The varnishing will never end

I know I’ve procrastinated, and probably because I know as soon as I finish one varnishing project, another is waiting. One thing I want for Christmas is French doors installed off of our dining room. That can’t be done until they’re varnished, so I’m back to work on the doors. Two weeks ago I got one side ready: the windows papered and taped off, followed by a couple of rounds of detail sanding. Then the doors sat on the saw horses in the living room. We slid them into the dining room last weekend when we put up the Christmas tree. And we finally finished varnishing the interior side of the doors yesterday. We flipped them this morning and I prepped them for the first coat of varnish. The job isn’t difficult, it just gets a little tedious and you need a lot of patience. I’ve been sanding in between each coat, even though it’s said that it isn’t necessary if the subsequent coats are put on within 36 hours. I just don’t want to take any chances of having to re-do the varnish, so I’m being especially picky. I love the look of the final varnish and I highly recommend spending the extra money and buying Epifanes varnish. It’s been around for ages and I’m impressed with how forgiving it can be.

Here are a couple of tricks and tips I picked up on during my research and while varnishing if anyone is about to start a varnishing project and hasn’t used spar varnish before:

• Use a very good brush (badger type bristles) and soak the brush in mineral spirits first. This helps with clean up immensely.
• The first coat I thinned 50 % to create a conditioning coat: this is supposed to allow for more even application.
• The next coat was 25% and then 15-5% for the last coats. Depending on the exposure to sunlight and weather you should put 4-6 coats on the doors.
• If at all possible, work with the wood at a horizontal level- this will help make the varnish spread evenly and prevent extra drips.
• Start with the brush at a low angle to the surface and as you drag the brush begin to bend it to dispense the varnish as you pull the brush.
• Always move the brush in one direction and not back and forth.
• After applying the varnish to one section, top it off. Take the brush at a 90 degree angle to the surface and gently pull the brush along. This gets rid of any small bubbles and smooths the finish. If you still see bubbles or marks, don’t worry. They will level out as it dries. Don’t go back to put more on if it’s still wet. Wait until the next coat!
• Lightly sand in between and tack cloth before starting each coat. If the sandpaper gums up right away, it means that the varnish hasn’t dried enough.

So, I hope this helps anyone thinking of using spar varnish. I was worried how shiny it would turn out, but the final coat of matte varnish works great and I couldn’t be happier with the final product. Now I’m just wondering if I’ll get the same results with varathane when I finish the interior doors. Anyone have suggestions or their favorite finish to use on interior woodwork? We’ve been pretty happy with varathane, but since I have a few doors, a mantel and will some day have kitchen cabinets to finish, now’s the time to get some input!

Off to put the 50% coat on the exterior side of the doors. Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of the doors installed before the New Year!