…coat
Done a lot of varnishing…on many boats and while I was restoring antiques. All varnishes I’ve tried, and that’s most of them, need to be thinned out about 25%, no mater how they are applied. A number of thin coats result in a fine finish. Thick coats only lead to lots of sanding, sags and grief. This applies to my favorite boat varnish, MINWAX indoor/outdoor Helmsman Spar Urethane, too. Varnish on. Jer http://gallery.me.com/jermcmanus
Jerry,
Can you tell me a little more about your experience with your favorite varnish, urethane? How to apply? Thickness? # of coats? any color to it? durability?
I bought two cans of Schooner Gold and, novice that I am, would prefer an easier finish if there is one out there.
Thank you.
Paul in Phoenix
http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/finishing-tips/varnished_kayak.html
Paul in PHX
The above url about covers it, except that I've found my favorite varnish to be as good as any I've tried and it stands up well on my kayaks which get considerable use and go to boat shows at least once per year. I pay around $12 per quart for the stuff at Home Depot or Wal-Mart, instead of the many, many more $$ for "special marine finishes". Best test is try it for yourself. I put on up to 10 thin coats, wet sanding with 400 grit paper between coats and use a fine foam roller, then tipping out with a foam brush, for a show-quality finish on my boats. Good luck. Jerry in Sun City West, AZ
Why are you guys wasting your time with schooner and then thinning it?! Varnishing with the right product means nice and easy work and the best finish possible. Ive been building cedar and mahogany high end canoes and rowboats for 20 years now. I also do alot of interior work in my home with Pettit Varnishes. Why put up with expensive interlux formulas that change every year or so to comply with their company overseas "visions" where all their money goes. I’ve been using Captains varnish, and Flagship varnish forever now. Captains gives you a better end result in less coats than the schooner and Flagship varnish has almost 10 times the UV protection than Captains does for only a few bucks more. You cant go wrong, now interlux has recalled thier new compass varnish, which is basically the same as schooner just with some agents to make it kick faster. You’ll see a recall on that next I bet. Guys, do yourself a favor and try, just try the Pettit varnishes and you’ll never ever go back to paying more and getting less out of the interlux products.
Are the Pettit and Z-Spar varnishes one in the same? I ask because I did some Internet research on the Pettit website and the product description sheet for "Pettit’s Captain’s Varnish" states it’s "Z-Spar Captain’s Varnish".
FYI The "original" schooner varnish is back and available at Jamestown for those who still want an Interlux product. I have used many many gallons of both the original Interlux Schnoor and Epifanes Clear Varnish. I have had very good results with both but have a strong preference for Epifanes it needs no or minimal thinning, depending on conditions of your room and experience level, except for initial coats. The directions on the data sheet are correct. As for Schooner Gold, Interlux. I will no longer use any Interlux products after the recent and ongoing fiasco with the Gold and Compass products clearly Interlux is not being a good corporate citizen. They have recalled the compass product as of a 3/26 posting from
http://oceanlines.biz/tag/interlux-compass-varnish-recall/ " A representative from AkzoNobel, the parent company, said they don’t have a timeline just yet for when the product might return to the shelves"
but no mention of it on the website, talking today with the manager of my local West Marine she stated that yes it had been recalled and the Compass product on the sehelf is "new replacement stock" looking at the cans they appear to be exacly the same?
As for the Gold product it absolutely needs lots of thinning (beyond the 5% max on the label) on any significant sized wet edge, or regardless above 75 or so degrees. ambient.
Lastly (almost done with my rant) who knows what the "New Old Schooner" really is? I don't believe I will be shelling out for the field evaluation re-launch. I am sticking with/going back to a monogamous relationship with the industry leader (my opinion of course) Epifanes. The oh so important finishing step on your project is not the place to save 10? dollars.