What spar varnish and antifouling?

[Roach1948]

Making a list of all the paint products I need before launch. Has anybody got any recommendations?

<u>Spars</u>
The mast has been (primed) varnished in International Gold Spar - I only have put two coats on last summer just to seal it really, but I was dissapointed with the product as it took an age to dry and I did not feel it soaked in well. A few days afterwards when rubbing down for another coat it seemed to slightly soft. So I left the project for the varnish to completely harden before I continue. Looking for a better more reliable varnish so I can continue the job. A friend recommended Ronseal Exterior Clear varnish...and swears by it. Anybody concur?


<u>Antfouling</u>

Not sure what antifouling I should apply for a swinging mooring on the Deben. Any recommendations? I will need to prime too, so I supposed that would need to be the same brand as the antifoul to make it compatible?

 

[fluffc]

I've been quite pleased with Goldspar, so can only deduce you have a problem with what was on before.

Discovered that goldspar doens't like the sealant i've used in the mast so doesn't cure of that bit but elsewhere is good.

I do the following:

50%/50% turpentine/linseed oil. Keep applying until no more is absorbed. Wipe off the excess with a cloth and leave to dry for a few days.

50%/25%/25% turpentine/linseed oil/goldspar. Apply as above

50%/50% turpentine/goldspar. Apply as above, but this time it should actually harden off enough to de-nib the grain. Repeat this step again.

100% goldspar. 2 or 3 coats applied in the 'normal' varnishing manner.

NB only use GENUINE turpentine, not subs.
NB use Boiled Linseed Oil, not war

You can substitute the goldspar for any polyurethane based varnish.

Using this system you get a good penetration, and if the final coat is damaged then the wood underneath is well protected by the linseed oil.

The linseed oil keeps the lower layers 'soft', while the turpentine helps penetration.

 

[Roach1948]

Well maybe I did not thin it well enough to start with. It was on bare wood. Also I did it inside a barn, and maybe I should have taken it outside into the sunshine so it set in the warmth. This was last Summer - so everything has dried now - shall I just slightly rub down and continue with 100% goldspar when it gets warm enough. Thing is I don't trust the drying times anymore and I am only working on the boat at weekends so I would like something that I can overcoat a few times during a visit to the yacht - is there any advantage/disadvantage on going polyurethane?

 

[Lakesailor]

Goldspar is polyurethane. I used International Schooner which is a tung-oil based varnish. Whilst not quite as durable as polyurethane it gives a beautiful finish.
Bit late now, but I would have used epoxy resin as a primer/base coat. It penetrates really well and gives the toughest surface you'd want. The Schooner varnish on top of that works well.

International Paints

 

[Roach1948]

Yes, shame live and learn. As I Coelaning the decks I suppose I could have used that too! Nevermind. Next restoration!

I only went for Goldspar in the first place as it was recommended by chandlers* - the tropical stuff looks good though and looking at their website it can go ontop of Polyurethene so maybe I will go that way.

* Subsequently realised that most chandlers have never touched a wooden boat - I now get advice on here!

 

[Woodlouse]

Why would you Coelan the decks? Bare wood is much nicer.

 

[Roach1948]

Re: Deck Leaks!!!

The answer is leaks. Also, unusually, I have mahogany decks and they don't have the durability of teak even though they look better.

 

[fluffc]

I would strongly advise against using epoxy on a wooden spar. It looks great for a few years, but once it had a few dings the epoxy gets cracked and the water gets in. A big job to repair once it's darkened. Bog standard epoxy doesn't penetrate very far.

I refurbished the spars of a Sowester that had had an epoxy finish, and took some time to strip down and remove the stains. Went over to the above turps/linseed/varnish system, and the results have been very good over several seasons. Touching up is all that is required every now and then, even then it's mainly cosmetic as the penetrated layers are still intact.

 

[Roach1948]

Re: What Antifouling?

OK, well that ths spars sorted - now onto the Antifouling.

Have done my homework by spending a couple of hours on the **** search engine looking at all the antifouling posts in the past year and it would seem that there is a wild variation in the effectiveness of these products. It's a jungle out there!

So I reckon at 18ft waterline length, 4ft draft, long keel, I need between 4 and 5 litres. So that is two 2.5l tins.

I am on a very tight budget (Coelan blew my budget!!!!). I think it must go "eroding" and opposed to "hard" as I dont want to go through the scraping experience ever again. Dredging through the archives these are the candidates for room 101(number of X's and *'s indicating number of seperate posters with negative/positive reviews respectively):

Keroc XX
Seajet X
Cruiser Uno XXX
Blakes Cruising XX
XM 200 XXXX

Compass Marine Cheapo **
Optima *
Micron extra ***
Flag cheapo (not sure which one as there are two versions) ***

Given my research I am interested in either the Compass marine cheapo, Flag cheapo and another one I have found another called HEMPEL CLASSIC and one called Skippers Erodable, any comments? These are all roughly in the £30 per 2.5 litres which I know is the bottom end of the market, but are they value? Anybody with further reviews and comments to add?

 

[Woodlouse]

Re: What Antifouling?

If your starting from fresh then I should go with hard antifoul for the first couple of years, then put eroding on top of that. After all you don't want it eroding and bare wood being exposed.

 

[Roach1948]

Re: What Antifouling?

Yes - I am going from Fresh. Hull is just finished being faired and I have not even got primer on it yet. So I am open to all options.

 

[Lakesailor]

[ QUOTE ]
Bog standard epoxy doesn't penetrate very far.


[/ QUOTE ] I'll take your word for that. The stuff I used was slow curing. It was very fluid and penetrated very deeply into mahogany. I cut some spare bits to see how far it went in and it was 4 or 5 mm into the wood.

 

[Mirelle]

Would you like the bad news, now?

The Deben is a disgustingly healthy little estuary.

This means that everything grows like...well, you get the idea.

The two antifoulings of choice are either Blakes Ocean Performer or International Micron Extra.

I agree with putting a hard type on first - in my case Blakes Hard Racing. Make it a different colour to the eroding stuff that you put on after.

Incidentally, I like Epifanes varnish for spars.

 

[Roach1948]

Re: Would you like the bad news, now?

Thanks for the different colour tip. I would not have thought of that! The Commercial Hard Hempel I quoted before is actually made by Blakes. Requires more investigation on how it compares with their ocean perfomer brand. Could it be the same formula and is cheaper as it only comes in red and 5 litre tins?

Been using Epifannes "rubbed effect" for the interior, and I have to say it has come up trumps! For some odd reason I overlooked using their gloss version for spars.