: Sorry - it Interlux 90 Traditional Spar Varnish with UV protection. The guy
: who runs the only local shop that deals with wooden boat builders
: recommended it as the best he's found. I've heard a lot of good things
: about Z-spar since so maybe I'll try that on the next one.

: I think I'll go back to hand sanding.

: Thanks so much for the advice and the link

: Taylor

Hi Taylor, I tried this varnish on my first canoe and I ran into problems too. However, I did wait for the varnish to fully dry before sanding. It took three days for the first coat to dry! Then I hand sanded with 220 grit between coats. The subsequent coats all dried within the time frame specified on the can label.

One of the problems with using varnish on epoxied surfaces is that you cannot always rely on the info on the can. This info is provided for the application of varnish on wood surfaces.

You also must allow the epoxy to fully cure before applying varnish. This is normally from one to two weeks. So if you epoxy a surface and apply varnish after just a few days, good luck!

You have tried to sand too soon and the power sander heated the varnish and it has become cloudy. Now you should either strip off the varnish with a thinner but that could damage or contaminate the epoxy surface or you could let the varnish completely dry then sand back down to the epoxy and start again.

Also note that all varnishes are not compatible with all epoxies. In some cases the varnish can dry perfectly well then when the boat gets out in the sun the varnish can soften and become sticky. Your best bet is to use a varnish that someone else has used on the same brand of epoxy you are using.