I second the idea of rub-on varnish. I have real good results with any brand of varnish (usually use Epiphane or Interlux), thinned with Interlux 333. I use the blue Scott "paper" shop towels. This is very important, it has to be the Blue Scott shop towels which are a long-fiber pressed towel.

: Search the archives for the "rag" technique for wiping on varnish.
: Ther is a fairly good write up, and several people have used it
: successfully.

: Fresh varnish which is thinned properly is fairly easy to brush on, but if
: you are having troubles, then try applying it with rags.

: A few words about varnishing: several thin coats are MUCH better than one
: thick coat. Don't mix the varnish, or shake it on the day you are going to
: use it. This just gets lots of little airbubbles whipped in. If you need
: to do some thinning, then do it the night before. This can stretch out
: your job, but it saves a lot of sanding and polishing later. Buy small
: quantities and don't save a half-filled can of varnish to use next season.
: The small amount of air in the can will allow the stuff to start to set
: up. It will have gotten too thick to use in a fw weeks. Your best bet for
: saving varnish is to pour any remainder into glass jars and fill them as
: much as possible.

: Varnish is about $20 a quart. To spend 5 times that on a sprayer to apply it
: is a strange concept. don;t forget that if you use a sprayer you'll need
: to clean it and store it. The cleanup time on my sprayer is about what it
: takes me to varnish the bottom of my canoe by hand. The cost of
: solvent/thinner for cleaning the sprayer is another factor to consider. If
: you are doing many boats and have frequent use for such a tool then it
: makes sense. If not, then stick to doing the job by hand, and maybe spend
: a portion of the money you'll save on a few other brands of varnish.
: Experiment to find which one works for you.

: Just some thoughts

: PGJ

: Hope this helps

: PGJ