A question about varnishes

[sailing_gal]

A friend recently accidently scratched (not a big scratch) a bit of the teak in the interior of my boat. Mostly, it scratched through the varnish. I would like to lightly sand out the scratch and cover with new varnish. The interior varnish on the teak is Z-Spar V-975 (Satin Sheen). I cannot buy this in Europe, which is where I am most of the time. I am currently in the US for 2 weeks and I can buy a quart of the stuff and take it back with me, but I would really rather not. I am wondering, since it is a small area, and it is a satin sheen, do you think I could get away with a, say, Epiphanes satin varnish? Is there that big a difference in the pigment colors? Or do I really have to bring back a quart of the stuff with me?

[Jim Cate]

Two thoughts on this:

First, the chances of a spot repair to a varnished surface not being obvious, even with the identical material, are not so good. More likely that you will need to recoat the whole bit of timber to have a good outcome, and for that the substitute varnish will be ok.

Second, the chances of an airline allowing a can of varnish on board are kinda slim.

Good luck with the repair, whichever route you choose.

Jim

[sailing_gal]

I was going to put the varnish into checked baggage, they certainly would not allow it as a carry-on. The scratch is on an interior post, I would sure hate to have to strip and revarnish that entire post. A second thought I had was the stuff that you see being sold for scratches in cars. I think that stuff is basically a thinner that dissolves the surrounding paint a little to fill the scratch, since you don't have to color match it. My other thought was wondering if that stuff would work with varnish. Anyone tried that?

[Shoalcove]

I would try touching up the scratch with another brand like Epiphanes using a fine artists brush and just fill the scratch. After it dries you could try rubbing it lightly with OOOO steel wool or such to blend it in a bit. The wood would be protected and the coating would have its integrity preserved. You will probably be able to see it but no one else may! If at the end, you are unhappy you can always strip it all and do over.
“The enemy of progress is perfection” as they say lol! Best of luck with it!

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by sailing_gal

I was going to put the varnish into checked baggage, they certainly would not allow it as a carry-on. The scratch is on an interior post, I would sure hate to have to strip and revarnish that entire post. A second thought I had was the stuff that you see being sold for scratches in cars. I think that stuff is basically a thinner that dissolves the surrounding paint a little to fill the scratch, since you don't have to color match it. My other thought was wondering if that stuff would work with varnish. Anyone tried that?

You would not need to strip the post. My approach would be to give the whole thing a light sanding, use a small brush to fill the scratch area, resand that area if the varnish was standing proud of the surface, and then one or two coats on the whole thing. Bet it would look fine and the scratch a thing of memory for you alone.

Jim

PS Check with the airline. I do not think any flammable liquid (and varnish is indeed one of those) will be allowed, and the tin will show up when they xray your bags. Then they will throw a fit!

[Jammer]

It depends. Most varnish is, from a transportation standpoint, non-hazardous while most lacquer is considered flammable. There are exceptions based on flash point, and I believe the dividing line is 140 degrees F. You would want to put clips or other reinforcement on the can lid to be sure it does not come open, and wrap it in absorbent material inside a large plastic bag.


Whether the TSA will let it on, who knows.

[sailing_gal]

Jim,

That approach seems reasonable and not so tedious. Thanks!

[HopCar]

The Zspar requires special packaging to ship by air. I think it could cause you a lot more trouble than it’s worth to try to carry a can in your luggage.

Here is a link to the Material Safety Datta Sheet that tells you the hazard class and type of packaging required for shipment by air. https://doc.jamestowndistributors.co...arnish_sds.PDF

[bobmcd625]

This may be a dumb question, but why can't you buy suitable varnish in Europe?
I was recently in Norway at a wooden boat festival and there were lots of boats with beautifully varnished woodwork! Do you want some product names?

[Cheechako]

What Jim said. sand just a little and re varnish the whole post or it will show. I doubt you can fly with a can of varnish.

[roland stockham]

I would not take paint in checked baggage and I doubt they will let you. Baggage holds are not pressurized and luggage systems none to gentle. The risk of a quart of varnish sloshing around in your case is hight!
All varnish changes colour over time so even the same make will no longer match.
If it is on a post have you though about a nice decorative whipping to improve the grip? If not what Jim said

[lazydove]

Originally Posted by sailing_gal

A friend recently accidently scratched (not a big scratch) a bit of the teak in the interior of my boat. Mostly, it scratched through the varnish. I would like to lightly sand out the scratch and cover with new varnish. The interior varnish on the teak is Z-Spar V-975 (Satin Sheen). I cannot buy this in Europe, which is where I am most of the time. I am currently in the US for 2 weeks and I can buy a quart of the stuff and take it back with me, but I would really rather not. I am wondering, since it is a small area, and it is a satin sheen, do you think I could get away with a, say, Epiphanes satin varnish? Is there that big a difference in the pigment colors? Or do I really have to bring back a quart of the stuff with me?

Don't try to carry-on or check-in a quart of any kind of liquid of paste. It will get detected and you could be given a lot of trouble

[boeing1]

how old is the varnish you want to repair, If it has any age it will most likely have darkened, agree with the above responses get a good quality varnish locally, not worth the trouble of getting the varnish on a flight, do not think you would, I have seen people use touch up stain pencils to match the color or the varnish them coat with a clear, good luck on your repair

[SV Sailfish]

I know what my gal would say... "It's time for a new boat!"

Same philosophy she had when she came home with a door ding on her otherwise pristine SUV.

You gotta love that reasoning.

Good luck with your touch up!

[LooseGoose]

two things to be aware of are the mil thickness of the current coating, and color matching.

If the scratch has resulted in a much lighter color of the wounded wood, you can experiment on scrap with a variety of stains to try to match up the scratch to it's surrounding undamaged wood.

It is very likely that the surface has been finished with multiple coats....here's how to deal with that....very closely mask the scratch with masking tape. After you are satisfied with any color correction, apply multiple coats of varnish with an artist brush over however many days it takes to build up the repair until it is visibly proud of the surrounding area. Remove the tape, give it a few days to fully cure, then sand the patch down to fair it with surrounding area. Dont finger sand. Use a sanding block, to make sure you have a flat, fair and level match. At this stage, you can actually apply a bit of stiain on the sanded varnish to further darken the fix if it needs it. A bit of stains can also muddle up the visual if the repair is too Stark.

Then prep and varnish the whole post with whatever sheen is closest to the rest of the interior.

Good luck, have fun.