Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

After y'all get yer mind out of the gutter, this is a legitimate question. I just finished giving the tear ( Dang, I gotta get a name for it!!) 3 coats of varnish, sanding between each coat. But no matter how I tried, I kept gettin dull spots where I overlapped areas. Anybody have any ideas on buffing up the final finish so that I have a nice even shine??
I was thinking of car wax and a buffer, but don't know if this is wise if I have to repair the finish at a later date.

Any suggestions????

John,
About your woody....................er OK a legitimate response, I too had the same issue with uneven gloss after 6 coats of marine varnish over epoxy. I used an automotive wax for clearcoat finishes and it shines just like the car, heck it's better than the car, I never wax that! I figure that I will have to re-varnish the tear occasionally, but wiping it down a couple of times with mineral spirits, should remove the wax easily. Then a light sanding and another wipe-down with mineral spirits on a tack rag and the wax shouldn't cause a problem with refinishing.
Be sure and allow the varnish to cure completely before you wax it. Most automotive waxes are solvent based, and will soften a finish that is not completely cured.
Just my opinion, others may have different thoughts.

David

Thanks for the info Dave, I know that with furniture they tell you to go over it with extra fine steel wool before waxing...... I sure don't want to go that route!!! Good to know I can wax it and can remove it fairly easily when i have to...

John,
Furniture wax is a different beast. It does need buffing with steel wool to adhere good and polish out, but it doesn't stand up to exterior use well. Most furniture/ wood waxes don't have UV inhibitors that automotive waxes have, they also seem to "blush" when exposed to moisture. Again this is just my experience.

David

Every year my woody gets a complete sanding and a refinish job with gloss, spar varnish....hmmm, 6 coats so far. I cut the varnish slightly with mineral spirits for ease of application and a smoother coat. No way, would I put any wax on it, I guess because my tear is too irregular to buff with a buffer, but more importantly, the wax would slick up the hard to get to offsets and trim attachments and the next yearly varnish wouldn't adhear properly. Just my two cents. Sand, varnish, sand varnish........oh woe is me.
Roly

John,

Wax really won't help much because the though the dull spots will get a little shinier, the already shiny spots will also get even shinier...

Your best bet is one more coat of varnish...

If you thin it just a little, and start at one end, then work from one side to the other, applying a foot or so at a time, then carefully running your brush in long, gentle sweeps from end to end, each section of your tear (top, sides, hatch, etc) will come out perfectly even in texture because all will have been smoothed while uniformly wet.
You really shouldn't have to, or want to thin it because of the tendancy for it to run...but it will make it a little easier to apply.
By thinning, I mean maybe a cap full in a quart sized contaner of varnish, not a 25% cut!

Because of all the sections created by the trimwork, each individual section should be very easy to do without drying time creating a problem.

The only reason I can see from here that would cause dull areas, is if you were doing the roof, and you started in the middle of the top.
By the time you got to the bottom of the hatch and then went back to the top center to work your way down the front, the top center section would be too dry.

Rob

Here is a link to Cheasapeake Lightcraft boatbuilder tips on varnishing: http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/finishing/varnished_kayak.html

If you follow his instruction, you can get a pretty good finish without having to buff and wax. But there are lots of methods for sanding with finer and finer grits and using polish and wax.

Many varnish and poly problems are caused just by trying to put the finish on too thick. I always thin the maximum amount the manufacturer recommends, and sometimes a little more. I also use foam brushes for application. Plan on thin coats and sanding in between with 200-400 grit (maybe even wet sanding).

You can get quite carried away doing this and trying to get a perfect finish. Remember, you are seeing every fault in every square millimeter, every one else is seeing the big finished product and most don't even see those small spots that stand out like craters to you.

Here is a link to Cheasapeake Lightcraft boatbuilder...

Hey, they're in my neighborhood! Beautiful boat kits... I hope to get one of their sailing dinghy kits one day.

48Rob wrote:John,

Wax really won't help much because the though the dull spots will get a little shinier, the already shiny spots will also get even shinier...

Your best bet is one more coat of varnish...

If you thin it just a little, and start at one end, then work from one side to the other, applying a foot or so at a time, then carefully running your brush in long, gentle sweeps from end to end, each section of your tear (top, sides, hatch, etc) will come out perfectly even in texture because all will have been smoothed while uniformly wet.
You really shouldn't have to, or want to thin it because of the tendancy for it to run...but it will make it a little easier to apply.
By thinning, I mean maybe a cap full in a quart sized contaner of varnish, not a 25% cut!

Because of all the sections created by the trimwork, each individual section should be very easy to do without drying time creating a problem.

The only reason I can see from here that would cause dull areas, is if you were doing the roof, and you started in the middle of the top.
By the time you got to the bottom of the hatch and then went back to the top center to work your way down the front, the top center section would be too dry.

Rob

Rob, the area that's causing the problem is the roof. I start at the top and do one half of the top and then go around and do the other half. then I move down and cotinue to do a section on one half and move around to the other side and complete it .Then I do the whole bottom half. It looks real good until it dries, then I see sections where it's dull. By the way, I'm using a foam roller. I still get dull spots where I overlap from side to side, even tho it's only minutes between sides. Maybe I'll give it one nmore coat and cut the varnish a bit, so it doesn;t dry so fast.......

Rob, the area that's causing the problem is the roof. I start at the top and do one half of the top and then go around and do the other half. Then I move down and continue to do a section on one half and move around to the other side and complete it .Then I do the whole bottom half. It looks real good until it dries, then I see sections where it's dull

John,

Depending on temperature and humidity, one rarely has enough time to apply a finish as you describe.

I would expect the results you are encountering, due to the application method.

Now that you have the dull spots, before you apply another coat, a very thorough sanding to "level" the surface, or more specifically, the overlapped areas that are much thicker than the rest must be reduced.

Get it all even and smooth (and dust fee of course) then apply your finish.

Start at the bottom front, or bottom rear, and work from outside wall, to outside wall.
Apply enough varnish to cover a foot tall x the width of the trailer, then use a good brush to level the finish.
Work in one long sweep, start at one edge, and don't stop until you reach the other side.
Then turn the brush, and repeat the other direction.

Continue, overlapping each brush stroke by at least 25%.

Done this way, your "leading edge" of fresh varnish is always wet and fresh, and your brush will never "drag" because it encounters a partially set area of varnish.

If you had a divider, a piece of trim or something on top in the middle, it would be easier to start at the top and work your way to the bottom, but if not, the method described above is it...unless you have another person who can help.
Then, you can each start at the top, and work down to opposite ends...

Rob