I've got 6 coats of varnish on my Coho, and it's finally starting to look like this may work, but there's still some questions about a good technique:

When does one decide enough is enough? I've read some folks apply up to 8 or more coats. My can of Epifanes gives no indication how many coats or how thick the varnish needs to be to afford the UV protection I'm looking for. I have a good dial gauge if a particular mil thickness is desired.

In between coats, it's recommended that I sand with #400 wet or dry paper. How much to sand? Am I really sanding, or just scuffing? Should I be looking to remove all the high spots and sand completely smooth, or just kind of go over it all to take off some of the gloss along with the dust particles? I know in some places, I've cut through all the varnish down to the epoxy again, so it seems the heavy handed method should be avoided, but how 'light' can I go?

Epifanes says to thin the varnish in decreasing amounts with each coat, with the last coats thinned only 5% (more in 'tropical conditions', but I'm in the Seattle area). I'm finding that I can't very well keep ahead of the drying process, i.e., even advancing only 3 or 4" at a time, it's very difficult to keep from making lasting brush marks. Should I add just a bit more thinner? This sure seems to help with the brushmark problem, but I don't want to have to add a dozen more coats to get the desired thickness or have a 'weaker' finish.

Epifanes says you can spray their stuff. Other sites, e.g., Dunbar Lumber, say that varnish is the last thing they'd recommend spraying because of the viscosity. I have the paint gun I painted my VW with years ago, and it still worked the other day with thinner, so I'm willing to try it if anyone can give me a few rough guidelines. I can rig a paint booth, and I would think I'd need more coats, but with the better finish I'd expect a lot less sanding, yes?.

Finally, what treatment for the very last coat? Just leaving it glossy is OK? Or do some folks sand with #1500 grit, which still removes the gloss, and rub out with something else, like an auto finish compound?

Is wax or any other 'final' coating recommended by anyone? Automotive poly coat stuff? WD-40?

From time to time, someone will ask if any non-varnish product will do the UV job. Any good answers, yet? If the boat is only outdoors when it's in the water, is UV protection still an issue? I hate to paint, so I'll try just about anything to avoid it.

Happy paddling to you all; there've been some nice images lately of your boats.

Boat kit #2 has arrived!