i am almost finally finished building my first surf board ,and a wood board at that. I am from ohio . A little south of cleveland plan on surfing the lake this winter. The board is 8’ 4’’ long tear drop shape, bout finished with the epoxy ,used mas epoxy. Want seal her next .I herd epiphans varnish is the way to go. Is this a good choise ? any other brands that work well. Thanks
Epiphanes gloss varnish is great.Be prepared to refinish the board yearly or more/less depending on exposure to the elements.If you choose to use Epiphanes thin your first coat 50/50 with epiphanes thinner to penetrate and seal the wood.Succesive coats should be thinned 20% or less
depending on the viscosity of the can you buy.Look for a heavy thick liquid.Check by shaking the can.Like wine there is a variance in cans.How fine you choose your finish is a different matter from sealing and building up coats and would take up alot of time to write down.Schooner #96 gloss varnish is great as well.Always thin your first coat 50/50.
Jeff
Thanks dude.
Varnish works great, and gives a beautiful finish. The downside is that when you fix dings, you also have to repair the varnish, which is easier said than done. I used Interlux Schooner and really like the product. I also thin with the Interlux varnish thinner, but add a bit of Japan drier as well. I want it to flow and self level, but not be so thin that it runs. I have found that good quality foam brushes work better than anything else. Pick through the box at Home Depot and look for ones with denser foam, there is a lot of variability. Also, don’t let the idiot at the counter put them on his grimy conveyor and contaminate them with God-knows-what. Better to go through the self serve line and bag them yourself. Wetsand between coats with 400, and don’t use acetone for anything. I degrease with DNA followed by a wipe the spendy Interlux thinner. Clean, lint-free rags are a must, I used a stash of freshly laundered cloth diapers. Also, heat your workspace to at least 70 degrees, and don’t work when it’s damp or raining. Final tip: I built a plastic tent inside my garage to control dust. It works great, and allows you to heat a smaller workspace as well.
Here’s a few shots of the results you can get.
Hello, just curious if you’re still on here, just came across this thread and wanted to see how long this finish lasted, and what you would’ve changed. Thanks!!