I brushed on the first coat of varnish (Interlux Schooner) on my Wood Duck 10 and it now has all these spots. The enclosed, temperature controlled and thoroughly cleaned room was spotless as far as I could tell. I don’t think it is from dust. It is on both the sapele and the okoume. Everything was thoroughly sanded and wiped down with indentured alcholol. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Diane
I would guess it’s from bubbles that have popped. Sand it, put another thin coat on it and look for bubbles. You should be able to get them out by tipping with a brush.
A few questions. How many fill coats of epoxy did you use? Did you sand the fill coats smooth and with what grit paper? If you sanded the fill coats smooth why did you feel it was necessary to wipe it down with alcohol? Sanding will remove all/any amine blush if you have sanded thoroughly with 150 to 180 grit paper. Finally, how did you apply the varnish? Brush, roller, … It looks like you put a really thick coat on. Schooner varnish is intended to be applied in super thin coats.
I’ll chime in with this - did you stir the varnish gently before applying, or shake it up well? Shaking can induce bubbles to form. And to follow up on the thickness, sometimes varnish can use a little thinning or using a viscosity reducer specific for that brand.
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Sadly, the varnish can was shaken before use. Darn! Will sand and reapply, hopig for the best. (Glad the kayak isn’t ruined.)
Hi Diane
I looked at the pictures and it looks to me like the varnish is simply exposing imperfections in the underlying epoxy preperation. (If the underlying epoxy has little divots, the varnish will too)
Bubbles in the epoxy typically brush out easily…so i dont think that’s what’s going on here.
If its your first boat, have you stepped back a couple feet and evaluated the quality from a little distance? These pictures are very close up and not how i would evaluate a ‘good job’ for the purpose of a first kayak build.
That said, with careful examination, you should be able to discern if the apparent divots are in the varnish layer only or are just reflecting that the epoxy work was not a smooth as you originally thought…
H
I’m a complete Newbie here, but there are three things I try to remember as I hit my daily (hourly?) What Did I Just Do? moments:
- You can fix anything. It might take a bunch of rework, but it can be fixed with sandpaper, and worst case, a saw and a patch. You can call it a design detail if anybody asks, and makes for a great story. You started this journey with a pile of sticks and bottles of goo, you can do it again.
- It’s like getting a new car and not parking it anywhere, afraid that it’ll get a scratch. Then you get that scratch, and the pressure is off. Boats get banged up, and finishes need to be redone. You’re just pre-installing the scratch.
- I believe it was Nick Schade that said "a wooden boat will absorb all the perfection you have.’ This isn’t permission to do a hack job, but it does mean Pick Your Battles. If it floats and paddles, you’re 90% there.
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