Exterior Wood Finishes

[sinbin]

You certainly are "waxing" poetic about this. Here's advice from my first boss on my first job: "Dip it deep and swing it wide". Now that I do more sailing, it's the Pilsner Urquells that make my varnish look great.

[ebb]

Repeats aren't welcome in polite company...sorry!

[ebb]

It's a matter of taste. Too bad that on a national scale disputes can't be settled over a
glass of brew. Sinbad, you'll have the bottom fermented, hopped 4.4 Czech Pilsner - served
in a chilled glass. I druther quaff from a wine goblet a dark top fermented Scotch ale with
low, or no hops, and a bang double yours at 8 or 9%.
We agree on one thing: little foam. I'm unable to drink grain anymore. You should feel
sorry for me. Thanks! But I did have a meal once at a white tablecloth restaurant, where
the only beer on the menu was an ice cold foreign Pilsner in a short bottle. A bit too
carbonated for my nose.... wasn't bad, wasn't bad at all. Actually had some taste!

HOW TO VARNISH
May have mentioned the following before: I've tried to locate the article, which appeared
of all places in National Fisherman, two or three decades ago! The article was headlined
something about this old pro east coast varnisher who breaks all the rules when it comes
to getting it on the wood. Photo showed him varnishing a gridiron wide mahogany stern,
or was it yellow pine, on a classic wooden lobster boat...Lost Claws - Nova Scotia (maybe).
Had him saying something a lot like your old boss.

Maybe he was your old boss! (Of course,I can't remember the quote)...Something like....
Just get it on any way it goes, don't matter. Don't worry about the foam, just slap it on.
Maybe thinned the first coat, maybe didn't...Then, stretch it out with your long strokes....

Can't add any more here without making something up.... but it obviously impressed me
that this pro got the coating on as quickly as possible....flattened it out....brushed it out
wide.....no BS....no mystery.
'Swing with it.' Rhythm has a lot to do with it.

Haven't done really any wide vertical surfaces. Recently heard that your last stokes
should be vertical. Horizontal leaves you open to sags - the gods don't forgive sags!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~



Later edit, 1/29/2017. ONLY ONE VARNISH RULES THEM ALL:

LE TONKINOIS.

WARN YOU! THIS PROCESS IS SO SIMPLE YOU'LL LIKE VARNISHING AGAIN. TONK
IS APPLIED 'OUT OF THE CAN' WITH NO THINNING ALLOWED. ROLL IT ON. TIP IT
OUT WITH FOAM. NO BRUSH CLEANING OR STORING. NO PETROLEUM. DECANT
INTO THE AMAZING STOP LOSS BAG. ALL VARNISHING PROBLEMS GONE!!!

What more do you want? No thinning solvent, no adding solvent. I've gotten a grand
piano finish using this "oil" that doesn't call itself a varnish. Ebb's method is to use
EpifanesMOLTOPREN micro-foam 4" rollers* (on a wire frame) and Jenny's** for
tipping (without wetting the foam) This means: no thinning allowed - no brush cleaning
and no solvents connected with that. No TOXIC products are used with this varnish.
220 aluminum grit sandpaper is not for sanding, but to lightly cut mini mountains off
(no dust making) -- then a rubdown with 3M maroon 7447 nylon pad . Dull surface.
Specifically this nylon pad only, because it has no added oil, wax or silicone product.

Varnish rolls on thin and even, without sagging, without curtains. With a nice mild
linseed aroma. LeTonk says epoxy primer not necessary. Without filling surface it'll
take 8-9 applications to create a mirror finish.
Repairs or recoat is normal, coating flattens and smoothes, repairs disappear.

Use a Wooster Pelican Pail*** that has liners and allows one handed roller loading
while rolling the coating, with the other. Magic.

Using StopLossBags (Duckworths), decanting Vernise#1**** out of its square can into
a clear plastic bag, that you squeeze air out to preserve the coating from skinover. It's
probably better, each opening of the varnish container, to pour what you intend to use
thru a cone filter. Job remains get saved. Bad idea. Because the varnish ends up with
these transparent jelly-globs, that must be strained out. Really shouldn't save air
exposed varnish from the pail, unless you're a cheapskate like me.

*SMS Distributors, http://www.smsdistributors.com/ {seems to be a one man
curmudgeon operation - you have to squeeze the order phone number out of him!! }
**JEN is a brand of wedge-tipped foam brush that has wood handles. Simply the best.
***Home Depot, Pelican imco is one of the best boat painting tools of all time!!
****American Rope and Tar, www.tarsmell.com/ {mom & pop)

DANCE OF THE GLOSSEER
As for varnishing wide surfaces: recently tonked Lit'lgull's new wide coamings, about
10x72 inches. 5 square feet... I'm used to wetting out short sections and tipping quickly,
then another short to tip into a wet edge. Multiple stop-n-goes. Did one side flat on the
bench and then the other side hanging from a frame. So that's 4 sides times 8, which is
32 sides. 160 sq ft!. Have to wait 24hrs each coat, before a lite prep.
Discovered something amazing for this stop & go varnisher:

Just rolled whole sides, and tipped end to end 4-5-6 times. drawing the wedge-tipped
foam with the grain whether flat or hanging vertically. Only once got curtains... knew
why and didn't make it happen again. The rollers (above) are made for this stuff, the
micro-foam fills up and releases evenly over the whole surface. Takes maybe a minute
and a half to roll a side!! Hardest part is tipping, walking forth and back, along the
coaming, trying to just touch not pull the varnish.
Fastest, nicest, most pleasant varnishing I've ever done!

CHEERS ! ! !

[sinbin]

Seems we have digressed. "Don't set your pale ale next to the varnish." Back in the "good old days", varnishing against the grain was a firing offense, so apparantly your man may was breaking the rules. If you find a sag on your 3rd of many coats, pull it up vertically with a dry brush, then finish with the grain. If it's dry, smooth it out with an orbital sander , and thin your varnish a little more on the next coat. Cheers!