Brightwork Finish

ensign001 · Post by **ensign001** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:25 pm

I have a Pearson Ensign that I am restoring. I have removed the brightwork that can be removed and have begun the process of scraping/stripping. Most of the brightwork is solid mahogany or mahogany veneer plywood.
When it comes time to apply the new finish I plan to use an Epifanes product in a gloss finish. I noticed that my local marine store carries varnish, mono-urethane and poly-urethane.
I am looking for a recommendation on the preferred Epifanes product.
Thanks-

Tony
Ensign 001

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:58 pm

The Clear Gloss is good. It is traditional spar varnish with all the pros and cons... But it looks sooo damn good.

The Woodfinish does not require sanding between coats if done within a certain amount of time. This works pretty well, although can be a little darker than the regular clear. You will want to use the clear gloss for your last two coats.

I would say that if you can take all your brightwork home, you are better off with the clear gloss.

Post by **Tim** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 1:14 pm

The Epifanes mono-and poly-urethanes are paints, not varnishes, though there is a 2-part polyurethane "varnish" available which is really a very different animal.

The Epifanes varnish choices are clear gloss (the traditional "spar" varnish), wood finish (in gloss and matte), and interior rubbed-effect varnish (satin finish that's great on interiors).

Wood finish gloss is good for quick buildup, but the end result is not as flat and smooth if you don't sand it along the way. So if you're going for that perfectly smooth, flat, varnished surface, I'd suggest doing all your build coats with the clear gloss spar varnish, not the wood finish gloss. But the no-sand product looks very good, so if you can live with less than perfectly flat (i.e. without sanding), then it's a great choice. It also holds up well.

Ensign hull #1, eh? That's a keeper! Cool. My old Ensign, #1447, is still moored and sailing out of Falmouth with her current owner, so keep your eyes open for her.

Hirilondë · Post by **Hirilondë** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:59 pm

I am changing my Renegade over to Epifanes Rapid Clear. It is a semi-gloss. What I like most about it is that it doesn't require sanding between coats. I find that sanding every 4 coats keeps it quite level. I have way too much bright work on my boat to keep up with high gloss, and semi is much more forgiving of scratches.

An Ensign huh? I helped campaign one in the early 80s. In 83 we made it to the Nationals. Fun boats, good for racing and a nice large cockpit for taking friends out.

ensign001 · Post by **ensign001** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:33 pm

The pieces of mahogany have weathered due to neglect. The result is varying wood tones ranging from gray to a natural mahogany color. I am concerned that the varied tones of the wood will telegraph through the varnish and produce an undesirable result. Is it possible to stain the wood first to even out the tone of wood prior to using Epifanes Clear Varnish? If so, is there a preferred stain? I prefer not to replace the mahogany. I like the idea of using as many original parts of the boat as possible.

CharlieJ · Post by **CharlieJ** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:08 pm

Yes, it's most definitely possible to stain the wood. But you could also use some oxalic acid and bath the wood in that first to help even out the color. It's a highly recommended wood bleach. We used it often in the wood shop when we were refinishing furniture to get rid of stains. That was my business for 25 some years by the way.

Our mahogany was 45 years old and had been neglected for 15 of them when my wife started to work on the wood.

She soaked it in the bath tub- what would fit at any rate- using oxalic acid and a brush- Wear rubber gloves.

Then repaired any severe weathering or cracks with an epoxy filling, with the epoxy thickened with wood dust to make it the right color. Then varnished.

Any place where we had to use new mahogany to replace stuff that was too far gone, she stained to match before varnishing. She used a water based stain for that wood that was to be epoxy coated under the varnish

Post by **Tim** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:05 am

I assume you're going to sand the wood too, right? That will also help even out the color, but if you have deep weathering or staining you may need the oxalic acid to brighten the wood.

Unless the wood is black or deeply grooved, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised how well it will clean up for varnish.

MikeD · Post by **MikeD** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:24 am

CharlieJ wrote:

Wow and WOW!

bcooke · Post by **bcooke** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:34 am

Almost too nice to put on a boat. :-)

CharlieJ · Post by **CharlieJ** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:37 pm

Thanks- Laura maintains the brightwork on Tehani- she likes it to look like that, so she spends the time making it happen.

I'd probably oil it-grin. But we have sunbrella covers for the hand rails which stay on while the boat is slipped- that helps a LOT in prolonging the varnish.

In fact, we HAVE begun oiling the toe rails. They are so difficult to reach while the boat is in the slip that we sanded them to wood and oiled them. Now we scrub once in a while with a scotch brite pad and soapy water, then re oil.

Late last year she wooded the mast and laid on 5 or 6 coats of Bristol Finish. So far so good. We'll see what it looks like at the end of our summer.

ensign001 · Post by **ensign001** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:42 pm

Thanks for the responses.
I stopped in at Hamilton Marine this afternoon to ask them about using stain with the Epifanes Clear Varnish. They were nice enough to call Epifanes directly to get their advice. The Epifanes representative recommended using a filler stain by Z-Spar. He said that the stain must be thinned to a cream consistency before applying. I asked if the filler stain would prevent the varnish from penetrating the wood properly. He said that to some extent it would, but that it shouldn’t be a problem as long as the first coat of varnish was thinned as recommended and that the first coat was worked in a little harder than is usually necessary. He specifically recommended against using a Minwax stain as the color would not hold-up. So, I’m going to give it a try.

Quetzalsailor · Post by **Quetzalsailor** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:03 am

I've had a really tough time getting the brightwork to behave on Q. Using Epiphanes gloss, I'm even following the instructions. I started by trying to patch the least offensive places and wood the worst objects. Both types of area seem to fail prematurely. I continued the next year by wooding more objects. (The idea was to set myself up with a rolling schedule of wooding and recoating, say 1/6th of the boat wooded each year and the other 5/6ths recoated. Of course, hard to define the 6ths.) However, failure dogs the work, and then summer's heat stops me cold (or something). The problem seems to be worse at edges where the finish begins to lift. Lots of edges on the toe rails which are the worst offenders.

It pleases me, encourages me, when I see such lovely work on your Ensign!

I've used oxalic acid and would caution folks to be careful about immersion time, energetic scrubbing and concentration. You are not only bleaching wood but removing it. Particularly noticeable fuzzing on my spruce FD mast.

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:59 am

Quetzalsailor wrote:I've had a really tough time getting the brightwork to behave on Q. Using Epiphanes gloss, I'm even following the instructions.

I'm curious as to whether that's the Epifanes traditional gloss varnish or their woodfinish gloss you're speaking of.

R.

Quetzalsailor · Post by **Quetzalsailor** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:39 am

Epiphanes Clear High Gloss Varnish. I've been shying away from the not-quite-varnish wood finishes, like the Cetol, because of the masking. I've been shying away from the urethanes because the subsequent repair is so much harder.

It is not satisfying to put in so many hours, aches and dollars and reap so little!

Capn_Tom · Post by **Capn_Tom** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:47 pm

If you have any Te Ka laying around it works well for restoring the color of mahogany as well

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:35 am

Hirilondë wrote:I am changing my Renegade over to Epifanes Rapid Clear. It is a semi-gloss. What I like most about it is that it doesn't require sanding between coats. I find that sanding every 4 coats keeps it quite level. I have way too much bright work on my boat to keep up with high gloss, and semi is much more forgiving of scratches.

Dave,

Your post convinced me to try this stuff on my toe rail. I note from the directions on the can that it can be overcoated with regular clear gloss varnish which is what I'll probably do.

Question: how long does one have before the NO SANDING window closes? Also, it seems a little weird not to dilute the first few coats with thinner to seal the wood. Can you see using regular varnish for the first few coats (thinned) and then the build coats using the rapid clear, then regular varnish for the final coat to give it the gloss???