Varnish

[Fair Well]

I'm going to do my railings. The previous owners put a little bit of everything on them most of which has all peeled off. What do y'all think is the best don't want to have to do it every 6 months. I am going to strip and sand back down to bare wood.

 

[Boatsb]

I'm going to do my railings. The previous owners put a little bit of everything on them most of which has all peeled off. What do y'all think is the best don't want to have to do it every 6 months. I am going to strip and sand back down to bare wood.

6 months is good for sunny areas. Nothing will last long if not maintained. I get 6 months between recoats in Florida. Longer if I don't mind it looking like crap.

 

[Canuck Dennis]

The most critical issue is getting on enough coats, remember, what caused the breakdown are the UV rays attacking the top layer of the teak , perhaps being a bit magnified by the high gloss varnish, the top layer breaks into small hair like fibre and then the varnish has nothing to adhere to, when I bought my 70 ft in Ft Lauderdale there were about 12 coats on the cap rails, the permanent deck hand laid varnish like a pro, I brought him to Canada with me and a shipyard stole him away, just to do their varnish. YMMV.

 

[Bob Bradley]

Epiphanes is all I use. For wood exposed to sunlight, I figure 12 coats as the base plus a freshen up coat every year.

 

[SeaEric]

I haven't put a coat of varnish on my rails since I've owned the boat - 2 years. BUT I keep her in a covered shed as did the last 3 owners. Keep it out of the sun and any varnish will last. I find that Epifanes (spelled with one P and no H) which everyone spells wrong is the most difficult to use of all. It's very thick when it comes out of the can. My varnish guy used it but added some thinner varnish to it and a small amount of Penetrol. My favorite varnish was always Petit Old Salem. It flowed out nicely and held a good shine even when the guy holding the brush didn't know what he was doing. I'm not sure it's even around anymore.

 

[GJH]

Eric, Epifanes makes a thinner too! It is also all I use. I like the Wood Finish as it cuts way down on the sanding. The PO had rail covers made which makes a big difference. We take them off when having guests or other special occasions. The rails along the exterior of the aft deck require a yearly touch up.

He also had the rails forward of the pilot house removed and replace with stainless, which I like a lot. Not as pretty, but more functional and maintenance free. Of course, the teak decks more than make up for that on both counts.

 

[bobk]

You have the choice of three types of coating. The easiest to maintain is Semco, which preserves the wood, looks like wood, but has no gloss or brightness. I had it on my trawler since it was new (19 years) and only added a new coat one or twice a year. It got compliments and was real easy to use. Just wash before adding a fresh coat.

Second is varnish. The 'old school' types look great but are a PITA to maintain. And as others have said.... 12 coats??? You have to be a masochist.

Or you can move into the modern age and use Sickens Cetol. This used to get a real bad rap because the original stuff was very orange and darkened as it aged. But the new versions are super. Not quite as nice looking as a good varnish (coming from a very fussy ex custom cabinet maker/antique reproducer by hobby), but much more than adequate for our rails. Cetol requires a 'base coat' and top coats. Cetol is a flexible, slightly soft/tough polymer coating. Applied properly, you will go 10-15 years before your have to strip it again. I'm on eleven years on the hand rails that are totally exposed, and seven years on the ones inside the aft enclosure.

There are several choices for the base coat. 'Light' which has a pale red-orange color that I used seven years ago because it was the nicest available at the time. Now there is a 'teak' which looks real good and a new natural that I have not seen. You need a couple of coats of the base followed by 2-3 coats of the 'clear gloss' and just add a coat each year or two up north. My boat is in use 12 months with winters in Florida. I usually add one coat each year....two if I don't like the result of the first coat. Just a light sanding is all that is needed for prep.

Do not thin it. Follow directions and you too will be happy. No, I have no association with the makers of the product, but invite anyone to come by and see the results. I actually converted a professional varnisher to Cetol.

Bobk

PS, your other choice is to do like many blow boaters.... let it weather.

 

[Canuck Dennis]

The problem I had with cetol was that it did not strip like varnish, the heat gun and the blade did not take it off, maybe the new stuff is different.

 

[bostonhatteras]

Two part catalyzed urethane, period. The best product you can afford ($200 gallon or so) When was the last time the paint on your car peeled off? It doesn't and it sits out in the sun day after day with very little care applied to it. Traditional varnish dates back to the 1500's and it hasn't changed much. Automotive urethane has had multimillions of dollars spent on research to develop these products. They are incredibly uv resistant, film thickness is very tolerant...thick or thinly applied, just get the ultimate mil thickness right. They buff out, repair incredibly easily and last a phenomenal length of time. Maybe we should start using one part paints on our hulls and topsides! Guess what, no one would dream of opening a gallon of oil base paint and start painting their hull so why would you do that to all the bright work. There's a myth that there is something magical about bright work finishing. No such thing. Put the most advanced product on it and don't touch it again for years. Other than that I have no strong opinions on the subject!

 

[Boatsb]

Two part catalyzed urethane, period. The best product you can afford ($200 gallon or so) When was the last time the paint on your car peeled off? It doesn't and it sits out in the sun day after day with very little care applied to it. Traditional varnish dates back to the 1500's and it hasn't changed much. Automotive urethane has had multimillions of dollars spent on research to develop these products. They are incredibly uv resistant, film thickness is very tolerant...thick or thinly applied, just get the ultimate mil thickness right. They buff out, repair incredibly easily and last a phenomenal length of time. Maybe we should start using one part paints on our hulls and topsides! Guess what, no one would dream of opening a gallon of oil base paint and start painting their hull so why would you do that to all the bright work. There's a myth that there is something magical about bright work finishing. No such thing. Put the most advanced product on it and don't touch it again for years. Other than that I have no strong opinions on the subject!

expansion will cause the automotive finishes to crack that lives in water and destroys it they need to come up with something that is more flexible . I get 5 years from Ace varnish if I recoat once or twice a year. after 5 years i sand then add 6 to 10 more coats.I haven't had to take it back to bare wood yet

 

[mr hatt]

I've had really good luck with Bristol 2 part finish.That's the only finish I will use now. it's really durable stuff.

 

[whaler23]

Having just done the strip to bare wood process I recommend as others have said Epifanes (thinned as little as possible) followed by Awl Brite made by Awl Grip. Epifanes is a much faster build material to make the bare wood coverage go much faster. Awl Brite requires mixing with a converter and activator but is an extremely durable and bright top coat. It's very thin so it doesn't require thinning, as a matter of fact you have to watch for runs, you usually apply about 2 mils per wet coat which drys to about 1 mil. Prep between coats is minimal and usually only required if you see brush strokes or airborne dirt has hit the wet finish. I will topcoat about once per season and use a scotchbrite pad to scuff the finish, that's it. You'll be happy with the results and durability once the build is there.

 

[MikeP]

I prefer the look of varnish but the ease of use/application and durability of cetol won me over several years ago. When I was varnishing, I preferred Epifanes though sometimes I used Epiphanes.

 

[Will]

I use Admiral's varnish and light colored covers secured with Velcro. Lasted a few years, so far.
Will

 

[Bob Bradley]

True, you do actually have to know how to varnish in order to varnish. That said, Epi-whatever- anes has excellent uv protection properties. You do have to thin it, just like any decent varnish. I thin 50% for the first coat so that it soaks in and bonds with the bare wood (I'm assuming here that if you want to do it right, you know to strip the wood completely, and then bleach it and fill open grain woods, and sand between each coat.) Second coat I thin about 25%, coats 3 through 12 thin to brushing consistency - usually about 10%, but that can vary with wind, sun, and heat conditions. More will not hurt you on the middle coats. Try to thin the last coat as little as possible to retain the gloss.

Oh, and don't waste your money on the Epifanes brand thinner. Plain old cheap paint thinner works just as well.

BTW, this is how I kept the transom on my Chris Craft looking like a mirror for 25 years.

 

[Pascal]

I got almost 2 years out of 4 coats of Bristol.... That's in so fl sun... No sanding between coats.

Forget varnish...

A alternative is two coats of west system epoxy with 207 followed by clear awl grip

 

[lumina]

Hi All,

I too am a Bristol convert. As much as I appreciated all of the characteristics of varnish, the labor intensive process and long drying times with sanding between coats became too much.

After researching many different products we switched to Bristol about 5 years ago, and never looked back.

Initial prep is the same and critical to success then you can apply up to 6 coats in a day with no sanding in between. Initially there is a learning curve, it doesn't lay on like traditional varnish and there are situations where thinning is required or compensation for temperature needed, but once you get the hang of it it's awesome.

We've experimented with spraying it it on using an HVLC unit and the results and accelerated process was amazing.

 

[lumina]

Hi All,

I also recommend Bobs approach of applying a 50% initial coat on bare wood.

 

[mdshore]

1 coat 50% thinned Pettit captains varnish 1015 ,followed by 4 coats unthinned unless its hot as hell. followed by 2-3 coats flagship 2015 . maintenance coats are flagship . one quick coat twice a year and address any points where water undermined the varnish surface and itll last years before you have to strip it down . Flagship has most UV inhibitors and is softer so dont use on soles. you can use all flagship however its not as fast of a build.

 

[ian w]

I too am a big fan of bristol finish but I beleive they are out of business .I have tried every where in Lauderdale .Any opinions on Perfection 2 part ian w