Choosing a suitable Varnish

[Gaffrig]

Although I have been around boats all my life. I am new to Varnishing.

The woodwork on my sailing boat had previously been varnished and was about 7 years old and now expectedly showing wear and tear.

So I set about re-varnishing my Mast, Thwart and Gunwales.

I sanded everything down cleaned off all dust and was now ready to apply the varnish.

Not knowing what varnish to apply I bought International Yacht Varnish Gloss the one in the red tin.

w w w.international- paints.co.uk/details.php?productid=93&search=1]International]International Paints[/url] Paints

I applied the varnish and was delighted with it. High gloss and looked beautiful. I did it in the Garage nice and dry and dust free. It was about 3Months later I re launched my boat and put her on her moorings. She looked beautiful and much to my delight people admired my first attempt at varnish work.

It was only a couple more months that the Varnish started to show signs of peeling off. Eventually the whole lot flaked off.
It was also soft and marked easily. Understanably I was disappointed after all my hard work, so rang tech support.

They said the varnish was not a marine varnish. Needless to say I was surprised. I asked why then it was called Yacht Varnish as most yachts I know are in a marine environment.

The reply was that tech support was not responsible for naming the product and they would pass my comments on to another department.

If you read the above link to the "Yacht Varnish" you willl see right at the bottom it says not for Marine use. Bear in mind I did not have this data sheet available at the time of purchase, and made my decision on the fact that on the tin it said Yacht Varnish. So in my naivety I assumed it would be good for yachts.

I would be interested to know if anyone has had a similar experience.

This year I am going to try a two pack polyeurethane and hope I am more successful.

Any varnishing tips would be greatly appreciated.

[raisin56]

Any of the varnishes over in the sailnet store will work. One of the industries top products is the Epifanies clear varnish, I have seen wonderful results from this product. My next in place varnish job I intend on using Epifanies wood finish, just like the idea of multiple coats with out sanding if I'm not removing the wood to work on it. Maybe someone else can comment on their wood finish compared to the clear varnish. Application is real important factor too. Here is a link to a page where Don Casey has a few articles about varnish ( and a few other things), some good reading BoatUS.com: Don Casey Library , best of luck to you.

Dan

[JohnRPollard]

I have been very happy with Interlux Schooner varnish. It seems to hold up very well and applies easily. As noted above, Epifanes has a good rep too.

As a general observation, I would avoid the 2-part applications. I have tried one of them with disappointing results. If you goof the ratios, or something else goes wrong during the application, they are tough and hard to remove once they've set.

Also, be careful that the varnish is not only marine grade, but also that it is rated for exterior use. There are "marine" varnishes that lack UV inhibitors, which are suited for interior use only. The exterior marine varnish will state specifically on the label that it contains UV inhibitors.

P.S. Welcome to Sailnet! Check in here before your next project -- there's a lot of knowledge base and it's likely someone would have saved you from this headache had you ducked in before the varnishing project.

[sailingdog]

I wouldn't use a polyurethane on exterior wood work. If you are looking for an easy to maintain finish, go with Cetol. Otherwise go with Epifanes.

[Maine Sail]

Guys this is not the International / Interlux paints we know in the marine industry!

This paint site has some buggy invisible code that does not allow links to be created or this sites hyperlinking feature is broken?

First any finish that you don't buy from a reputable marine supplier is most likely NOT going to hold up. Second any "varnish" that says two to three coats clearly knows nothing about the marine environment. A properly applied varnish begins with 8-10 coats, sanded in between, and the first couple of coats thinned down to as much as 50% for good pore penetration and bonding.

You can expect to pay between $25.00 & $70.00 for a a quart of quality marine varnish. If it costs much less than $25.00 start reading labels and checking with the folks on the forums.

Even if it was a marine varnish and you applied two to three coats you'd barely get four to 5 months out of it. Cetol & some of the more expensive two part varnishes are about the only products that you can get away with three coats but they are not a traditional varnish..

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

Guys this is not the International / Interlux paints we know in the marine industry!

This paint site has some buggy invisible code that does not allow links to be created or this sites hyperlinking feature is broken? ...

Yeah, I tried following his link and yours and wasn't able to make it work. I'll take your word though that it wasn't a familiar Interlux/International product -- didn't sound like it.

Not sure whether SailNet sells varnishes -- worth a check. If not, one of my preferred suppliers is Jamestown Distributors.

[Gaffrig]

Firstly let me say thank you for all your tips it is much appreciated.

With regard to the link, as a new member I am not allowed to post links until I have 10 posts as per Sailnet rules.

The link is valid, however it will have to be typed in by hand
here it is again I have taken away the www

.international- paints.co.uk/details.php?productid=93&search=1

perhaps a moderator could help out and enable the link for me.



The good news is I have started to sand off the old peeling varnish and it comes off really easy. I am also going to attempt to do my varnishing in warmer conditions this time, perhaps this will help.

I have since been back to my original tin and it says suitable for marine but will need 8 coats. Wow thats going to take a lot of time.

[camaraderie]

Here's the link for Gaffrig...Welcome aboard!
Tiny URL - create a shorter link

[Gaffrig]

Thank you camaraderie

[SailorMitch]

Here's another vote for Epifanes Wood Finish. Have had excellent results with it in the past.