water based varnish

Inside in house OK but not very shiny or hardwearing, outside even on the house would not use it, certainly not on a boat.
 
I've used the Sadolin Quick Drying, with excellent results. It is very odd when brushing on. So much so that you say "OMG, what have I done?" but by magic it dries fine, and fast, and you wash the brush in water. Don't put on more than three coats, so that the wood can breath.
 
I did my cabin sole with a water based satin varnish (Wilkinsons best) and three years on, it is standing up very well.

One Reservation, it is an absolute swine to strip off, heat, or chemical stripper made no impression at all. In the end it was a combination of skarsten and coarse abrasive paper which removed the film back to raw wood.
 
I used it on my locker fronts three years ago, never again. It was ok to start with but went a pale whitish over a couple of years. As said it is a bast@ard to get off, heat just melts it into the wood and chemical stripers don't seem to work.
 
sailorman said:
Water based paints / varnish do not "flow" or hold a wet edge & liable to leave brush marks.
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Agreed.

I used the Blakes (now Hempel) stuff on some woodwork down below. It didn't give a nice finish. It is still holding up mostly. Some surfaces in the nether regions of the boat managed to grow mildew on top of the varnish (maybe nothing to do with the type of varnish). It is still holding out for the most part - 10 years later.
 
I've used it inside my boat. I wanted a dull sheen rather than a high gloss and it has done exactly that. Easy to apply as well. I would happily use it again.
 
When I eventually managed to remove all the horrible brown sadoline from my internal woodwork I used Ronseal Perfect finish. Comes with
a pad for application. Brilliant. Looks like it has been sprayed on. Not very durable outside.
 
There was an article titled 'Converting to exterior woodstain' in the March Practical Boat Owner. It particularly looked at International Woodskin and Sadolin Ultra and had an example of the latter having been applied in 2009. The gist seemed to be that after three years it had worn well but gone a bit dull. It then talks about a re-coat and suggests that it was done successfully but does not give detail. I probably should not suggest I scan the article for you here...
 
Moxon said:
There was an article titled 'Converting to exterior woodstain' in the March Practical Boat Owner. It particularly looked at International Woodskin and Sadolin Ultra and had an example of the latter having been applied in 2009. The gist seemed to be that after three years it had worn well but gone a bit dull. It then talks about a re-coat and suggests that it was done successfully but does not give detail. I probably should not suggest I scan the article for you here...
Click to expand...

Epifanes is the only product to use
 
I've used the water based stuff on contract work a few years back, mainly large floor areas and bar tops. Did a good job... but! I'm re-fitting my Contest 33 at the moment and trying to get water based stuff off that someone's made a right botch putting on.... more runs than a cricket score. As 'toad' says above, its a bast@rd to get off, and has gone milky.

When I re-varnish, I'll stick to my usual Blackfriars Silk that I've used for years, both working and on my own boats. Having said that, I think they've changed the chemical make-up of it and followed the quick drying fad, which in my opinion is a total nonsense for varnish. I've had to resort to adding some Owatrol Oil to get it flowing nicely with no nasty brush marks. Not cheap stuff but worth every penny when added to oil based paints and varnishes... flows like silk.
 
Further to my last post, forgot to mention that I used Ronseal in our shower/heads five years ago, and bearing in mind that we are liveaboards,
it is as good today as when I first put it on.
 
saxonpirate said:
Having said that, I think they've changed the chemical make-up of it
Click to expand...

THAT is my biggest complaint of all in respect of all finishes - whether Paint/Varnish/Antifoul, and whatever the make. You find one which works well for you. A few years later you go to buy some more. It is either no longer available or the characteristics have changed completely due to 'reformulation' .
 
Nearly all the water based paints I have used seem to be very "Brittle" when dry except the international brown undercoat which dried so hard impossible to scrape off. generally reasonable finishes ans more conveinent to use and clean brushes.
 
I used Ronseal's "diamond hard" water-based stuff on Avocet's cabin floor boards about 10 years ago and have been extremely pleased with it. Easy to apply, slight brush marks (as has been mentioned) but extremely hard-wearing. Twice now, the boat has flooded with rainwater, and I've found them floating around and slightly milky, but they go clear again when they dry out. Considering they might have been floating in water for up to a week, I think it's pretty amazing! Wouldn't hesitate to use it again.
 
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