Give me patience

[Maverick1958]

Wood, so beautiful and a pain in my back side! Sand and sand and sand down to bare wood. Varnish wait till it drys then steel wool. Varnish wait till it drys then steel wool. Do this about 5 times then block sand to insure the surface is TOTALLY SMOOTH. Then varnish wait till it drys then steel wool and if all goes well varnish wait till it drys and you have a finish that looks like glass. Don't get me wrong the work is worth it, but does ANYONE, ANYONE AT ALL have a way to shorten the drying time without ruining the outcome? The waiting is killing me. And a watched piece of wood never drys!

Maverick

[downeast450]

A little Japan dryer?

[deniseO30]

You do can pretty well with urethane based finishes (if you dare break away from tradition!) and they don't go dark or dark as fast as varnish does. I've a good example, 5 coats of urethane on my baby grand piano that we restored, Varnish stays soft forever it seems because that is the nature of the oils used to make it. Urethane is much harder when cured and dry or wet sands without the clogging you get with varnish. .

[tweitz]

I hope you mean bronze wool if it is outside. Otherwise your hard work will produce rust spots.

[Omatako]

Originally Posted by Maverick1958

Don't get me wrong the work is worth it, but does ANYONE, ANYONE AT ALL have a way to shorten the drying time without ruining the outcome? The waiting is killing me. And a watched piece of wood never drys!

I don't know about shortening the drying time but there are ways to shorten the process.

I firstly use a paint stripper to remove the old varnish. Less wood taken off (you always sacrifice some wood when you sand the old varnish off) and it's way quicker and way less dust.

The I put on several coats of varnish one after the other - probably 4 coats at a time with adequate drying time between coats. After each "bulk application" I use a 220 grit waterpaper on a block (if the surface is flat) or just in my hand (if it's not) and rub away the top layer of varnish until all the shiny is gone but only just. That way you have a decent chance of ensuring the imperfections are removed. Also waterpaper creates no dust (your worst enemy when trying for a real high gloss)

The last rub-down is with a 400 grit waterpaper to prevent the light scratches but still provide a decent key. Then my last trick is to use a 50% thinned solution of varnish/thinners and blow the last coat on with an airbrush. Comes out like a mirror.

[bluwateronly]

Just from what I have done. Thin the first coat only after wood is sanded correctely, this is the trick. I get the old varnish off with a good heat gun and and a good putty knife sharped with a file, a trick I used in cleaning windows, then start with about 100 grit or even 80 if bad and work your way to 200 grit till the wood is really smooth and you can see the grain and it stands out. This is when you start the varnish process and I mean process. I start with a good quaility varnish and thin out the first coat. Let it dry and go over with 200 grit paper and do again, let it dry, dependeds on weather, do it again, after you get to four coats then use full varnish no thinner and do four more coats with drying and light sanding inbetween and it will look good. It takes time because to dry and sand is a day and we are talkin 8 coats that is 8 days if all goes right. I have had to sand to wood and start over many times if all does not go right It takes time and work no subistute,sorry, way it goes to get the right look. Work out your time so you can do the job correctly and you will get the results you want.

[mitiempo]

For new interior varnished areas I start with 2 or 3 coats of epoxy. Then varnish for another 3 coats or so finally sanding with 400 grit wet & dry paper wet for minimal dust. I use Epifanes. Done this way the varnish will never lift exposing wood to water stains or wear. These pictures are of a galley and dining table I made for my 35' boat in the early 90's. I sold the boat and the designer (who purchased her from me) redid a lot but kept the table and galley intact. These pictures were taken last year before he sold her. And this is after a trip to New Zealand and back. It's a good way to give longevity and durability to interior surfaces as the wood is always stable and not ever moisture contaminated.

[midnightsailor]

Very Nice!

[imagine2frolic]

I use Epifane, so I can put on another coat with no sanding..........i2f

[Maverick1958]

Somehow I knew the answer was going to be NO! It may seem like a pain right now but the end product will be worth it. When the boat gets launched this spring my boat should turn a few heads if I just keep going like I am. By the way mitiempo beautiful work. The pictures don't do it justice, I know from experience that the finish must look like glass.