Before I can start on my new Borealis XL I needed to refinish my current Coho Hi. Last week I sanded the old varnish off and started re-varnishing.
This is a picture of the deck after the first coat of varnish was applied. See steps below.
I've always thought that varnishing was a sort of black art. But then I found an online video last week and tried his technique (although just now I can't find it to post a link). It seems to work really well!
So... here's how to varnish a wooden kayak:
1. Use high quality Z-Spar Flagship varnish from Pettit
2. Using one of those small (4") white foam rollers, spread on a THIN (VERY THIN) coat of varnish in a very small area (2' x 2' or less).
3. Then use a black foam brush to tip the air bubbles out of the varnish and to smooth the coat. Brush from dry into wet areas. Watch for any runs and clean them up with the brush, but if made a thin enough layer with the roller then it shouldn't be an issue.
4. Repeat small patches working down the hull until the hull is varnished. Leave the area closed for at least 4 hours to prevent kicking up too much dust. Don't be obsessive about it, but do be prudent.
5. The next day lightly sand with 220-320 black sandpaper (wet-dry, silicon carbide) and wipe off clean.
6. Repeat steps 1 - 5 to build up at least 3 coats, 6 is better.
It's that easy. I think my mistake in the past was brushing on too thick of a coat of varnish. I always had sags and runs. This process of using the rollers to apply super thin coats worked really well.
By the way, I did not thin the varnish for any coats. I know a lot of people do. The instructions on the can say that thinning shouldn't be needed. For my purposes this worked perfectly. This isn't fine furniture building after all. But maybe this next Borealis will be! Maybe then I'll go the full 6 or more coats at least on the deck.
Aloha!
This is a picture of the deck after the first coat of varnish was applied. See steps below.
I've always thought that varnishing was a sort of black art. But then I found an online video last week and tried his technique (although just now I can't find it to post a link). It seems to work really well!
So... here's how to varnish a wooden kayak:
1. Use high quality Z-Spar Flagship varnish from Pettit
2. Using one of those small (4") white foam rollers, spread on a THIN (VERY THIN) coat of varnish in a very small area (2' x 2' or less).
3. Then use a black foam brush to tip the air bubbles out of the varnish and to smooth the coat. Brush from dry into wet areas. Watch for any runs and clean them up with the brush, but if made a thin enough layer with the roller then it shouldn't be an issue.
4. Repeat small patches working down the hull until the hull is varnished. Leave the area closed for at least 4 hours to prevent kicking up too much dust. Don't be obsessive about it, but do be prudent.
5. The next day lightly sand with 220-320 black sandpaper (wet-dry, silicon carbide) and wipe off clean.
6. Repeat steps 1 - 5 to build up at least 3 coats, 6 is better.
It's that easy. I think my mistake in the past was brushing on too thick of a coat of varnish. I always had sags and runs. This process of using the rollers to apply super thin coats worked really well.
By the way, I did not thin the varnish for any coats. I know a lot of people do. The instructions on the can say that thinning shouldn't be needed. For my purposes this worked perfectly. This isn't fine furniture building after all. But maybe this next Borealis will be! Maybe then I'll go the full 6 or more coats at least on the deck.
Aloha!
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