Removing Hand Railing Varnish

[SeaEric]

Ang, Your wood is going to look great. You obviously have a lot of patience to stick to a project and do it right. I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[Starman]

Varnish work is a thankless job. Unlike a headliner I may install and the customer sees instant "wow", quality varnish work takes time.

I have used the heat gun method, a "DA" sander, and old fashioned hand sanding. The old fashioned hand sanding is the least harmful to the wood and I recomend long strokes with 80 grit.

I also recomend Epifanes varnish and regqrdless of what the can says, I always sand between coats with 220 grit and I always use 3m sandpaper.

Some one mentioned cutting the first coat by50%. This is the formula all the pro brightwork specialist use. Excellent advise there.

The first coat may even look worse than the original varnish. That is why it is a thankless job , until the final coat is applied.

Here are a few hints for those who wish to undertake this project.

1) It is time for the last coat when you hand sand the varnish and the entire piece of wood turns pure powdery white with ZERO grain lines showing. ( this is normally around the 10-12th coat. ( your finished teak will look like it is coated with glass)

2) Keep the brightwork new by sanding with 220 grit, by hand , every spring and fall and applying 1 or 2 coats of the same type varnish. ( again I prefer Epifanes)

3) There is a product called Penetrol. It will make these heavy varnishes flow smooth and all brush marks will dissapear. ( this product also works great with any oil based product such as polyurathane paint, however the light colors such as white may in time show a "tint" due to the penetrol )

4) Another product to use, especially in the winter time is Japan Dryer. This is an accelerator for for a quicker dry time and works great. I have used it with varnish and Brightside poly with very good results.

5) Never use the can for retrieving the varnish. Pour the varnish you will be using into another container. You may be surprised at how much dust and particles can accumulate in the original can. Clean varnish is as important as the preperation and application.

I have seen the "epoxy" used over the raw wood, then coated with varnish, and I am here to tell you........it gives a false sense of security. Varnish, regardless of brand, breaks down because of the elements and even more so due to the UV rays of our sun.

When this varnish breaks down the epoxy will discolor usually dark brown or black. Then you have no choice but to start from scratch all over again, but removing the epoxy is much harder than removing varnish.

Aside from a "Real Lady" , I do not think there is anything more beautiful than properly varnished teak.

Good luck !

I had forgotton one of the most important items. The Brush.

I use a Badger Brush. Hate the foam brushes. Clean the Badger Brush daily with thinner, then wash with soap and water. Get it dry, then wrap in a lint free cloth ot paper towels.

Dip in thinner a few times and shake well before using the next day/time.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

I can tell youve been there Paul-- Pulling varnish from the can nets you MUD by the end of the can. Epoxy with out a pigment (clear) has no UV resistence PERIOD ! Epoxy varnishes are specially formulated to withstand the UV--Neglect one season and yer still in a heap of doodoo.
Badger hair brushes are great, but I get a 15 pak of pure bristle throw aways for the primary coats and save the BH for a final.
A neglected issue here is the 3M (of course) paper. Even when there is still abrasive on the paper ITS DULL. Just like a dull saw will cut wood, its harder with less than consistant results. Fresh paper is SHARP--its easier to sand AND consistent. How about a final sand with 420 red garnett ?? Theres only one thing better than sanding brightwork, and thats putting the fresh varnish on !
The old ROAMER is all bright outside and in...mohagany capped with 4/4 quartersawn teak. MAGNIFICENT comes to mind, and I always get great compliments on the work. I always use natural varnish as long as it has tongue oil in it. FORGET that epoxy junk-- nothin' but trouble down the line. I ruined a swim platform with it, thinking it would seal out the water better; almost, but it sealed the water IN. We need to discuss water based varnish ( it really works well!) and brushes. PURE BRISTLE is what ...? ws

 

[Angela]

Still preparing for the varnish - it rained last weekend and I couldn't get the varnish started. Got to tell you, though, I'm real impressed with the two-part teak cleaner I picked up. Maybe this is just normal to those of you who have had teak trim all your lives, but I've never found anything that makes such a vast transformation with such little effort. I only use just a little bit, and with minimal effort (brush part 1 on, scrub it briefly with the stiff scrub brush, rinse it with a hose, drip the neutralizer on it, scrub it with the stiff scrub brush, rinse again and DONE!). I have that tiny piece of trim running down the side of the boat. The side I chose to clean today hasn't seen varnish in years - many years - likely since she left the factory. Here's how these strips cleaned up in just a few minutes. The hardest part was standing on that tiny ledge (no walk around decks on this model), with a hose, a brush, and bucket of cleaner. Thought I'd end up swimming at some point, but fortunately, I did not.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Looks great. I find that the 2 part cleaner does do a fine job. I have kept up with my teak, so I haven't had to use it on this boat, yet. But, I did have to stand on that ledge to tape and varnish this past summer. Just wait until you drip some varnish while you are standing there holding a brush and can .

Right now my boat is in heated storage and I have been working on the window tracks. If I fall off of that ledge while installing fuzzies, it won't be a splash that you hear.

 

[Angela]

Just wait until you drip some varnish while you are standing there holding a brush and can .

I would think that a sponge zip-tied to the bottom of my foot, or actually, that would make good use of my socks that I don't need here in Miami, will make a good clean up rag for those drips "out there." I have to do that job out there with all the incoming wakes from the ICW. It's not fun, I tell you. I really do need to hold on that that rail at all times. I'm at the end of my dock and we rock-n-roll out here a LOT!