Z-Spar's Captain's Varnish

Expensive: $18 - $22/ quart

It's worth it. Brushs and sprays good, great gloss, likes the outdoors and sunlight, easily stripped when it eventually fails (as they ALL do). Almost all professional yacht varnishers use Captain's for good reasons, their livelihood depends on it. It is the standard to which all other varnishes are held.

Not so humble OPINION: Urethanes ain't as good for exterior marine use as they are for interior furniture and floors. They are too hard for exterior and high UV use. They crack and craze and they are very hard to remove. They don't breath if moisture gets under them (not unlikely in the marina environment). Getting good adhesion when recoating after they have had a long time to cure is tough. They lack the pleasing tint that oil/phenolic based varnishes lend to wood. Just because it is modern doesn't mean it is suitable.

Everything we know about varnish today was figured out over a hundred years ago. UV resistance, clarity, flexibility, gloss, hardness, scratch resistance, recoatablity; each of these characteristics are strengthened or weakened by more or less of the components that formulate the coating material. Every year someone comes out with a new product that claims to be the last word in varnish, i.e. no maintenance, but it is really just a change in the balance of the various components that make up the basic varnish formula. For instance, more UV resistance is achieved by adding more of a substance like Iron Oxide, but this makes the finish brittle, so you have to back off on hardness. You also loose some the clarity. Isn't there a saying about the availability of a "free lunch".

Blah, blah, blah... to make an overly long story short:

One vote for Z-Spar's Captain's Varnish. Don't worry about it too much though, everything works pretty good, just somethings work a little better. The differences are marginal.

Craig