This venerable thread - with posts by skippers sorely missed - needs a boot.
I've been using Epi's clear varnish for small projects, and it's nice. They tell us it is a phenolic-modified alkyd resin and tung oil varnish, a true varnish with UV absorbers. You have to sand between coats. Full name is 'Clear High Gloss Marine Varnish'. CV in the list below.
Wood Finish Gloss AND Wood Finish Matte is a one part FINISH made of urethane alkyd resins and tung oil, and UV protection. You can find on the online Epifanes site why they do not call it a varnish. BUT it acts like a varnish rather than a hard film alternative that other brands make.
I decided to give it a try. TWO reasons: I won't have to sand between coats to build-up the recommended 8 to 12 coat thickness. Second, WF comes in a matte/satin that I will use inside. Wood Finish Matte can be coated over CV varnish. Epifanes msds calls it interior so may not have full UV absorbers. It obviously can be sanded between coats if you miss the 3 day window or want to smooth the work - just like the traditional varnish.
On the exterior the 8 to 10 coat thickness can be built up without sanding each coat using the Wood Finish. And you can make the last coat Clear High Gloss without prep, just pour it on!
The Q&A on the Epifines' Varnish page will answer many of your questions about both products.
I like the versatility. Both varnish and finish are identical in appearance and there seems to be no caution in painting one product over the other - which I'm positive will happen.
The pricing for Epifanes is like that for domestic brands. You can find almost everything they make at their online Maine warehouse. There is a lot of stuff you'll never see listed in other vendor catalogs. You pay their list price and you DON'T pay shipping. Their quart size is 1000ml and gets you almost two extra ounces.
SAVING LEFT OVERS.
Varnish/finish uses air (oxygen) to dry. These coatings DO HAVE SOLVENTS in them.
Clear Gloss: Naptha 42% / Xylene 2%.
Wood Finish Gloss contains 37% naptha.
Wood Finish Matte also has barium sulphate in it.
Saving the expensive liquid left in the can is a long standing forum subject. Opened and resealed varnish thickens and skins over no matter what! Keeping oxygen out when you reseal the can is virtually impossible. Won't enumerate. One hopeful thing to do is to press Seranwrap (polyethylene) down on the varnish surface before putting the lid back on.
A product called Bloxygen can be squirted into the can as you are closing the lid to evacuate the air and exchange it with a heavier-than-air inert gas, ARGON. Considering the price of Epifanes, filling the small space inside with a non-reactive gas is cost-effective. Constantines, Klingspor, Lee Valley, PaintSource, Rockler, Woodcraft.
Liquor stores, some grocery stores carry 'gas blanket' aerosols for squirting into wine bottles and almost anything else you want to keep from oxidizing. $10 max for 75 doses. Look at ingredients, imco should be 100% argon.
ARGON cannot be used on waterbased coatings - nor solvent release lacquer coatings
EPIFANES............500ml...1000ml [CV= Clear Varnish / WF = Wood Finish / WFM = Wood Finish Matte / BTh = Brush Thinner]
Mertons - CV -- 14.75 - 27.35
...............WF -- 16.10 - 29.50
...............WFM - 19.80 - 35.30
...............BTh -- 8.20 - 10.60
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Epifanes -CV -- 23.56 - 43.66
..............WF -- 25.64 - 47.12
..............WFM - 31.61 - 56.36
..............BTh -- 13.06 - 16.91
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Jamestwn -CV - 14.99 - 26.99
..............WF -- 18.99 - 32.99
..............WFM - .........- 39.99
..............BTh -- ....................
_________________________
WM ........CV -- 23.99 - 40.99
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Defender -CV - 17.99 - 24.99
.............. WF --20.99 - 35.99
...............WFM........................
...............Bth..........................
_________________________
Noahs -- CV -- 17.67 - 25.99
..............WF -- 19.38 - 35.34
.............WFM - ...........42.27
..............BTh -- 9.80 - 12. 68
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