yacht varnish finish

[skeetstar]

Folks any advice would be appreciated.

I've given a walnut slab 3 coats of yacht varnish, by brush. Sanded down between coats. The finish is glossy but very orange peel like, visible brush marks etc. The varnish is not exactly new, and it is fairly viscous, though it is easy to brush on.

I don't need it to look like a piece of glass but it has to look better than it is. Any advice?
Sand it back with 10000 grit or something? try thinning the varnish down with white spirit of something to get it flow better and lie flat. Strip it all off and start again?

As I say, any advice would be appreciated

 

[Droogs]

The 3 usual suspects are
1 too cold when putting on and drying
2 too thick when brushing
3 contamination usually by something with silicon in it, which can give your orange peely or fish eye dents in the finish

make sure it is at least 10C when you do the finish and that the finish isnt too thick

to correct what you have sand with 240 until you have a smooth surface and then again with 320 to get ride of the scratches. Then clean off with a tack rag and give a thin(runny) sparing final coat and then once CURED (about a week) not DRY (next day) a final going over with some car polish and you will have a great finish

 

[GarF]

Takes forever to harden properly at this time of year. I tried umpteen times to prepare conkers for battle using varnish as a kid. In the timeframe available I always ended up with a sticky rubbery coating that was no use for combat. Have you considered nail varnish or vinegar?

 

[Jameshow]

Takes forever to harden properly at this time of year. I tried umpteen times to prepare conkers for battle using varnish as a kid. In the timeframe available I always ended up with a sticky rubbery coating that was no use for combat. Have you considered nail varnish or vinegar?

Reminds me if the first CL model airplane I built as a kid with a little d.c. Engine.

Keen to finish it I used a two pack fuel proofer without realising I needed to mix the two components! It was sticky for ever more.. .

I don't know why my dad didn't recitfy the situation when he found out. !

Cheers James

 

[skeetstar]

Thanks Droogs, I'll have a crack at thinning it and following your advice,

All the best

 

[murray1967]

The 3 usual suspects are
1 too cold when putting on and drying
2 too thick when brushing
3 contamination usually by something with silicon in it, which can give your orange peely or fish eye dents in the finish

make sure it is at least 10C when you do the finish and that the finish isnt too thick

to correct what you have sand with 240 until you have a smooth surface and then again with 320 to get ride of the scratches. Then clean off with a tack rag and give a thin(runny) sparing final coat and then once CURED (about a week) not DRY (next day) a final going over with some car polish and you will have a great finish

ah ha, perfect. I am building a Triumph TR6 dash and needed this info to get it varnished and polished. Many thanks.

 

[murray1967]

by the way, will it help the varnish if I heat it up first and maybe add some thinners. This is new to me and I want to get this dash as good as I can.

 

[johnnyb]

Ill suggest not using yacht varnish firstly. try an interior gloss and this time of year add a bit of driers. also fill the grain before glossing.

 

[mbartlett99]

To the warming up yes; we stick it in a painters kettle with hot water when its cold. Depending on the varnish ( ÿacht"varnish isn't really a thing) then use olwatrol to help it flow. Thinning will help it flow but at the expense of build up.

 

[murray1967]

To the warming up yes; we stick it in a painters kettle with hot water when its cold. Depending on the varnish ( ÿacht"varnish isn't really a thing) then use olwatrol to help it flow. Thinning will help it flow but at the expense of build up.

What is olwatrol. I'm un Croatia. Would there be an alternative. As for a varnish. This is for I side. So whats the best varnish. Oil based, water based etc. I have it in a heated garage so weathers not an issue.
Much appreciated

 

[clogs]

Murry
we used pre catalysed varnish for the car jobs.....mostley sprayed on.....
if there was no replacement vaneers to repair damage we used a brush to get the thickness up....
we would rub it out and recoat over a few days between coats, getting longer drying times as the thickness grew....
then wait a week for everything to get hard...
flaten down to 600 wet n dry then spray the final coats.....it took ages but looked good....
I only worked on pre 1920 vehicles.....

out of interest I used to paint garage doors (custom colours)....no proper heated spay booth...
So the doors were laid on their backs on beer bottle crates with a fan heater underneath.....
all the edges were masked out to the floor and then they got the colour.......
always a good finish, dried real quick so in and out the same day.....even in a UK winter......

 

[murray1967]

i have a well-insulated cabin. with heating. I stained the dash with Sandolin. Let it dry for a day. I then applied 1 coat of varnish. Let it dry a day, scratched the surface with 320 and have applied the 2nd coat. I have actually no idea what kind of varnish I am using. Questions I should have asked prior to starting. but I am not veneering it. just stain and varnish

 

[murray1967]

you know i have just realised that I have kinda hijacked this post. apologies to Skeetstar. I will start a fresh post.

 

[skeetstar]

No probs at all Murray, I've learned a lot from people posting answers to your questions.

As for my finish, I kept the varnish inside near a radiator for a week or so, I thinned it a little with white spirit. It went on like a dream and the finish is light years better than what I had before. I am now happy with it. So thanks all, for your input.

One thing though, I didn't pour out much varnish at all into a little pot to then thin it down. I made about say four serving spoons full of the mix, and that was about ten times too much. Instructional to see just how little finish is actually required to do a small table top.

Anyway, thanks all

 

[Tuna808]

Marine varnishes are designed to cope with outdoor conditions and temperatures which in some places will vary considerably during day and night.The will not harden sufficiently to wet and dry and buff,they will biff but the surface hardness will not be hard wearing.
To improve the viscosity you could add some white spirt,and a good quality brush is essential,....consider if after all the hours you put in a project you want to cut corners with inferior brushes or used varnish which has probably started the chemical reaction of curing once the can was opened.I learned my lesson many years ago with a reproduction antique table which,posed me to consider all the above......I ended stripping the whole lot,wasting time and money!
Today I consider the best possible finish considering the functionality of the project.....BTW I hate acrylic varnishes.

 

[Keith 66]

I would be interested to know what brand of varnish the Op was using? As a boatbuilder i have done a fair old bit of varnishing over the years & varnishes differ hugely. Some have an extremely long shelf life, i used some old Rylards a few years back that must have been 50 years old & it was fine & gave a good finish.
My favorite of old was Spinnaker yacht varnish but its long gone now.
If you ask any wooden boatbuilder today i would say 75% of them will use just one make Epifanes Bootlak yacht varnish, it is not cheap but superb results can be had. The only downside is its shelf life is short & once you have opened a can you gotta use it all within a month or so at most as it jellies up.
French varnish Le Tonkinous also has a very good reputation.
International do a range but they are not in the same league as epifanes.
I have tried many two packs over the years but to be honest they are a waste of time as they are too hard & get cracked then dont last as long as they say & re finishing is a lot harder!