Varnish - think another coat will make any difference?

[mmmalmberg]

Something I did, I guess it would have to have been during stripping, was rougher on the wood immediately adjacent to the ribs than in the middle between the ribs. I've got 4 coats of Epifanes on so far. It's not going to get any glossier in general

except maybe I could fill in some of the grain texture in those areas with more coats, but I don't think I'm game for another four coats Plus I have less than a third of the (second) quart remaining.

 

[Greg Nolan]

I doubt that another coat of gloss would make much difference -- it is the glare of reflected light that is causing the visual problem, and another coat will not likely smooth things out enough to make any real difference. But a coat of a matte material would diminish the reflections quite a bit and make the minor imkperfections in the wood much less visible. I believe Epifanes Wood Finish Matte is compatible over Epifanes Gloss Clear Varnish. A lot of folks prefer a matte or semi-gloss finish for the interior of a canoe hull and on a sunny day, a natte finish is less stressful for the eyes. Leaving just the decks, seats, thwarts, and gunwales glossy preserves most of the cosmetic impact that people seek from gloss varnish.

 

[mmmalmberg]

A lot of folks prefer a matte or semi-gloss finish for the interior of a canoe hull and on a sunny day, a natte finish is less stressful for the eyes. Leaving just the decks, seats, thwarts, and gunwales glossy preserves most of the cosmetic impact that people seek from gloss varnish.

I do love the gloss but that's a pretty reasonable compromise, considering the reflecting sun. Will consider.

 

[Dave Osborn]

I disagree with Greg. Sand with 220 or 320 until most of the rib or plank or rib surface is nearly 100% opaque.
The difference can be amazing sometimes.

 

[Michael Grace]

As has been suggested above, a gloss finish is highly reflective and so it shows surface imperfections better than a non-gloss finish. Options include (1) top-coating with a non-gloss finish, (2) sanding enough to eliminate surface imperfections, and/or (3) filling in the surface imperfections. The planking nect to the ribs ie easirer to rough up when stripping, and whether or not it's roughed up, you end up with less finish there because varnish is going to wick under the rib until that rib-planing joint gets sealed up with varnish. So best bet is first to sand well before applying varnish ("well" doesn't mean aggressively; it means just enough to smooth out as much surface roughness as possible without thinning down the wood too much). Then when applying varnish, build up coats and then sand well, preferably using a backer behind your sandpaper to level the surface. Then keep applying varnish (sanding between coats) until the surface is as level as possible and you're getting little or no wicking of the varnish under the ribs. Doing this fills the valleys with varnish, but it can take many coats. Finally, if you want to knock down the gloss, apply non-gloss top-coats or rub out your gloss finish with coarse cloth, heavy brown paper, ultra-fine sandpaper, etc.

You can get a very nice gloss finish but the hardest part is usually that area where ribs and planking meet. You might consider the compromise of making the interior matte or semi-gloss while finishing the trim in gloss. It's much easier to get a fine gloss ginish on gunwales, decks, thwarts and seat frames, especially if after a number of coats you level the finish by wet sanding with very fine sandpaper.

 

[mmmalmberg]

I'm game for one more gloss coat. So I'll give this a few days to harden, do some sanding work to knock down the grain ridges in those areas and put on another coat (which I probably would have anyway) and then will consider whether to do a light matte coat or treatment to knock down the gloss. I lean toward dulling a gloss coat over using a matte varnish as I think the pure varnish is probably a tad sturdier than with a matting agent added. Or I can leave it gloss until I've been out a few times to discover how much I can or can't stand the glare

 

[Dan Miller]

Does anyone think the original builders put as much thought into the finish work as we do now? Personally, I don't think so, not if your pushing out anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand canoes each year.

 

[mmmalmberg]

I do have a tendency to over-think things

 

[Michael Grace]

Does anyone think the original builders put as much thought into the finish work as we do now?

In fact we know they didn't. Two examples from favorite builders:

Rushton catalogs stated "FINISH - One coat linseed oil and two of best spar varnish, or on a hurry order, two coats of shellac substituted for first coat of varnish."

Morris catalogs say "Woodwork in all types is finished natural with three coats of varnish."

That said, varnish build and leveling on recently harvested and freshly-milled cedar requires fewer coats than does dry, pitted, century-old cedar. The goal of varnishing is to protect the wood, so anything you do to adhere, build and level your varnish, thus helping to prevent water intrusion where it doesn't belong is going to prolong the life of your finish and your canoe.