: I once had a conversation with a person from Wind Song Canoes.

: http://www.woodsongcanoes.com/wood_song_contents.htm

: The boats looked like they were dipped in a vat of plastic. Fantastic
: workmanship and unbelievable varnish jogs. The owner told me that they
: apply varnish out in the sun with a spray gun and coat after coat with no
: sanding until they get a thick build up. Bugs in it whatever. Then they
: sand that and give it the one last coat inside.

: BTW: my favorite so far is Epiphanes. Polyurethanes are synthetic and harder
: than regular varnish. It was invented for floors. Varnish is supposedly
: made from natural ingredients like pine tree stuff etc. Regular varnish is
: more flexible and better on boats where the finish is applied right on
: bare wood where there is shrinkage and expansion. Hence the name
: "Spar Varnish". Polys are fine on glass or epoxy coated surfaces
: but either is fine for what we build.

If you have the patience and the time a first class varnish job requires at a bare minimum 8 coats, often more like 12-15. I've used Jet Speed alot and usually apply 3 or 4 coats then let it sit for a day then wet sand and start again. It does take time, but can result in a finish that looks like the boat was covered in liquid glass. I use Captain's varnish for the final 3 coats and wet sand between each. Never dry sand varnish.

That said, a really nice finish can be had from 3 or 4 coats of Captains varnish dry sanded between coats, it's just not perfect.

Bill H.