Hi Rob,

There has been a lot of discussion about tack cloth on this board. Which brand do you recommend? I presume that you just drag the cloth over the surface.

How do you transition between the hull and deck? Tape?

: Thinning the varnish is only needed for coating bare wood.

: After you've sanded and resanded the epoxy on your boat you've created a
: great big dust magnet. I varnished two boats recently. For some reason the
: static charge was worse than usual. As I wiped down the surface with a wet
: sponge to remove sanding dust the hair on my arm bristled.

: I went over the surfaces a number of times with my tack cloth and continued
: to have a hard time removing all the dust specks.

: Yes they are tiny bubbles but they're still caused by dust.

: Now that my first coat is on the hulls of my boats the static charge is gone.
: After I sand this coat with wet 220 and recoat, the specks will be greatly
: reduced or totally gone.

: This is why you need to sand between coats if you want to have a good finish.
: It's hard if you've never had good results to be patient and take the time
: to sand carefully and go through all the steps needed to have good
: results. You're almost finished and you want to get the boat in the water.
: But all the work you've done so far will look dull under a poor finish.

: My brushed finish looks as good as a sprayed one. I use Captain's varnish.

: For those who have not seen my finishing method I'll repost it. I read a
: recent post talking about the spots missed varnishing. The criss/cross
: varnish application I describe has made a BIG different in the reduction
: in spots missed and dips and sags.

: Rob's finishing technique
: Oil based varnishes require a surface sanded with 220 grit paper. This is the
: finest grit you need to have prefect results.

: Check the information supplied with the finish for application.

: Dealing with Dust
: Your shop is a dusty place. Every time you move around the shop the dust gets
: kicked up. This will land on your fresh coat of finish, unless you take
: steps to reduce the dust in the air. First, vacuum up as much dust in the
: shop as possible. Let things settle at least overnight.

: An hour before you will apply finish, sprinkle water on the floor to keep the
: dust down. Misting the air with a plant water mist sprayer will pull the
: dust out of the air like a fresh rain.

: Vacuum all surfaces to remove dust or wipe down wet sanded surfaces with
: clean water and wipe dry with paper towels.

: Go over the dry surface with a tack cloth.
: For the finish to cure properly your shop temperature should be at least 70°
: F. Maintain this temperature until the finish is dry.

: Use every spotlight, desk light anything you have to illuminate the boat with
: STRONG light so you can SEE what you are doing. I can't emphasize this
: enough.

: After many years of trying water base finishes and many different varnishes,
: I now finish all my boats with Z Spar Captain’s varnish. This is the
: compatible varnish for use with System Three resins. Check with your epoxy
: manufacturer.

: Brushing on a Finish
: Brushing on a perfect finish is an art that can take time and patience to
: master but here are some helpful pointers.

: Go over the surfaces with a tack cloth (available at most paint stores). All
: the sanding of your boat will give it a static charge which will attract
: dust. Going over the surface with a tack cloth is essential to remove dust
: before varnishing.

: Most novices apply too thick a coat and find the finish has runs or drips.

: It is best to start with too little rather than too much finish on a surface.
: This will allow you to get the “feel” for that particular finishes
: brushing characteristics. Each finish brushes on slightly differently.

: Use a good foam brush to apply varnish. I used to advocate costly finishing
: brushes but they take a lot of work to clean and I’ve found a foam brush
: can work as well.

: Be careful around cockpit coamings and hatch openings because the foam brush
: carries a reserve of varnish that will pool out when pressed and leave a
: sag of varnish.

: Brush Technique
: Dip only the tip of your brush in the finish and do not wipe off finish on
: the edge of the can. This can add foam to your brush.

: The toughest part of applying a finish is to put on the right amount, so you
: don’t get drips or sags and yet cover the area completely.
: It seems easy to cover the boat with finish but, I never seem to go without
: missing a few spots.

: At a boat show a finishing rep displayed this brush technique; brush a small
: area (about 16” sq.) with the grain, then across the grain and finally
: with the grain, to spread the finish evenly and cover the area totally.

: Do all 3 passes one right after the other. When your brush comes out of the
: varnish container it's loaded. The first stroke (start at the keel or high
: on the boat) dumps a lot of varnish and successive stokes, with the
: strips, lay out less and less. Then stroke across the strips, from top to
: bottom, pulling the first stroke that was heavy with varnish down to even
: out the varnish layer. Then the final strokes, again with the strips,
: smoothes it all out and insures you've not
: missed a spot. You should be able to do all this with one dip from your
: varnish.

: I now use this brushing technique and have much fewer drips and sags. See
: illustrations at left.

: To prevent missing areas divide your brushing area into small sections. I use
: staples on my hulls below the waterline so I brush from the staple holes
: from one station to the next. Overlap your brush strokes form one section
: to the next.
: If you don’t have a definite area marker like staple holes you will have to
: mentally guess an area work size.

: I estimate a 1/2” dip of my brush into the finish will cover about a 16”.
: square area.

: Look for the reflections of your shop lights highlighted in the finish to
: make sure you have covered the surface completely and overlapped areas
: previously brushed. Look for drips or sags and brush them out before the
: finish sets.
: If someone looked in my shop window when I was applying a finish to my boats
: they would get quite a laugh at the contortions I go through. I look high
: and low to see my shop lights reflected in the finish to make sure I
: haven’t missed a spot.

: You must wait until the next day before recoating an oil based finish. I
: usually apply varnish in the evening.

: Sand between coats with 220 wet/dry sandpaper. I like wet sanding since it
: creates no dust and is very efficient. Do a thorough BUT LIGHT sanding job
: and level any drips or sags. You want to knock down dust and high spots
: and provide a little tooth for the next coat to bond to NOT sand the
: previous coat off!

: Wipe down surfaces with a sponge and clean water until you have removed all
: sanding residue. Wipe down surfaces with the tack cloth before recoating.

: I apply at least three coats of varnish. This should work with any brand of
: varnish but as
: I said earlier, each brand has slightly different brushing characteristics.
: This is why I use
: Captain's varnish. I just like the way it brushes better than any other I've
: found. I've tried the Flagship but it doesn't brush as well in my book.

: All the best,

: Rob Macks
: Laughing Loon CC&K
: www.LaughingLoon.com