Replies

1. 
   peter28 | Feb 09, 2007 02:44am | #1

   Hi Tom,

   It's nice to hear from you again.

   Be very sure your last coat is well cured before you try any refinement. As you know, spar varnish is a "long oil" varnish and is considerably softer than any of the "short" or "medium" oil varnishes.

   It has been my experience that you can skip the wet dry paper and use the abralon pads. From the sanding you did all the way through, I'll bet your last coats laid down nicely. Start with a 500 pad. Run it under some water to dampen it and lay a little water on the surface of the table and distribute it around the surface. Use a light touch when you start because the pads are quite sharp and will level the surface VERY QUICKLY. I'll bet you won't need more than two passes or,at the most, three. Wipe the surface dry and look at it. It will be almost completely leveled. Remember, this is a very soft coating.

   The next grit in that pack will be 1000. Repeat as above and be careful, especially around the edges. You can always take the pad off your sander and do the edges by hand.

   From there you can go to 2000 if you'd like but it may not be necessary. For a final touch, rub it down with a white scotch pad.

   A note on the abralon pads. As you know I do large mahogany doors with various spar varnishes. Because I'm anal about having a great surface when I'm done I would wet sand and refine it. I would spend on the order of four to six hours doing this. With the abralons I get to the same point in about twenty minutes.

   Remember the coating is soft. It won't rub to a high luster like a lacquer or other type of hard coating. However, you will have a surprisingly bright surface that will beg to be touched.

   Have fun,

   Peter

   P.S. From what you showed me in the past, you do beautiful work!

    

    

    

    

    

    

1. 
   tom77 | Feb 09, 2007 06:53am | #2

   Peter,

   Thanks for the help and the kind comments.  One other question:  how do you deal with sharp edges?  Spar varnish is very difficult to control in details and edges.  I had real difficulty with the edges of the 1/4" thick marquetry panels for this project.

   Thanks, Tom.

1. 
   peter28 | Feb 10, 2007 12:49am | #3

   Tom

   If you mean the sharp edges on the outside edge of the table, I would use the pad by hand so not to cut through.

   Please be more specific on the problem you had with the panels. I'm not sure what it is we're talking about.

   Also, when doing detail; what is it you were having a tough time with. Was it the brushing out?

   Peter

1. 
   tom77 | Feb 10, 2007 02:08am | #4

   Peter,

   The specific problem is the collection of excess varnish on the edges and corners.  It was very difficult to get a uniform coating on the edge of the 1/4" panels.  I would frequently have to scrape excess varnish away after it "set" up.  Also, in the recess area, the varnish collects around every corner and crevise.  I suspect in retrospect, I should have employed a dry brush technique to control the amount of varnish in this areas.

   I hope this clarifies the problem.

   Best regards, Tom.

1. 
   peter28 | Feb 15, 2007 04:31am | #5

   Tom,

   I think you answered your own question. Frequently I'll use a variety of brushes on a particular job. I have a variety of artist brushes ( like sable) in different tips for "laying off" in small areas or "picking out" when the surface is loaded a bit too much.

   Can you post a picture when you are done?

   Peter

2. 
   tom77 | Feb 15, 2007 04:51am | #6

   Peter,

   Thanks for the reply.  I hope you aren't completely buried in the snow.  The recessed area on this table has been very difficult, but everything else has come out pretty nice.  I received and used the abralon pads.  As you predicted, they worked very well.  They don't, however, level a surface that has ripples in it.  So I resorted to leveling the surface with a hard block and 320 g silicon carbide paper before using the abralon pad.  That worked nicely.

   The undulating surface was due to me.  I wasn't putting enough varnish down and the thinner coat wouldn't flow out completely.  I sanded through the top layer on one surface, so I applied two more coats of varnish, concentrating on applying a wet coat.  That worked much better.  I think I have a process now for using spar varnish, and I thank you for helping me along the way.

   I will post pictures when complete and when my wife returns with the camera after visiting a new grandson in Seattle.

   Cheers, Tom.

3. 
   peter28 | Feb 15, 2007 05:37am | #7

   Tom,

   We've been exceedingly lucky in Connecticut this year. The guys north of me like Oswego, New York, have gotten absolutely hammered. You should see some of the news footage!

   We did get hit today although not anything like everyone else. I have a 300 foot driveway to plow so it can get exciting. Like last night when I went out to start my tractor and it died after I turned my lights on. I spent an hour screwing around with it until I found that the key switch was the culprit. I ended up jumping it between the starter and solenoid. Necessity is the mother as they say. It would have been a pain this afternoon trying to shovel the ice and snow mixture we got.

   I've sanded through coats too. It teaches you not to do it again. Also, try using foam brushes, they leave no brush strokes. They have some idiosyncrasy's but I've had great success with them.

   Looking forward to photos.

   Peter