I have just begun to varnish my Chester Yawl floors, seat, footbrace, and boat interior. It isn't going as well as I would like and I hope that maybe you have some ideas. I will tell you a little more about what is going on.
I am using the recommended Schooner Varnish and the Goldspar Satin.
I took John’s recorded warning about dust seriously and spent a couple of days cleaning my shop, including mopping the floor. But It is a shop and not amsterile paint booth. I also note that I have been keeping the temp in the shop around 70°F.
My epoxy has been sanded to 320 and I believe it is in pretty good shape. I went to 320, instead of 220, as I could still see sanding scratches at 220. I wiped everything down with alcohol and paper towels. I have watched John's video #13 on varnishing a bunch of times and read the tips article a number of times as well. I am using the 2" foam brushes from CLC that are mounted via plastic inserts - I bought the full box. These break almost immediately when I varnish. This is not an issue I had so often when working with the epoxy as I used these brushes for tipping, and for finishing where the rollers didn't fit.
The smaller parts went easier than the boat interior, but while they leveled well, they show lots of very tiny bubbles. This is just a first coat but it's not what all those pretty CLC boats that are finished bright look like at all.
On the boat interior I did get a few runs where I was working in tight spaces, for example in the corners under the seats, and under the outwales as well (I think I just need to get down lower and go slower on those). The interior is a huge space compared to John's kayak in his video. My strategy was to do the stern, the stern deck, and then each side of each bay between bulkheads/ribs working side to side and then forward, followed by the front deck and then finishing with the outwales and braces. As each brush handle only lasts a couple of minutes, I just tossed it and handled the foam directly. As the finished spaces are mostly confined, I find it difficult to work from dry surface onto wet as I work my second direction.
All suggestions would be greatly appreciated, but here are some specific questions: Did you recommend the CLC foam brushes or do you prefer someone else's, or even a different means of applying the varnish? I know that CLC's tips say to use foam brushes with wooden inserts into the foam, but this is not what they are selling. What size brush do you use? Do you thin the varnish so that there is less drag and more open time (I am using a brand new can of Schooner Varnish and poring about a half cup of varnish into a clean yogurt container at a time). Do you use different techniques for applying the varnish on a larger boat or in restricted areas?
The epoxy drove me crazy too, but I did learn some as I went. I am not sure that I goofed when I changed my mind and went bright inside instead of painted. Now I really want it to come out right.
Pictures can be seen on Facebook under the #clcchesteryawl tag. I bet I am the only one using it presently, but I am Brett Binns on Facebook if there is any question.