Norm,
Mr. Schade varnishes like me . One side at a time, taping off at the sheer line... I've over lapped a bit between coats. I've read somewhere...possibly on this bulletin board that it is best to remove the tape as soon as you are done, so the varnish will level off and you won't have too much of an "edge". But as Mr. Schade mentioned earlier, any little "edge" that forms from the tape won't be noticible along the sheer.

As for amounts...the boats seem to look better with each coat...and if you make an error, or there's an imperfection, it becomes an excuse to add that extra coat...In my case, it's sort of like sanding...there comes a time when you need to say, "Enough already!" If you were making a canoe (as opposed to a kayak), and you would end up portaging...less is best because you'll be portaging all the extra varnish...but kayaks aren't really well suited for portaging...and you need to consider how often and how far you'll need to carry the boat. In most kayak cases, the distance from the roof rack to the water is the maximum distance of the carry...and the boat is usually empty. Thinking about abuse of the finish, how often will you be forced to beach on a rocky shore? Scratches clean up relatively easily, and you'll probably end up varnishing every other season (or every season?), and you'll end up putting those extra coats on later...

Hanging the boat and varnishing all at once has one major drawback... drips....the excess varnish will run and end up on an edge of the surface...requiring a sanding session. The roticary thing sounds like too much work and too much engineering.

My own experience with varnish is that it doesn't keep well...Mason Jar or not. Like Mike and Rikki mentioned earlier in the week, beware of air in the jar when you close the lid if you go that route. I guess you need to compare the cost of the quarts vs. the gallon, and go from there...but I wouldn't let money be the only criteria for basing my purchasing decision. What else do you have that might need a coat of varnish or two? Varnishing cardboard boxes for the hard gear used in canoe trips is a good practice. How's the woodwork in your house? Get the gallon, and varnish everything you can find, or buy the quarts and go back to the store if you need more.

Sanding between coats is necessary to getting the next coat to stick to the surface. However, my own dilemma is that I figure if I put a coat of varnish on the boat, and then wait a couple of days and sand with the random orbital sander, I end up sanding off the coat I put on earlier. Using a smoother grade of sand paper is a good practice. Also, those green scouring pads do a good job of scratching the surface, which is all you will really want to do. Let the epoxied surfaces cure completely before varnishing. This makes the the pre-varnish sanding go much smoother.

You're in New York, and the weather outside is getting cold. If you varnish indoors, beware that the heating source is not an open flame. If you varnish in your basement, and your furnace kicks in, you could be blown to pieces.
Bill

: I am getting close to completing a pair of Osprey Standards and am thinking
: down the road to varnishing. I have several questions: How long should I
: wait be for vanishing? I living in update New York so it will be a while
: before I can use it anyway.

: What is the best strategy for varnishing; varnish the hull, let it dry flip
: the kayak over and do the deck? Hang from ceiling and do the hull and deck
: all at once? I did read on the forum about someone that built a varnish
: rotisserie but could not follow his directions.

: If you use the flip method do you mask at the sear line or a below the sear
: line? When you mask do you mask at the same point all the time or allow
: for some overlap? Would you sand between coats, after both the deck &
: hull are both varnished or before flipping to do the other half?

: I am looking at using Z-Spar Captains Varnish. I figure that I will need
: about 3 qt. total for both boats. It cost about the same price to buy a
: gallon. Would it be better to buy quarts or buy a gallon and place it in
: mason jars?

: Thanks for any help.
: Norm