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VARNISHING
As of this writing, the varnishing is about 75% percent complete. The pieces that were easily
removed from the boat have been sanded to bare wood and coated in ten coats of varnish. The
remaning woodwork was not easily removed and will be varnished in place very soon.
The coamings, tiller, handrails, companionway slides and lazarrette door all were carefully prepped.
The coamings were newly constructed, so their preparation involved only finish sanding. However,
the older wood needed considerable care. The slides, tiller and lazarrette door were all suffering
from peeling varnish and general weathering. The handrails were previously "varnished" with Cetol
and retained the look and feel of a ripe pumpkin. While I dislike Cetol, I must say that it certainly
stood up well and, admittedly, looked far better than the neglected varnish. While fresh varnish
looks infinitely better than Cetol, those that may not have the desire to maintain a varnished finish
would be better off using Cetol than allowing their wood to deteriorate.
I used a 2.5" paint scraper to remove much of the old varnish. Then I sanded incrementally using
from 80 to 400 grit sandpaper. It was a time consuming but simple job. The wood looked much
better freshly sanded and I was excited to start laying down varnish. In my excitement, though, I
skipped a step on the lazarette door. The door was very old, weather beaten wood and should
have been bleached. As it is, the finished product looks good, but is considerably darker than the
other wood on board.
removed from the boat have been sanded to bare wood and coated in ten coats of varnish. The
remaning woodwork was not easily removed and will be varnished in place very soon.
The coamings, tiller, handrails, companionway slides and lazarrette door all were carefully prepped.
The coamings were newly constructed, so their preparation involved only finish sanding. However,
the older wood needed considerable care. The slides, tiller and lazarrette door were all suffering
from peeling varnish and general weathering. The handrails were previously "varnished" with Cetol
and retained the look and feel of a ripe pumpkin. While I dislike Cetol, I must say that it certainly
stood up well and, admittedly, looked far better than the neglected varnish. While fresh varnish
looks infinitely better than Cetol, those that may not have the desire to maintain a varnished finish
would be better off using Cetol than allowing their wood to deteriorate.
I used a 2.5" paint scraper to remove much of the old varnish. Then I sanded incrementally using
from 80 to 400 grit sandpaper. It was a time consuming but simple job. The wood looked much
better freshly sanded and I was excited to start laying down varnish. In my excitement, though, I
skipped a step on the lazarette door. The door was very old, weather beaten wood and should
have been bleached. As it is, the finished product looks good, but is considerably darker than the
other wood on board.
I started varnishing the Epiphanes
Wood Finish Gloss. This is the "no
sand" varnish that does not require
sanding betwenn coats, if each coats
are applied within 72 hours of the
previous coat. Some will maintain that
the WFG is not real varnish, and
indeed it does look and apply a bit
different than a more traditional
coating. However, the end products
look very similar, in my opinion. To get
a good finish with the WFG, you do
have to sand lightly though.
The first coat was thinned 50%, the
second 25% and the third 10%. The
photo at right shows the consistency
when thinned 50%.
Wood Finish Gloss. This is the "no
sand" varnish that does not require
sanding betwenn coats, if each coats
are applied within 72 hours of the
previous coat. Some will maintain that
the WFG is not real varnish, and
indeed it does look and apply a bit
different than a more traditional
coating. However, the end products
look very similar, in my opinion. To get
a good finish with the WFG, you do
have to sand lightly though.
The first coat was thinned 50%, the
second 25% and the third 10%. The
photo at right shows the consistency
when thinned 50%.
In order to apply the varnish, I used high quality foam brushes. While these do apply varnish
thinner than a traditional brush, the lay the varnish down smoothly and, more importantly, are
thrown away after use. I absolutely abhor cleaning brushes.
It's important when applying varnish to transfer the varnish from the can to a separate container. I
used small, cheap containers available at Home Depot.
The first seven coats were applied in 24 hour intervals using the WFG. For the last three, I used
the Schooner varnish made by Interlux. Schooner varnish requires sanding between coats,
however it can be recoated in 12 hours as opposed to the full 24 required by the WFG. The last
three coats went on in three days and the freshly varnished wood was installed on the boat on
December 31, 2005.
thinner than a traditional brush, the lay the varnish down smoothly and, more importantly, are
thrown away after use. I absolutely abhor cleaning brushes.
It's important when applying varnish to transfer the varnish from the can to a separate container. I
used small, cheap containers available at Home Depot.
The first seven coats were applied in 24 hour intervals using the WFG. For the last three, I used
the Schooner varnish made by Interlux. Schooner varnish requires sanding between coats,
however it can be recoated in 12 hours as opposed to the full 24 required by the WFG. The last
three coats went on in three days and the freshly varnished wood was installed on the boat on
December 31, 2005.
