Guys and Gals,
I am in the Process of giving Rhapsody in Blue a spring tart up, i have stripped all the varnish off the deck and am just about to varnish.  The question is, which varnish will be best for me to do in my garage i would obviously like a long lasting nice finish.

Re you still planning to get your contact to spray it with laquer?

If so, and in any case really, you will want to put a coat or 3 of resin (SP106 will be fine) on first to seal the wood, and then build up with 2 pack varnish such as International perfection.

After 3 coats of varnish it can them be blocked back to remove the enivitable ridges and either spray laquered or a final brush coat.

If you use Eposeal two pack sealer on bare wood (from SP systems) you have to leave 10days for the solvents to come out before you use epoxy.  However if you use Eposeal and leave the epoxy out then the 2 pack Ultrovar can go on once the Eposeal has dried.  I followed this advice from SP and it all worked out fine.  Remember that it must be warm and dry or the Epoxy can go cloudy and it is too expensive and difficult to have to strip it all off again!

Hi Russ,

Be careful with epoxy in this weather I had problems last year with a yacht rudder that had been in the house for a couple of weeks to get nicely warm and dry. The epoxy bloomed on one side. I like 2-pack International varnish as it doesn't add so much weight but you have the same concerns as with eopxy. Can you get some heaters going in the garage and a de-humidifier? Dave

Chris, not to keen on the bodyshop job my bodyshop manager said it wil be too brittle.  Dave i have several fan heaters in the garage but no de humidifier, i think i'm going to stay away from two pack varnish and go for international Goldspa or whatever it is called.  Is this a good shout guys??

Goldspar is the one. Good flow properties and quick drying producing a tough finish.

I asked the same question regarding varnishing under an earlier thread Goldspar was recommended, has done a brilliant job. For priming you can use International UCP (Universal Clear Primer) good tough stuff ( couple of coats), although you can put Goldspar straight on if you wish thinned (No1.) or not. I didn't bother with either. Quite frankly thinning varnish on the premise that it SOAKS into the grain is a load of old b*llocks. 

Good luck!

Sorry Richard, but have to disagree on Goldspar as we had quite a few problems with it involving long drying times and the fact that it goes all crinkly if you try to warm it up.

I suppose it's all relative as the excellent product that Blakes discontinued dried extremely quickly and gave as hard a finish as two pack. Goldspar is now the better single pack varnish available, but i still don't like using it. Thankfully it's not a problem i'll have now i own a plastic boat!!

Goldspar to my mind is too soft. There is no way that a Merlin deck will flex enough to bother two pack varnish. I do agree that Laquer has disadvantages on boats, but i've never seen it crack before, so i'd tend to disagree that it's too brittle.

With two pack as long as you can guarantee a minimum temperature and you can use a brush well you're laughing. You can polish it the next day if necessary and when it does go dull you can polish back up. When Goldspar goes dull you have to recoat.

At the end of the day you pays your money and takes your choice.

epiphanes for me

Chris,
i am very concerned about using two pack varnish.  the main reason is that i am varnishing in my garage and this means i can't maintain a steady temp. although i have 3 fan heaters, which will also kick up dust! What would you reco.  i need to get it sorted as season at my club starts this weekend and boat is way off at the moment and i'm itching to get back on the water.  so come on what do i use!!??

Simple solution to the dust problem is to soak the floor with water about half and hour before varnishing.

You can then use the fan heaters in safety.

3 fan heaters in an enclosed space should be plenty warm enough.

I used the new Blakes dura gloss and it worked well for me - dried to touch in 5hours and it wasn't that warm.  Put it on with a roller and jenny brushed to smooth.

about to eat my words.....

Laurie Smart (brilliant boat builder) & Steve Jeavons (his business partner) use Epiphanes varnish and nothing else. Steve has always done my Merlin with this and it has always produced an excellent finish (anyway they have never used epoxy as a base coat on my boat).

In terms of set up. If you saw the varnishing arrangement at Lauries your garage would no doubt be luxury in comparison. Their workshop is a 70's looking school prefab converted and although spotless steve has created an isolated area with builders plastic sheating for all his painting and varnishing. All he does is cover the floor with water to keep the dust down with occasionally a gas heater going in the back ground, but rarely have I see that fired up! The end product is amazing,a glass like finish all by hand!

So in essence dampen the floor of your garage, get a bit of wartmth, a tin of Epiphanes and get on with the job.

I used Epiphanes traditional on a wooden mast for 111 and that is supposed to be the dog's b******s as it has a high tung content so flexes well.  The CVRDA varnishing guide is a good reference too.

I think that the fundamental problem of a garage for varnishing is that no matter how dust free you make it once finished you have to open the door to get out and that's when the problems start. So a self contained "booth" in plastic is a good idea.   Oh and another thing - up and over doors are a nightmare

Jack Chippendale and Jack Holt both had the same solution/advice, varnish in the open air,wait untill mid-summer get up before dawn dry off the dew, only on a calm day of course, and apply your finishing potion of choice, no dust, rising temperature gradient which is deemed by the paint chemists - or was pre synthetics - to be most important and pray.

AG is right again. Currently working on a deck of a.n.other boat OUTSIDE as I do not have the luxury of a garage. Of course you are reliant on the laps of the gods in terms of weather, but heck you cant beat working outside on a beautiful Spring/Summers day!

Varnishing/ painting outside does have it's draw backs, but too few to mention. The odd fly landing on your beautiful finish, but leave well alone until paint/varnish has dried... after all they only have little feet and a gentle flick soon sorts the problem after curing is complete!

Having said all that, currently sitting in an office in Crawley looking at the beautiful sunny day through GLASS.

You should worry.  I'm looking at a beautiful sunny day through glass and 1000 feet of 10/10 cloud.  Oh yes, and snow/drizzle.

One for AG - the next line of this Flanders and Swann is? 

'In July the Sun is hot .....'

To paraphrase 

Are we varnishing - no we're not!!

I'll leave it to AG to fill in the correct sequence!

Is it sunny no it's not? (From memory.)I'll cherck the data base when I'm home!
If you want all the libretti I do have it as a Word file.
I know it ends
"Blody January again"!

My Cabanon family frame tent makes a good dust proof workshop for varnishing and sleeps everyone for events when the boat's back on the water!

I too want to do a quick deck repair followed by a splash of varnish. sounds like epiphanes is the answer.... can anyone reccomend a supplier near twickenham/teddington? also will need to do a bit of epoxy repairing so need to find a supplier of that too.

robbins timber will courier epiphanes to you, the two pack is good, but the trad single varnish gives a fantastic finish and goes over most things.

or ring the importer, lots of help over the phone

The AG strikes again.  I also have the full libretti in the data base, only in my case it's my head, along with the Hippopotamus song and many more.

And now I'll hand you back to varnish.

and it's only three ha'pence a foot!

I've got those too if you want em but if you Google "Monologues" you'll findquite a few you'd forgotten including Paddy Roberts remember "The Bell of Barking Creek" and "The Lavender Cowboy" I also have from anon "Lil" "Nellie Hawkins" "rrhubarb" and lots of others saved for posterity, and "we should all think of our posterity", (Flanders & Swann at the Drop of a Hat.)