Varnish application help needed.

[Raymond Fries]

Interesting that I have been a woodworker for many years and never have I used varnish for a project. Well the time has come. I am making a tournament set of cornhole boards and want to use varnish. I have been reading about different brands and Epiphanes seems to be a nice choice. I assume all of the brands would be applied in a similar manner.

Other than the sanding between coats, no dust, and the thinning technique to make the varnish thicker with the progressive coats, what are the gotchas so I can have a nice finish with no brush marks.

I have an old Wagner electric sprayer but have not read anywhere that spraying varnish is an acceptable method.

Please share your methods you use for your applications.

Thanks

[Robert LaPlaca]

<p>
Raymond, your single best tip I found is to use a 2-3 inch wide foam roller to apply the Epifanes to the work. The goal is to get the proper amount of varnish on the project as fast as possible, then use a high quality varnish brush to tip off what the roller just applied.</p>

[John TenEyck]

I would not use Epifanes unless these are going to be outside in the weather all the time. If they are going to be indoors, or stored indoors, I would use nearly any common oil based polyurethane or alkyd varnish, or Minwax' oil modified waterborne. Lay it on with a good quality brush. Don't even think about spraying it unless cleaning up the over spray mess it will make sounds like fun. (The Minwax oil modified waterborne being the except in that group. That, or any waterborne varnish, is easy to clean up after spraying.)

John

[Raymond Fries]

Any recommendations on the best water based varnish?

John - Curious on why not to use Epiphanes.

[John TenEyck]

Epifanes is a great product for outdoor use, but it's expensive compared to most interior varnishes, takes a long time to dry, even longer to cure, and never really gets hard. If you don't intend to leave these things outside there's no reason to use it IMO.

If you can spray my favorite interior WB varnish is GF's Enduro Clear Poly. Sprays great, super clear, very hard and durable. While I have not used it yet, I've heard good things about TC's EM-9000, which should be a similar product.

John

[Bill Adamsen]

In addition to what John said, Epifane is much more challenging to apply.

I like to send folks this article on creating a Bristol finish (why else would you use Varnish) which typically tempers folks enthusiasm for engaging in the process.

[Doug Hepler]

The website about Bristol Finish is very interesting. Sorry to be contentious but Bristol Finish is a two part urethane varnish and Epifanes is a one-part alkyd varnish. They have practically nothing in common. In fact, Epifanes is recognized as an alternative to two-part spar varnish. Also, although that is a very interesting read, it is advertising for the fine job that this boatyard does (or may do). I have used Epifanes spar varnish and it is no more difficult to apply than any varnish, if you can manage a brush and sandpaper. It does take a lot of patience, especially if you apply the recommended eight coats with 24 hours drying/curing time between coats. But comparing it to the procedure described by Burr boatyard is misleading.

Just saying

Doug

[Bill Adamsen]

Thanks Doug ... you are correct that the chemistry is different. It is the process and devotion to the process that are consistent. A top quality varnish job (I use Epifane) requires numerous topcoats to achieve the look and effect for which we use varnish. On boats I usually start with 2-3 layers of non-blushing epoxy, then 5-8 layers of varnish sanding appropriately between coats. I often turn the object upside down in last coar(s) to avoid dust contamination. Cleaning my badger and varnish brushes is time consuming. Few folks have patience for that process. I don't see it as a great finish for corn-hole boards.

[Doug Hepler]

I don't see it as a great finish for corn-hole boards.

Totally agree. I also agree that people should know what they are getting into. But if there is such a beast as a finishing Neanderthal, I'm one of them. If you have a badger brush then you definitely know what I'm talking about. Alkyd varnish rules (until the VOC police take it away). Diagnostic question:"You must have spent 40 hours on this finish" Diagnostic answer: "Yes, thank you."

All the best

Doug

Doug