Spar varnish questions...

[David Grason]

Hey Doug,

I tried some water based stain on my Benroy, and it was splotchy. I ended up painting over it with white paint.

This is exactly why Doug said to "test first, test first, test first." However, some stains DO in fact, look splotchy but even out perfectly under varnish. A test area would tell you that. Hang in there and try again.

Also, with aniline dyes, it's important to note that they do NOT have any kind of UV protection and will fade quickly under direct sunlight UNLESS they are protected with a UV inhibiting topcoat such as what Doug used on his boats. So plan on getting the topcoat on fairly soon after dyeing.

[bdosborn]

I started with a water based spar urethane and hated it. Blotchy and picked up dust badly. Switched to an oil based and got much better results. I apply three coats with sanding between each coat and the final coat. Then 0000 steel wool to finish. I've found that the thinner the coat, the better the finish. I started out glopping it on like house paint and now I put as thin a coat down as I can with a brush.
Bruce