Spar Varnish recommendations

[Dave Sinkus]

I am replacing my home entry door with a rift sawn White Oak door. Interior will be stained or MinWax poly/stained to match. Exterior, color is not as big an issue as protecting from UV and general moisture. I'm near Chicago, so temps are dropping into 40's this time of year. My plan is to finish in the attached shop (g-a-r-a-g-e) with my dual halogen lights supplying some extra heat. The garage is semi heated from the H/AC vents exposed. I'm thinking of applying the finish and leave it without the lights shining directly on it for 8-10 hours, lather rinse repeat, etc.

So, what is your experience and preference for a great spar varnish?
I have discovered Sutherland Welles and McCloskey - any others I should consider that don't require tapping into the 401K ?

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

[Steve Schoene]

Spar varnish doesn't come cheap. McCloskey isn't up to the job if there is sun involved. You want either Epifanes Clear High Gloss, Interlux Schooner, or Pettit(Zspar) Captain's. You will likely pay $30 a quart give or take, but they will end up proving cheaper over time than the $12 a quart consumer grade stuff with nautical sounding names. You will only find true marine spar varnish at boating supply places, not at ordinary paint stores or big box stores.

Oil based paints will work at fairly low temps, but 40's is so low that curing time will be forever. Add some real heaters heaters so that you can get the temps into at least the 60s and keep them there. Otherwise you will have to wait 2 days between each of the 6 coats that are required.

Clear finishes exposed to the sun are not apply and forget products. You need to periodically sand and apply refresher coats before the finish begins to dull.

[Dave Sinkus]

I can get the garage into the 60's......it's great information you have supplied
Thanks

[Frank Hagan]

What kind of exposure does the door have? Here in southern California, you have to re-apply varnish yearly if the door is exposed to sunlight; on a north facing side of the house you can probably go two or more years.

Epiphanes is great brushing varnish ... I actually like brushing it on better than thinning it and spraying it. It has a lot of *something* in it that makes the quart can quite a bit heavier than a quart of McCloskey's or Helmsman. But even with that, if you have a door that is getting sunlight, you will be re-varnishing yearly. Its a relatively simple job if you keep up on it, but if you let the finish go and have to strip it back down to bare wood ... well, that's a lot of work!

[Steve Schoene]

Epifanes has about a 60% solids content, compared to 50% or less than the other so called spar varnishes.

As Dave says, adding the refresher coat is important, and can be as often as annually if you have full sun, though you may have caught a small break being in Chicagoland, where you are more likely to get two years before needing the refresher coat. But watch it closely--if there is a hint of losing the high gloss look, it's time to sand sand and recoat.

[Dave Sinkus]

The door is facing east and gets mostly mid morning sun directly. A lot of trees so from sunrise to about 8, it is in the shade. From about 8-10 in the summer it would be getting direct sunlight.
As far as maintenance, I was prepared for the upkeep as part of the decision process with going all wood.

Thanks for your help

[Joe Mioux]

I just purchased a gallon of Pettit's Z-spar varnish for an outdoor dining table.

the directions say 4 coats. a gallon will cover 545 sq ft, if i remember correctly

Cost $103.

I purchased this from my local sailboat marine harbor store. Yes, we have a great sail boat lake here in Carlyle. Twenty-six thousand acres.

The sales clerk told me that All the sail boat owners ask for Pettit z spar, even though they have access to all sorts of spar varnishs.

hth
joe

[Steve Schoene]

The Pettit Captain's is quite good, and it's also the most reasonably priced of the good spar varnishes. Four coats is a minimum--there is nothing about Captain's that makes it hold better with 4 coats than, say, Epifanes with 4, though Epifanes recommends than that. Just watch the finish and plan to apply the refresher coat as soon as you see any dulling of the finish at all. If you can find some shade for the table the finish will appreciate it.

I grew up in Alton--west of Carlyle on the Mississippi--so understand your climate issues.

[Dave Sinkus]

Here's an update to my post on applying spar varnish for an entry door. The new door is rift sawn white oak, so it is finish ready and has had nothing applied to it. I wiped it with DNA and loved the grain that is waiting to pop.

I measured the temp in the garage and it hovers at 60.5 to 61 with outside temp in the high 20's low 30's at night. With LOML opening garage door for egress with the kids, I don't feel it is worth the time to gamble keeping the temp above 60 for any legnth of time.

So, my question is around applying the spar varnish in the basement, where temp stays at 66-67.9 F, humidity 33%. Should I be concerned with fresh air/circulation/venting? I can open a basement window if need be. I know you are not supposed to apply near heat and don't leave tung oil soaked rags laying around.

Thanks for the help

[David Sharp]

I don't think you have anything to worry about safety-wise. I have never noticed the fumes being any worse than any other oil based products. Some people prefer to put a first coat of sanding sealer or thin the first coat of varnish for better penetration. You may want to pour enough for a coat in a separate container to keep dust contamination out of your varnish. I usually sand the first couple of coats with a red 3m pad until you get some coverage built up then sand with 320 after that. A badger hair brush works best if you can find one. The best way is to put it on and get away from it. The brush marks will be worse if you over-brush the material. It's pretty much like everyone else has said-to get a good looking job it's just a matter of building up coats and sanding out the brush marks between coats. I have not varnished much oak but I would think it would be the same as mahogany.

[Steve Schoene]

I wouldn't worry about flammability of vapors from the amount of varnish you will use coating an entry door. Mineral spirits in those quantities aren't going to explode. And the finish will cure much faster.

Yes, rags containing varnish can spontaneously ignite, but basically only if you leave them balled up. Draped flat with one thickness they will just dry and you can dispose of them.

[James Kuhn]

Waterlox Marine tung oil varnish gives very attractive results that seem to last quite well but takes a full day at least to cure enough to sand (or steel wool) and recoat. Techinically you don't have to sand between coats, but I don't think the product would be as nice. You can buy small amounts at woodcraft, etc. to avoid breaking the bank.

The big bad wolf these days is Interlux Perfection which is a 2-part super-modern chemistry thing that won a recent Practical Sailor spar varnish roundup. I picked up a "kit" locally but haven't had anything nice enough to use it on...very pricey.

[Dave Sinkus]

I feel a little more comfortable doing this in the basement.

Of course, pics of the project coming after install