time between coats of varnish

[JSS]

I have just finished scraping and sanding all the old varnish off of Baraka's teak. NEVER AGAIN !! Now I am ready to start putting on the new varnish. I have put on a couple of coats of sealer and now plan to put on 3 to 6 coats of Epiphanes Woodfinish glossy varnish, followed by a few coats of Epiphanes high gloss clear varnish. The woodfinish varnish does not require sanding between coats as long as you do not wait more than 72 hours between coats, takes 12 hours to dry and can be reapplied in 24 hours.

My question is: can I apply the woodfinish more frequently than one coat every 24 hours? A worker at the boatyard said that I could apply 2 to 3 coats in a day (waiting until it was no longer sticky to the touch, if I then waited a full day before applying the next coat. Says I can do that with the high gloss clear as well. That way I could put on 6 coats in 2 to 3 days instead of 6 coats in 6 days.
Is this a good idea, or is it asking for trouble?

Also, any feelings on whether a badger brush is worth the expense for an amateur varnisher ? $20 to $40 vs 40 to 50 cents per brush for a disposable foam brush.

Thanks

Joel Silverberg
Baraka, CD27 #44
Rhode Island

P.S. I will sadly be unable to join the Northeast fleet for their activities in Essex, CT. The bright side is that the reason I will be unable to join you all is that I will be in Montreal and Quebec City during that time delivering a paper for the Canadian and British Societies for the History of Mathematics on the development of mathematical techniques for celestial navigation.

[Anthony P. Jeske]

Hi Joel:
It seems to me that humidity and temperature would be a factor in drying time. If it's not humid, I'm sure you could add that second coat the same day.
While I do use foam brushes from time to time, I'm a believer in using a good brush. I don't believe a badger brush is vital, but a good brush is important. I feel I am able to control the flow with a good brush. I also believe a brush will hold more varnish and thus will cover more area between refills, i.e. quicker job completion.
Remember to decant the varnish into a second pot; don't return unused varnish to the factory container. Don't wipe the loaded brush onto the side of the container, it makes bubbles in the varnish.
Happy Varnishing!
Tony Jeske
CD-28 #365
NO REGRETS
In never humid San Diego

[Len]

I have just finished my annual three coats of high gloss. Here are two things I learned this year that may or may not be helpful. 1. I hate sanding especially when it seems I am taking off more than I put one. So prior to my third coat instead of sanding with 320 i used a rough scots brite pad (the green ones come in different strenghts) and roughed up the surface. This created fine scratches that gave the appearance of that "hand rubbed effect". I did this with the belief (may not be true) that varnish can"t stick to shiny varnish hence we sand- roughing creates the same base effect- doesn't look half bad that way and certainly made less varnish dust. 2. For the final coat I used my good brush which loads a lot more varnish on than the foam, which I used for the first two coats.. This way I only have to clean the brush once.
The varnish job always looks better after its done and dried so don't be too fussy about putting it on.And it definitely always looks better from 20 feet away (those people who admire your boat). I sand and one coat a day and do the three coats in a long weekend. For new wood (or refinish) the more coats you can build up the better. When you get to the e. high gloss I wouldn't recommend "hot" coating - reapplying before the recommended 24 hours, especially if your coat is "thick" or runny.
Also remember it is a boat not a violin.

[Oswego John]

Len,

I second the motion on the use of Scotch Brite plastic pads. I used them all the time.

I suppose that it is safe to say that no two people use the self-same identical methods to prepare and then varnish their bright work. Each person has his own methods as well as personal idiosyncrasies in regard to what is the ultimately proper way of varnishing.

As for myself, I am not a compulsive freak about seeing my reflection in the final coat of finish. Matte is fine with me. Semi gloss is overkill as far as I'm concerned.

Not too long ago, I mentioned that I like to rough up the surface in between coats in order to give "tooth" to the next succeeding coat. I, personally, don't like to use anything coarser than 100 grit paper or it's equivalent ie: Scotch Brite, etc.

I have been asked what the "tooth" does. It's an anchor, if you will, for the next coat to grab on to. Like I have mentioned, I don't bear down when sanding. I just scuff up the preceeding coat's surface until it whitens out without removing the bulk of the coat. It makes microscopically deep scratches in the surface for the next coat to attach to.

To differentiate the results of varnish on a scuffed surface with "tooth" and that of a "toothless" (edentate ?? ) surface, as an exageration, imagine applying identical coats of varnish on both a pane of window glass and to a rough sawn board. Because of the effects of contraction, expansion and old age, it will lose it's adhesive properties and come off the glass like a sheet of cellophane. Not so with the coating on the rough sawn wood surface.

Every story should include an uplifting moral or two to it's conclusion. Do I dare mention:

#1 - Cetol

#2 - Tiller

#3 - Nah, I'm not gonna touch that other one.

Have a glorious 4th of July holiday.
O J