I'm doing this way and I have time, I do two thinned coats before the full coats go on. Lightly abraid between coats. For the best results get some tack cloths to wipe the surface free of dust before applying any coat. B & Q do them as will most trades outlets although I can't find them in Homebase.

Nip down the Chandlers and get a free copy of the Blakes or International Paints Manual - a little A6 booklet with a host of hints and tips.

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[pampas]

No primer required.
50% varnish and white spirit/Turps for 1st coat. then 100% coats, if really good finish required rub with 200- 400 grit wet/dry, wash of with white spirit, should come up like glass.

After a few years, 40+ I have found that Screwfix of Yeovil supply a very good hard wearing and lasting varnish for £10/ltr. Remember the better the surface to start with the better the result, Good Luck

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[Spuddy]

Sanding down to bare wood is much too hard work for me and seriously boring. Use too coarse a grade to speed things up and you get scratches and possibly grooves which the new varnish magnifies
Try a cabinet scraper which is a rectangle of steel - get from a decent tool store - and find out the knack of sharpening it. Or get a straight edged bit of broken glass plus some gloves and scrape with that.
If you do sand it - use a cork block to get a flat surface and sand ALONG the grain.
Not sure what fluids I'd use for recoating. Don't like polyurethanes on wood - they're too brittle. Don't really like high gloss finishes either. I'd be interested in what others have tried.


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[Avocet]

I gave up on International's yacht varnish a few seasons ago and am now using Ronseal Exterior varnish. I've been quite pleased with the results but have never tried the really expensive varnishes specifically made for yachts. On the tin it says it outlasts conventional yacht varnish - and it appears to be doing just what it says on the tin!

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[BrendanS]

ccscott, who has substantially more wood work than most, swears by Coelan. Seems not to be as glossy as traditional varnish, but lasts far better.
See his many posts on the subject

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[Davy_S]

I have to agree with this. I have tried the expensive stuff and was very disapointed with the results. I used the Ronseal exterior clear varnish, it is slightly darker than the traditional stuff but after three years it is still as good as ever. I would imagine I will get another season out of it before a light sanding down followed by wire wool (stainless to stop the rust marks appearing) then another couple of coats and should be ok for another few years.

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[dragoon]

I've had success of taking varnish back to bare-wood using a decent scraper and Black & Decker stripping/heat gun. This has worked well for mahogany on my boat - only this morning I stripped one of the cabin doors myself - a few weeks ago I took the light/radar mast down and stripped that before revarnishing and refitting to the boat.

Another point that's worth noting in case you ever need it - International varnish can be darkened using "Interstain" which you can mix to a maximum of 15% as I recall. Hence, if you have areas where the sun has "bleached" the underlying wood this can restore the colour without having to remove the varnish to sand back the wood.

Something else I've learned (owning a boat with a mahogany superstructure and interior has given me one or 2 lessons ;o) is that "hot" varnishing can be quite effective. In order to avoiding wait before each coat dries and sanding, apply the next coat whilst the first is still a little tacky - the new coat will adhere to this okay. This has worked well in my experience, but maybe not everyone will agree with this approach.

A more obvious point, only varnish in warm and dry conditions. This time of year is hopeless for anything but indoor jobs. If you can take parts of the boat home into a warm atmosphere, that's the best. I have a heater in my "workshop" (lean-to ;o)which I leave on some time before thinking about applying the first coat. As mentioned above by someone else, if you can dilute the first coat with thinners, this is better as it will penetrate the wood and adhere better than full varnish.

A final tip I've found is that as you work through a tin of varnish, it eventually becomes thicker and less useful towards the bottom. Nowdays I tend to decant a smaller amount the varnish into a jar or other tin and work from this. This way it's not necessary to leave the "source" open to the atmosphere whilst you work and will be better preserved ready for the next coat or job.

Cheers,
Paul





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[Forbsie]

A lot of great advice here.

Being an eDisciple of ccscott I would add a couple of things.

1. I now always use Turpentine as I believe it makes a huge difference to the job.
2. Get a good brush! I buy a particular one in local decorator's shop. It's got a black sleeve and white tips on the bristles. Less than £4 for 2" brush so not expensive. One brush lasts me 3-4 months.
3. Save up pots with lids from the kitchen but make sure they are fairly solid else they may dissolve. Pasta sauce tubs or Tesco's Finest Ice Cream does the job for me but costs in terms of waistline. Use these to decant enough varnish for a coat or two.
4. When finished a coat, just drop brush into a pot of turps. When ready for next coat, flick off turps, load brush and start painting.
5. To get rid of excess varnish after dipping the brush, pat the side of the tin/tub rather than running the bristles over the rim as this introduces air into the varnish and can result in bubbles on the woodwork.

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[Solitaire]

Brilliant advice chaps - thanks a lot!

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[SlowlyButSurely]

Me too! I've been using Ronseal varnish inside and out for a few years now with good results.

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[BarryH]

I don't use varnish with a brush much now. Tried not to use varnish at all. I found 2 products that worth looking at. One is from screwfix. Its varnish in an aerosol. Good results from that and none of that cleaning brushes malarky.
The other one is Japlac clear from international. Excellent results with that. Easier to to work than varnish and gives a damn fine finish. Can be sprayed if its thinned down a bit. I got a sheet of glass effect on my coffe table.

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[Solitaire]

Cheers Barry

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[MIKE_MCKIE]

Notwithstanding some other comments, the very best brush that you can buy will make a huge difference. When I was at sea we used to keep half a dozen specifically for varnish work & at home I use the same principle (if rather fewer brushes!) I buy a Harris pure bristle brush & after dipping in turps, "paint" the bricks (the rougher the better) of the garage wall for half an hour using turps occasionally as a lubricant, and then wash thoroughly in warm detergent water, with a long warm rinse, followed by flick drying as far as possible. This tapers the individual bristles & generally works the brush to get rid of the stray loose bristles as well. Then wrap the brush in old newspaper and mould it into a nice tapered shape, before folding over the end of the paper to give a nice flat end to the bristles. Once dry it will be ready for use & if used correctly, will last a very long time. I have 2 varnish brushes that are well over 10 years old & still going strong. Sure as hell beats paying a fiver to B&Q every 3 months & you get a damn sight better finish too! After use wash & dry as previous.
Look after your tools & they will look after you.
Best of luck
Mike

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[seaesta]

One more point if I may - wood does not need to look all shiny and new to be protected. I just slap on a coat of sikkens or similar garden furniture woodstain once a year after a thorough pressure wash. Over the years the surface has oxidised down to a nice very dark brown/black silk sheen and the wood seems sound despite facing all weather since 1966!! People often remark on how well kept she looks and I dont spend time bu**ering about sanding and multi -coating
Martin 0f Whitby

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[Avocet]

This might be a question for a new thread but I thought I'd try it here...

I have some small bits of boat at home and I need to varnish them. One bit in particular is new mahogany to replace a rotten bit. I've had it out in the garage but the varnish is taking forever to dry. If I bring it into the house it will dry quicker but I'm worried about the wood shrinking as it does so and then cracking the new varnish when it goes outside again and swells. Am I worrying about nothing? The wood is part of an old skirting board planed down square. It had been in my garage for at least 3 years prior to this.

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[jon]

My advice would be to take it indoors to dry at a moderate temperature of 60-65 degrees F, once fuly cured and all coats applied take it back out side again. A short period inside at that temp for hardwood will not cause it to shrink significantly.

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[pugwash]

Tonkinoise ?

Nobody's mentioned it but it seems to have a lot to recommend it because it's a natural rather than chemical product. What's the consensus on this stuff?

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