Gloss is an important part of UV resistance. Don't confuse what a furniture maker uses, with the much harsher requirements of an exterior environment. Use your boat and it will become matt on it's own.

It's extremely difficult to assess gloss coverage on a gloss surface. When I used the waterborne finishes I applied gloss over gloss and missed spots all the time. It was maddening! Sanding between coats not only improves adhesion, but allows you to see spots you missed, or spots which did not receive enough varnish.

I had a friend who went on and on, about how he loved Epifanes varnish, so I tried some. I often varnish only a few days after applying final coats of epoxy, so my epoxy is quite green. I learned Epifanes is not compatible with green System Three epoxy. The Epifanes did not cure to a hard surface even after three days. Steel wool and alcohol removed the mess. I applied Captains varnish and it cured in 6 hours. I'm not saying Epifanes is bad, it just doesn't work for me and the epoxy I use. Every epoxy and finish combination can have potential chemical conflicts.

I've settled on Z-Spar Captains varnish as my favorite varnish. I tried water based, two parts and everything, but the auto finish.

The Captains varnish flows out smoothly, is perfect straight out of the can, and has a long enough "wet" time allowing me to keep a wet edge from one side of the deck, or hull, and even go back and smooth a few runs.

I've used foam brushes for about ten years. I told myself I was happy with the results. But myself was not happy. The deck was always a minefield of drips and runs. Working on and around hatches and most of all the cockpit coaming was always a problem. The foam brush holds a big drink of varnish but dumps it with the slightest pressure. The stiff edge of the foam brush pushes the varnish around like a squeegee, not allowing the varnish to create an optimal coating.

Years ago I read a book on using a foam brush to varnish and thought, "great!, I like that, no solvents, no cleanup!" We hear and do what we want. So I used the foam brush. The foam brush might work for large unbroken surfaces, and it's not bad for the hull bottom, But it sucks, for the deck.

Using a foam brush appealed to me because I was lazy. I didn't want to deal with cleaning and maintaining real varnish brushes. I did a poor job on cleaning my brushes in the past, wasting a lot of dollars destroying brushes. I kinda knew how to clean a brush properly, three rinses, save the last for the next first. Use a brush spinner in a five gallon bucket to remove all the solvent. Wash the brush in soap and water and dry and shape it into the cardboard cover the brush came in. Too much work!

Finally, about a year ago I realized I had to go back to a real varnish brush. But I didn't see, or understand the real value of all this brush cleaning work until I read a short article on using only a 1/4 cup of solvent for each wash. That sounded better, not so much solvent used or wasted. I knew if I stopped thinking about brush cleaning as "too much work" and figured out a routine it would be worth going back to real brushes. I picked up my varnish brushes again and saw a huge difference.

The varnish brush laid down a thicker coat than the foam brush without runs! The brush went around the cockpit coaming without dumping large amounts of varnish, that I'd only see later when it was too late to smooth out the runs. One coat with the varnish brush looked better than three coats with the foam brush. I put one coat on the kayak below last night. You can't really see it in the photo but it looks better than my three coats with a foam brush.

Small details make the difference between good and great. And you have to realize when something's not working to appreciate the difference the small detail makes.

Building a boat is a long project. It's hard to have the patience to work out the details of varnishing when you've already finished the boat in your mind and you can see yourself on the water. The great thing is the varnish will need to be replenished and you can work on your varnish technique this winter or next.

All the best,
Rob