Satin Spar Varnish

martin ferwerda

W/C Canoes
I have been using Z-Spar Captains, but would like a non-gloss finish. I know Man o War has satin, but I have become somewhat dis-enchanted with the newer formulations of it. I know that satin varnishes tends to be softer than the gloss, so what I would like to do is use Captains Z-spar gloss and then add in a flattening agent for the final coat. Has anyone tried or know of a flattening agent and source for it, that would work with varnish?
 
I've use flattening agents before but I have never tried them in varnish. Interlux makes one. You could use an olde tyme painters trick which has worked for me. Use a heavy cut of solvent in your varnish. It goes on thinner of course but it knocks the shine right off and you would swear it was a satin finsh product that you used.
 
On my boat, I used 4 coats of Captains gloss then used Man-o-War satin as a top coat - No problems, seems durable so far. The gloss base coats allow the grain to show through clearly. The top coat of satin just softens the bright glare and make for a refined look, befitting an old boat.
 
Hi Martin,
I restored a Rehbein Canoe (Duluth, MN) and used Mike Cavanaugh's method of Man O War Satin over Gloss. It worked out well.
Good Luck!!
Dave
 
Mike, Dave,
I did do one canoe a couple of years ago with the undercoats being z-spar and the top coat man-o-war satin, but did not like the way the man-o-war brushed on, perhaps I did not thin it properly, it just did not seem to "lay" right.

I sent an email to Pettit and got this reply, so it looks like there is an additive available, so I can use all Z-spar.

"Thank you for the e-mail. You can add the Pettit 9080 satin additive
to reduce the gloss."
 
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