: I am not a finisher and wasn't sure how to do my varnishing. I have read all
: of the posts for a long time plus the book I bought "Understanding
: Finishes". I have mixed bits and pieces together from everything I
: have read. I am ready for my 4th coat and will put on 6 to 8. This seems
: to be going ok so far. I did decide to use the POLY varnish. I use Bounty
: paper towels in three folds to wipe on the varnish. The towels are good
: quality and I haven't noticed any pieces tearing off. I cut aluminfoil,
: and wax paper to the shape of the quart can to put into the can to keep
: the varnish from thickening for storage as I seen mentioned on the board
: but they sank. So when I finish varnishing I pour some thinner in (guess)
: and shake it real good for the next varnishing, as also was mentioned on
: the board. I have had a few runs and found the scraper is the best way to
: take them off and then finger sand that area. I have sanded the first two
: varnishing with 150 grit and the next one with 220 as I will do the rest
: of the coats. I think I will sand the last coat with steel wool of #000 or
: #0000 and maybe polish a couple months later. With all of my defects on my
: boat it is surprising how good it looks with varnish.

: John

I used Zspar Captains and Flagship varnish and had trouble with it turning to Jello in the can when it got down to ¼ full. I tried to float a little T10 thinner on top to help it keep in the can and it did not help. The problem is the oxygen in the air causes the varnish to cure whether or not the solvent evaporates. So to get the varnish to keep in the can you must avoid exposing it to air. The best suggestion has been (from this board) to transfer a newly opened can into smaller containers. Also keep the lid on the can as much as possible. Open the can stir and pour into a separate brush dip container and cap. Thin (if you must) in the brush dip container. This also keeps your source can uncontaminated from dust and brush hairs. It also helps to store the can upside down tipped a little to one side (place a paintbrush handle under one side of the rim). This assures an airtight seal around the lid and prevents stalactites from forming. I'm currently using Bloxygen to keep the air from varnish. It's not cheap but it's cheaper than varnish. Using the smaller containers is free and will be my first choice after using up the Bloxygen.

http://www.bloxygen.com/

Here is a good read on varnishing:
http://www.greenval.com/FAQvarnishing.html