Marine varnish?
I have a cedar railing on a covered deck that needs to be refinished. The deck builder used waterborne polyurethane on the railing. I may just sand/clean it up and finish with a clear waterborne stain. However, I'm wondering whether marine varnish is an option. It certainly is an option And it will last much longer and protect better than water based poly Actually, it'll kick it's butt It's a much more involved process then poly/stain though ...and the product is more expensive Is it worth it for your project? Well.... Is there something about the railing that would warrant the extra expense/protection? Well, the customer has mentioned marine grade varnish and the customer is not happy that the current finish started to fail after only one year. So, the customer may agree to pay the extra costs. My understanding is many exterior stains, sealers, etc. will only last 2 or 3 years. Originally Posted by Wannabe-A-Pro My understanding is many exterior satins, sealers, etc. will only last 2 or 3 years. Yup Granted my experience is mostly in tough shore/salt-air/sun/snow environments, but even the best oil stains, even if they still look OK, should be redone after three years The idea is to redo it before it breaks down The waterbourne polys and sealers (Thompsons et al) never last more than a year around here...if even a year Originally Posted by Wannabe-A-Pro Well, the customer has mentioned marine grade varnish and the customer is not happy that the current finish started to fail after only one year. Well then, he's good to go A prime candidate for a quality job If you want to try and price it up, here's a quick run-down (It'll vary by product, but this'll give you an idea) Figure no matter what, it'll be four coats absolute minimum Most products will be around 6 Figure excessive prep and extra sundries I mean, real careful prep Switching gloves for the sanding, tacking, and varnishing steps in between each coat (or I tend to use hard gloves or no gloves for sanding, vinyl disposable for tacking, then switch to fresh vinyl for varnishing) You can't use the same 220 for as long as you can on other stuff, you'll need a good supply and refresh it often Your tack will have to be a real tack-not just a swipe You may end up really grinding it in there to clean up dust and fingerprints...even the gloves can leave residue you'll want to lift up It depends on the product and conditions as to how much you'll need to do You'll need a decent technique for application Sort of like when you first learn oil paint You can't just goob it on, it needs to be spread and pulled like oil paint Pulling it too much (over-brushing) will make it sag just like depositing too much product will-of course, you want to brush that out if it happens, but you can't, over brushing made it sag...lol * warning, some need to be thinned for the first few coats-that adds another dimension, but it's not as bad as it sounds So figure it like 6 coats (unless the product says 4 is OK) of picky, finicky, oil paint Take your normal (quick competitive) prep time on a project and triple it, or double your heavy prep time Hmmm...just a railing huh? A good candidate to get your feet wet with this stuff It'll be a few trips...it has to dry over-night You really want to hit it a few days in a row, less customer and mother nature crud to scrape off in-between coats How long is it? Balusters too? What would your Cabot's Oil Stain time on it be? Thanks much for the very valuable information. For now, I'll file this away. Marine varnish is beyond my skill level, although a small project is a perfect opportunity for learning new things. I'm curious. How long does marine varnish last? Originally Posted by Wannabe-A-Pro I'm curious. How long does marine varnish last? Longer than you or me lol... No really, if it's not on the water, probably a number of years The idea behind it is that the substrate is forever expanding and contracting, and it is constantly being pounded by salt water, and it's a really nice high gloss finish (12 coats on a boat would not be uncommon) But normally it would need maintenance coats That is usually not needed in home/deck type apps. I wouldn't be surprised if you only needed to do it once Originally Posted by Wannabe-A-Pro Marine varnish is beyond my skill level, although a small project is a perfect opportunity for learning new things. It may not be, if you have no problems dealing with oil paints It's just a little more intense I can suggest one that's a little more user friendly if you'd like
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