Rob,

Thanks for that post, I must have read and reread one of your previous posts with that information a hundred times when I was psyc-ing myself up to do my first varnish job, I got great results!

'Deep Trouble' should be manditory reading for new kayakers and your varnishing techniques should be manditory reading for new varnishers.

Thanks again Rob!

Ken

: Repost: After you've sanded and resanded the epoxy on your boat you've
: created a great big dust magnet. I varnished two boats last night. For
: some reason the static charge was worse than usual. As I wiped down the
: surface with a wet sponge to remove sanding dust the hair on my arm
: bristled.

: I went over the surfaces a number of times with my tack cloth and continued
: to have a hard time removing all the dust specks.

: Yes they are tiny bubbles but they're still caused by dust.

: Now that my first coat is on the hulls of my boats the static charge is gone.
: After I sand this coat with wet 220 and recoat, the specks will be greatly
: reduced or totally gone.

: This is why you need to sand between coats if you want to have a good finish.
: It's hard if you've never had good results to be patient and take the time
: to sand carefully and go through all the steps needed to have good
: results. You're almost finished and you want to get the boat in the water.
: But all the work you've done so far will look dull under a poor finish.

: My brushed finish looks as good as a sprayed one. I use Captain's varnish.

: For those who have not seen my finishing method I'll re-post it. I read a
: recent post talking about the spots missed varnishing. The criss/cross
: varnish application I describe has made a BIG different in the reduction
: in spots missed and dips and sags.

: Rob's finishing technique

: The longer you can wait for the epoxy you are coating to cure the better. I
: like to wait at least two days for the epoxy to cure on my boats before
: coating with varnish. The first coat will take longer to harden than
: subsequent coats.

: Oil based varnishes require a surface sanded with 220 grit paper. This is the
: finest grit you need to have prefect results.

: Check the information supplied with the finish for application.

: Dealing with Dust
: Your shop is a dusty place. Every time you move around the shop the dust gets
: kicked up. This will land on your fresh coat of finish, unless you take
: steps to reduce the dust in the air. First, vacuum up as much dust in the
: shop as possible. Let things settle at least overnight. DO NOT run the
: tablesaw the day you will varnish. Table saw is are the worst dust
: offender.

: An hour before you will apply finish, sprinkle water on the floor to keep the
: dust down and mist the air with a plant water mist sprayer to pull the
: dust out of the air like a fresh rain.

: Wipe down wet sanded surfaces with clean water and and a sponge, then wipe
: dry with paper towels.

: Go over the dry surface with a tack cloth.
: For the finish to cure properly your shop temperature should be at least 70°
: F. Maintain this temperature until the finish is dry.

: Use every spotlight, desk light anything you have to illuminate the boat with
: STRONG light so you can SEE what you are doing. I can't emphasize this
: enough.

: After many years of trying water base finishes and many different varnishes,
: I now finish all my boats with Z Spar Captain’s varnish. This is the
: compatible varnish for use with System Three resins. Check with your epoxy
: manufacturer.

: Varnish
: As I said before after trying a great many finishes I’ve settled on using
: Z-Spar’s Captains varnish. I use straight from the can unaltered. Some
: varnishes say “not to used below the waterline”. This applies only to
: boats that are moored in water. Varnishes often say “thin 10% with mineral
: spirits on first coat.” This applies only to bare wood applications.
: Captains brushes like a dream and creates a great finish.

: I have tried every method of dealing with paint can sealing and pouring and
: keeping the air from drying out the varnish. I’ve never had consistent
: luck with sealing paint can lids, keeping the lip clean and turning them
: upside down without leaking. If your varnish is not fresh, clean and scum
: free everything else is a waste of time.

: I now recant my new varnish in quart mason jars with separate lids and screw
: rings. The mason jar allows me to pour varnish without the lid mess of a
: paint can. I wipe the jar lip with a paper towel after pouring so the lid
: won’t stick. By using the separate lids and screw rings of the mason jar I
: don’t have to worry about not being able to get a lid off if I missed some
: varnish on the jar lip. I can always pry the lid off and use a new one if
: needed. I pour varnish into the bottom of a half gallon plastic milk
: carton. This size carton accommodates my 4” foam brush. Any used varnish
: gets poured back into the jar unless it is contaminated somehow. Before
: closing my jar lid I blow propane gas from my small shop torch into the
: jar to displace air to keep the varnish from skimming over.

: Brushing on a Finish
: Brushing on a perfect finish is an art that can take time and patience to
: master but here are some helpful pointers.

: Go over the surfaces with a tack cloth (available at most paint stores). All
: the sanding of your boat will give it a static charge which will attract
: dust. Going over the surface with a tack cloth is essential to remove dust
: before varnishing.

: The first coat may attract a lot of dust because of this static charge. This
: static is usually gone after the first coat.
: The first coat will take longer to dry than later coats due to the
: interaction with the curing epoxy.

: Brush Technique
: Most novices apply too thick a coat and find the finish has runs or drips.

: It is best to start with too little rather than too much finish on a surface.
: This will allow you to get the “feel” for that particular finishes
: brushing characteristics. Each finish brushes on slightly differently.

: Use a good 4” foam brush to apply varnish. I used to advocate costly
: finishing brushes but they take a lot of work to clean and I’ve found a
: foam brush can work as well. I hardly ever use a 2” brush unless I’m
: working on only tiny parts. The 4” will coat twice as fast as a 2” brush
: AND can do small stuff too.

: Be careful around cockpit coamings and hatch openings because the foam brush
: carries a reserve of varnish that will pool out when pressed and leave a
: sag of varnish.

: Dip only the tip of your brush in the finish and do not wipe off finish on
: the edge of the can. This can add foam to your brush.

: The toughest part of applying a finish is to put on the right amount, so you
: don’t get drips or sags and yet cover the area completely.
: It seems easy to cover the boat with finish but, I never seem to go without
: missing a few spots.

: At a boat show a finishing rep displayed this brush technique; brush a small
: area (about 16” sq.) with the grain, then across the grain and finally
: with the grain, to spread the finish evenly and cover the area totally.

: Do all 3 passes one right after the other. When your brush comes out of the
: varnish container it's loaded. The first stroke (start at the keel or high
: on the boat) dumps a lot of varnish and successive stokes, with the
: strips, lay out less and less. Then stroke across the strips, from top to
: bottom, pulling the first stroke that was heavy with varnish down to even
: out the varnish layer. Then the final strokes, again with the strips,
: smoothes it all out and insures you've not
: missed a spot. You should be able to do all this with one dip from your
: varnish.

: I now use this brushing technique and have much fewer drips and sags.

: To prevent missing areas divide your brushing area into small sections. I use
: staples on my hulls below the waterline so I brush from the staple holes
: from one station to the next. Overlap your brush strokes form one section
: to the next.
: If you don’t have a definite area marker like staple holes you will have to
: mentally guess an area work size.

: I estimate a 1/2” dip of my brush into the finish will cover about a 16”.
: square area.

: Look for the reflections of your shop lights highlighted in the finish to
: make sure you have covered the surface completely and overlapped areas
: previously brushed. Look for drips or sags and brush them out before the
: finish sets.
: If someone looked in my shop window when I was applying a finish to my boats
: they would get quite a laugh at the contortions I go through. I look high
: and low to see my shop lights reflected in the finish to make sure I
: haven’t missed a spot.

: You must wait until the next day before recoating an oil based finish. I
: usually apply varnish in the evening.

: Sand between coats with 220 wet/dry sandpaper. I like wet sanding since it
: creates no dust and is very efficient. Do a thorough BUT LIGHT sanding job
: and level any drips or sags. You want to knock down dust and high spots
: and provide a little tooth for the next coat to bond to NOT sand the
: previous coat off!

: Wipe down surfaces with a sponge and clean water until you have removed all
: sanding residue. Wipe down surfaces with the tack cloth before recoating.

: I apply at least three coats of varnish. This should work with any brand of
: varnish but as
: I said earlier, each brand has slightly different brushing characteristics.
: This is why I use
: Captain's varnish. I just like the way it brushes better than any other I've
: found. I've tried the Flagship but it doesn't brush as well in my book.

: All the best,

: Rob Macks
: Laughing Loon CC&K
: www.LaughingLoon.com