We all know that varnish will start
hardening if it is exposed to the oxygen in the air of a half-used can, so
there are various things we can do to separate the air from the varnish. Some people cut a round disk of plastic and
float it on top of the varnish. Others squirt propane gas into the half-empty
can to displace all the air. (They have
to be very careful later not to light a match to check the contents of the
can.)
I’ve heard the suggestion that you
should decant a quart of varnish into much smaller jars or cans filled to the
very top, which is a good idea, except that I never have enough empty cans or jars
for the job. There are other methods, too, including the one I have always
used, which is quick and easy. I always
sprinkle a capful of paint thinner onto the surface of the varnish left in the
quart can. I leave it for a minute or two so that the vapors will displace the
air, and then I hammer the lid on tightly.
This scheme served me well for many
years, but lately something seems to have changed. Now I find the varnish is
starting to gel and become lumpy after a few of these treatments. The varnish doesn’t form a hard skin on the
surface, as used to happen if you simply didn’t do anything at all about the
air enclosed in the can. Now it just forms hunks in the body of the varnish with
a consistency like cheesecake.
I have managed to rescue some of this
stuff in the early stages of its cheeseification. I simply ladle it out into a
small container and stir it with a spoon, having added 50 percent of paint
thinner or turpentine. After a while it
seems to dissolve most of the lumps, but I’m never sure how the consistency is
going to work out. In any case, I strain it through some old insect screen I
just have lying around, the remains of a long-departed screen door, and I’m
left with a varnish that is reasonably free of lumps, easy to apply, and dries
just fine, but never looks quite as brilliant as it should, probably because
it’s thinned out too much.
I have half-filled quart cans of
Epifanes and Captain’s Varnish that are almost solid now, and past rescuing. It
just drives me mad to have to buy another quart of expensive varnish when I
need only a few teaspoons for a handrail.
Every now and then I consider painting the darned handrails — but
they’re made of teak, and I suffer from the common misconception that no
rational sensitive person can paint beautiful teak. But I’m going to have to
steel myself if things keep going the way they are.
I can paint teak if I have to, I
know I can. And maybe I will. Just one more can of varnish, and after that it’s
paint, I swear it.
Today’s
Thought
A
thing of beauty is a job forever.
— The Keats Rule of Varnishing
Tailpiece
A woman walked into her lawyer’s
office, taking with her a baby in arms and four other children under the age of
six.“I want a divorce,” she said.
“On what grounds?” asked the lawyer.
“Desertion.”
“Really? Desertion?” the lawyer looked from her to each of the five children in turn.
“Oh, don’t take any notice of these,” she said. “Yes, he really has deserted me. It’s just that he comes home now and then to apologize.”
(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday
for a new Mainly about Boats column.)
6 comments:
If I buy a new boat with any teak topsides, I'm going to order it be finished with oil. Maintenance detracts from the pleasures of ownership in my book.
Doc, I've tried oil and been disappointed. It hates seawater, and the sun will oxidize it and turn it a murky black within a few weeks if you don't clean it and wipe on a new coat every week or so. Varnish is the lesser of the two evils in my book.
John V.
Shucks... but thanks for the splash or reality, John. I was hoping to do with out a bothersome boat cover.
Agreed… Oil is not the solution. It lends almost no protection and takes more work to keep fresh than varnish.
The solution is more brightwork, not less. If you have lots of brightwork to keep up, you won't have a problem using up your varnish before it goes off on you!
Sometimes its hard to see the obvious...
Oh John, just join the crowd, Sickens/Cetol claims less work with their product and lasts longer in the can! Bwhahahahahaha
Ken:
Won't. You can't make me. I hate the look of orange Cetol and the more transparent Cetol is no better than traditional spar varnish.
John V.
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