Replies

1. 
   John_Wells | Dec 29, 1998 10:49am | #1

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   Stuart -

   That is going to be a fun problem. Someone in the BT gang might have a product that works, so stay tuned. I'd love to hear of a miracle varnish that will give years of service in the weather.

   My experience with varnishes exposed to weather and sun in this climate (Newport Beach, CA) is that you can expect about 4 months of service out of a coat. I had a lot of varnish on my last boat. I was spending 2 weeks a year in a bosun's chair, varnishing the masts alone.

   Then I saw the light and painted the lot and did more sailing, less maintenance. My current boat only has varnish below decks, where it lasts very well.

   Your problem is worse as you have desert sun and dryness. Once a varnish coat goes bad, it looks just awful. The SW neo-colonial doors I see in the mags seem to be left to get weather-beaten.

2. 
   Guest_ | Dec 29, 1998 08:08pm | #2

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   Unfortunately, I think John is right. I have not found a clear finish that will stand up to the sun of So. Cal. let alone Az. I have tried to stop using natural wood on southern exposures entirely, here. The most you can safely expect is on year. A painting contractor friend of mine, says that ordinary spar varnish is the best thing, but it must be recoated before ANY sign of deterioration appears. Otherwise its strip and refinish time. It is not by coincidence that the SW look includes paint.

3. 
   Scooter_ | Dec 29, 1998 11:07pm | #3

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   Use Automotive Clear Coat. The stuff is about $200 per gallon, but lasts forever. I didn't have the guts to spray it, so it was applied by brush as follows: Sand to 150; stain; and apply with a foam brush. Stroke only once, and thin the first coat by about 1/3rd. Apply a second coat. If it runs or drips, thin some more, and apply at least 2, and sometimes 3 coats. Use either wet/dry sandpaper between coats, or some 0000 steel wool. It will dry fast and sometimes a bit rough.

   I did a custom home in Malibu five years ago, and the homeowner wanted varnished rafter tails and pillars. I tried to talk him out of it, but he had more money than sense. We worked through a couple of prototypes with marine varnish, and got no more than a couple months. We put the automotive clear coat on about four years ago, and it is as good as new. This was my first time using this product, and did it as a lark. It has withstood four years of baking sun and torential rain, and I saw it this week, and it was perfect.

   A couple words of caution: First, the stuff is probably illegal to use outside an automotivbe spray booth, and you are doing serious damage to the environment. OSHA, the Unions and Woodsy the Owl will lynch you if they catch you using this stuff, so use it only on a moonless night. The stuff really smells, so they may think you are making meth. Second, the stuff is quite dangerous. Don't even think about smoking within 100 feet of the place, and have a couple fire extinguishers handy. Third, wear a good organic respirator, or hire some unemployed inlaws that you would like to get rid of.

   Hope this helps.

1. 
   John_Wells | Dec 29, 1998 11:25pm | #4

   *Scooter -Great to hear that there is something that works. ("Not sold in any store.") If the stuff is anything like some of the boat industry coatings, the applicator may want a moon suit and powered air supply with the correct HEPA filter. Be fun to read the material data sheet on the stuff. One sniff, need new liver?Wonder if it could be applied in a booth and doors shipped finished.Varnish, we maintain, is for brain surgeons. You need the skill of one to do it right, or the income of one to hire it done right.Some yachties get downright fanatical about their varnish. Now that I am sailing "tupperware" I have the time to stroll the docks and admire other people's varnish. ;-)

1. 
   david_sorg | Dec 30, 1998 08:16am | #5

   *Scooter's got the right idea, I might disagree with a few of the details. Using a catalyzed clear coat (urethane, polyurethane, acrylic urethane- there are a lot of names for essentially the same product) is no more illegal to use, flammable, or hard on the environment than using any other automotive finishes like acrylic lacquer. In other words there are counties in various states that have out-lawed all this stuff. Brushing the finish is always easier on the environment, your lungs, and less likely to explode since you are not suspending a fine mist into the air.One of the ingredients in the catalyzer is isocyanide which is a cumulative poison. It is not stopped by conventional respirators with or without HEPA filters, the only approved (if you care) type of respirator is a positive pressure outside air full face respirator. (The stuff will enter your body through skin, but especially loves eyeball tissue). The catalyzer oxidizes very quickly into a relatively benign substance- those who are 30 seconds downwind are probably fine. And if you use it once a year you're probably fine in a very well ventilated area, a spray booth would be best, and spraying it is wonderful- I have put on 6 double coats within 45 minutes when I need ultrathickness for later rubbing and polishing. In fact it's better to apply all the coats within one sitting as it has a window of recoat where it will bond to itself better than when it has cured and been sanded.The easiest answer, in my opinion, would be to take the stained but otherwise unfinished doors to an automotive body shop and let them spray them for you; they've got all the experience, equipment, etc. If they're good, you might not even need to polish them out afterwards, though I personally think they're much sweeter when polished (if you want a high gloss). Standard flatteners can be mixed in if you want a satin or dull finish.Hope this helps...

1. 
   Scooter_ | Dec 30, 1998 10:24pm | #6

   *David:Nice job on the post. Rack it. You obviously know what you are talking about.

4. 
   stuart_bello | Dec 30, 1998 10:24pm | #7

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   I have been contracted to make some raised panel oak doors for a client. His building faces west in Arizona. Back in New England I would seal them up with Spar urathane. What will be best in arizona drenched in sun instead of ice and snow?