OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

263313 gary may 2017‑09‑16 Re: re spar varnish sound off....
Don and Gentle Galoots---

    Varnish for windows---there's an epiphany for me. GOT to be beautiful...
    I use that Epifanes spar varnish too, and I love it on furniture. I used to
use the local spar from Miller Paint, but they quit making 'real' varnish long
ago (and not so long ago, all 'oil' paints)...sad days for me.  I love that
stuff.
   .A commercial boat-builder friend of told me that ALL varnish is expensive,
in terms of time spent putting it on and restoring it, so Epifanes is the best
bargain, being the toughest natural finish in his experience.  It's pretty
tough, all right.
    I haven't used it outdoors for anything, but it is designed to be out there,
in the salt and direct sun, and made to endure tremendous beating and abrasion
too. I'm getting ready to make a bay window to overlook our frog pond in the
backyard, and I'll varnish that---it'll be under the eaves, and won't see much
direct sun so it'll surely outlast my ass.
    btw, I use regular paint thinner or turpentine---also at the recommendation
of my boat-builder buddy--works fine for me.  I have benches and table tops that
look as good as they did when the varnish cured. And in some cases, that's 30+
years, though that'd be Miller's brew.....
thanks Don, and best to all galoots everywhere---gam in OlyWa/USA

How horrible it is to have so many people killed!---And what a blessing one
cares for none of them!
Jane Austen

      From: Don Schwartz 
 To: oldtools@s... 
 Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 7:09 PM
 Subject: Re: [OldTools] re spar varnish sound off....
   
On 2017-09-15 6:56 PM, ecoyle@t... wrote:
> the local boat repairer recommended “epifanes”
>
> anyway site is
> https://www.epifanes.com/page/clear-finishes
>
> a tad on the pricy side, but I’ve done wooden  vanity countertops that did not
take kindly to the water
>
> for sink cut-outs, you want to make sure that the cuts are sealed too, and
that silicone sealant is meticulously applied., or you will be responding to
your own “call-backs”
>
> Used it a while back to  refinish exterior church doors....If I recall
correctly thinners/sovents are equally pricey

I used epifanes to varnish east &  south-facing window frames a few 
years ago - MLW says 8-9 years! Six coats, starting thin & getting 
thicker each time. Probably should have sanded some and revarnished 
sooner, but round to-its have been scarce around here the past while. 
Anyway, those areas which get the most sun - the sills especially, and 
lower half of the frames - have deteriorated. Those areas need scraping 
and refinishing. But the upper portions, which get much less sun, still 
look good. I'll sand those areas lightly and recoat, if the weather 
breaks sometime soon. Good stuff. Pricey though. Thinners pricey too.

FWIW

Don

-- 
"You can tell a man that boozes by the company he chooses"
The Famous Pig Song, Clarke Van Ness

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