Whats "Yacht Varnish" for?

[Seagreen]

Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

No, its not a dim question. I bought a large tin of "International Yacht Varnish" from B&Q, which on reading the back of the tin said, "not suitable for floors or marine use".

Durr?? "Not suitable for marine use"? Yacht Varnish?

Oh wait a moment, they must sell gallons of this stuff to the vast army of pond yacht skippers who make the thousands of model yachts which plague this country. Silly me.

As far as I can tell, the "Not for marine use" must be a sop to chandleries, as it looks and smells just like the stuff I've been using for the last 30 years. Anyone know differently, please enlighten me. Its going on a plywood dinghy that spends 99% of its life out of the water, so I don't think wear or exposure will be a problem.

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[B175Chris]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

I knew I'd seen this before, god i've been here too long /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1779957/an/0/page/2

 

[Seagreen]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

Ah well, I've been locked up in a garage with the stuff and sniffing turps for the last 3 hours, so that's my excuse. It'll do fine for me, even on the bottom hull.

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

I'd use it for your dinghy no worries!

 

[Seagreen]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

BTW that post still didn't answer my original question. So, what's the difference between "yacht" varnish and Varnish sold by the same companies in chandleries?

 

[thurloo]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

hi none , if its nat crap ,

 

[LittleShip]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

So, what's the difference between "yacht" varnish and Varnish sold by the same companies in chandleries?

You will never find out................

Now here is another one. What is the difference between marine paints and normal household paints, I'm not talking two packs just the ordinary enamel paints. I spent ages trying to find out and then somebody quickly gave me the answer............ PRICE which is why my boat gets Weathershield.

Tom

 

[bazobeleza]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

I used Johnstones household gloss on a heron dinghy for years, never had any problems, also used ordinary polyuerthane exterior varnish on the mast again worked fine for my 10 years ownership of the dinghy

 

[TrueBlue]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

Yacht Varnish is a type of finish not a what for finish. It has a very high gloss - what one would expect from a traditional boat.

I suspect to get such a high gloss the manufacturer has to forgo any UV inhibitor - so no good for external or marine use, and it is soft - so no good for flooring.

There you have it - a very boring answer, sorry.

 

[LittleShip]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

OK now what about the paint one and that will be your 1000 post!

Tom

 

[Lakesailor]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

That's good paint and the current Berger White Gloss paint is very tough. I used it inside my tender and it survived outboards and batteries being dragged across it, no problems.
It is also about £3.70 for a litre.
Usually at independent hardware stores rather than big sheds.

 

[Seagreen]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

A mate used ordinary white as a boot-top, but in seawater he got a lot of blistering and pockets of water underneath the paint. I think on surfaces that aren't immersed on a regular basis, a good exterior enamel will do fine - that's the way I'm going anyway.

 

[Lakesailor]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

Did he overlap the boot top over the antifoul?
That allows the water to wick up behind the boot top.

I put the boot top on before the antifoul to avoid that.

 

[Seagreen]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

It was a long time ago, but I think he only overlapped by mils. The two painted areas were adjacent not overlapping, and he got bilsters all over the paint - had to strip it all off and start again.

 

[wetndry]

Re: Whats \"Yacht Varnish\" for?

[ QUOTE ]



Its going on a plywood dinghy that spends 99% of its life out of the water, so I don't think wear or exposure will be a problem.


[/ QUOTE ]

I had the same thought and used it for a plywood dinghy that spends most of its life out of the water - and only ever goes in fresh water when it does sail. It was a disaster. The so-called 'yacht varnish' has no resistance to water.