: Hello Everyone!

: I am finally at the varnish part of project. I have 3 coats on the hull and
: sanding the deck to prep for 3rd coat there. I've been wet sanding with
: 320 then 400.

: The part I don't know how to do better is the transition from hull to deck. I
: was taping off with blue tape to keep from drooling onto the lower
: half,but that leaves a ridge when you remove the tape. There should not be
: any percievable line there when finished. I'm getting the material on
: fairly evenly (not much problem with sags/runs). If I don't tape it off
: will the varnish flow out at the edge without leaving a bulge? How does
: everyone do the last coat where the varnish meets at the sheer with the
: hull which would be dry?

: Thanks for any insight, Kurt

Varnishing was a real mystery to me so while I was building my boat I was watching the board for tips on varnishing from the different members. I put several ideas together that worked for me without having any varnishing experience. I used a MinWax polyurethane varnish that dried in 4 hours, so I could get a complete coat on in a day, hull and deck, and one day I did two coats with no sanding between coats. I had 7 total coats. I use Rehd’s method of hand wiping, which went on very fast and easy and virtually eliminated runs. About 15 minutes wiping time. I use Bounty paper towels dipped in the varnish which didn’t tear up and leave a residue. I use Rob Mack’s idea of not using above 220 wet grit sandpaper between sandings. That give a mechanical bond to the last layer of varnish and knocked off any high places in the varnish, yet I didn’t spend a lot of time doing needless sanding. The last coat was Rob Mack’s use of a foam brush to get a thicker last coat and then tipped of with that brush to eliminate runs and bubbles. I wore throw-a-way rubber gloves so there was never a mess from the hand wiping of the varnish. This system worked out well for me as a rank amateur that I was.

John