Varnish

[Freesail99]

What is your favorite kind of brush to use ? What is your favorite varnish ?

[sailingdog]

Religion has sparked less fierce debates than this subject will. Varnish is a difficult subject... it depends on where the wood is. Interior wood needs a different varnish than exterior wood. It also depends on what the wood is going to be used for. Cabin soles need different finishes than table edge trim.

My personal preference is to minimize the amount of wood and varnish on a boat, as I prefer to sail it, rather than sand and varnish it...

[Gary M]

I like Epifines outside and I just oil down below.

I tend to use a foam brush because it is soo hard to get a good bristle brush clean after varnishing. Will be doing some tonight, tiller and hatch boards. One brush does the whole lot them throw it away. Will do about 5 coats so 5-7 1$ brushes.

A really good bristle brush or a bager hair brush will do a slightly better job but for on deck mine stuff mine looks fine.

Gary

[SailorMitch]

My current favorite varnish for exterior is Epifanes Woodfinish gloss. It's technically not a varnish, but close enough. It looks great.

Interior I use Min-Wax Fast Dry Polyurethane semi-gloss finish on the cabin sole because that matches the original finish. Otherwise I use the Min-Wax Wipe On Poly satin, which does an excellent job of blending in with the existing finish, is easy to apply (literally just wipe in on with a cloth) and is durable.

As for a brush, I don't use anything too expensive because varnish is hard to clean up thoroughly. I buy about a $10 brush and replace it when needed.

[Freesail99]

To me a $10.00 brush is expensive..... I like the $2.00 ones at harbor freight. I have never used a foam brush with varnish.

[SailorMitch]

Originally Posted by Freesail99

To me a $10.00 brush is expensive..... I like the $2.00 ones at harbor freight. I have never used a foam brush with varnish.

I get years out of a brush, but you can pay a lot more than $10 for one. I've found that they last longer if I soak them in mineral spirits (what the Epifanes product I use requires) between coats in a plastic cup. Change the mineral spirits occasionally to freshen it, and you really only have to clean the brush thoroughly at the very end. Prevents the build up of too much varnish on the brush between coats.

I've never found a $2 one that doesn't leave a trail of bristles, but I've never tried the ones from Harbor Freight either.

[poopdeckpappy]

Cetrol here w/ 100% natural brisle

I also take a dog brush and comb the living snot out of them to remove all loose hair before 1st use and also brush them after cleaning

Then I misplace them never to be seen again or so I'm told

[Sabreman]

I have some rather strong opinions regarding Varnish & brushed, so I hope y'all bear with me.

Most modern "varnishes" are actually urethanes; there aren't very many traditional varnishes around anymore. You'd have to be a chemist to be able to read the container to tell the difference. That said, modern finishes are so good that you'd have to really work at it to mess up. In fact, I've had successful varnish jobs (under cover) in everything from 95 degree 100% humidity to 45 degrees & raining. That's not to say that you should look for trouble, but the point is that moderrn finishes are pretty forgiving. I generally keep with a single brand - MinWax because it's quality is good and it's so readily available. I also use Formby's as a wiping finish. Note that they only have high gloss & low gloss (no satin). I like low gloss for interior woodwork because it keeps cleaner than satin. I use high gloss on trim & handholds. For floors, I use Minwax Helmsman's Varnish because it's properties allow for expansion which I feel is needed for a large expanse.

For the exterior, I only use Cetol (Natural). In my opinion, it's the best looking, least maintenance finish available. There are many who will disagree, but it works for me. Unless you're really wealthy or retired, I'd stay away (really FAR away) from varnish on the exterior - far too much work to maintain in my view.... but it looks the best by far. Apply the Cetol with a china bristle brush and avoid applying finish within about 2 hrs of sunset (dew can form on horizontal areas as I know from personal experience - end up looking pox).

I get years from my brushes. Forget about foam because they tear, get floppy when loaded with finish, are difficult to control the amount of finish being applied, induce bubbles if applied with too much pressure, and can't be used with laquers or shellac. Be very wary about $1.99 cheapo brushes - they shed more than my beagle. I worked in a few boatyards when I was much younger and they taught me how to properly care for a brush (a lot of yelling was involved too). Steps toward brush-nirvana in 5 minutes:
1. Buy GOOD brushes ($10-20).
2. pour 1/2" of thinner in plastic cup
3. work the brush for about 1 min. Thinner should turn amber.
4. discard thinner and refill another 1/2"
5. repeat #3 & 4 until thinner stays clear.
6. apply 2 squirts of dish soap to the bristles, work them vigorously, rinse well until no bubbles form
7. wrap in paper towel (optional) and store so the bristles aren't distorted

[Sabre66]

I used a special recipe for captains varnish the first year I had the sabre, It used 11 coats of varnish all thinned to various degrees,sanded between coats and brushed on in different directions.The results were stunning but it was a royal pain in the @$$ and I'd never do it again. I still use captains, but just straight out of the can no more recipes.

[capttb]

Used to only use good quality natural bristle brushes which require a lot of care and are expensive as mentioned. Recently tried foam brush and I was impressed with the results. I'm also starting to spray the last couple of coats.