Pour-On Finish?

[ssullivan]

Has anyone had any experience using that "pour-on" finish available at hardware stores?

I'm considering it for our new cabin sole, since varnishing it might take me until the fall.

Anyone know any reason not to use it instead of varnish on a cabin sole? (other than the ridiculous expense?)

[bearhill]

Sean,
The pour on would scare me.If it is what i think it is, the product is used for bar tops etc. If you get a scratch it would be hard to fix.Might cloud up as well ,over time.
Steve

[ssullivan]

Thanks, Steve. Yes, I was worried about clouding over time too. Is that the advantage of varnish over, say.... polyurethane?

If varnish scratches, or clouds, you can sand it down a little bit and re-finish?

I'm worse with wood working that I am with electrical systems! ha ha ha So I have to ask a lot of basic questions about this stuff.

I've never spent 9 months re-fitting a boat at the level I'm doing it at now. So many things I'm learning.

[Richhh]

Consider a product called "ultimate sole" ... a high gloss varnish that has extremely good friction characteristics.
This is an anti-slip varnish that probably has an added latex or other soft polymer added to the urethane. Even when the sole is wet the friction for foot-ability is good.
http://216.204.68.29/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=25

[Alan Wheeler]

Hi Sean, don't know what a "pour on" finish is. Is it two or single pack? Polyurathane or ????
Varnish is Varnish and a different animal compleately. Don't get urathane and Varnish confused. Even though there are one or two companies that call a clear urathane product a Polyurathane Varnish, it isn't exactly true. Varnish is from a shelac background.
Anyway's, There are different Polyurathanes, heaps and heaps of different Polyurathanes. Single pack, two pack, solvent cure, moisture cure, catylist cure, chemical reaction cure, hard, soft, you name it, there is a product.
What I recomend first off, use a polyurathane most definately. Choose one specificaly for floor use. This will have a hard wearing surface. Most floor coatings have the antiskid surface. Ultimate sole would be a great choice, but it is not a lot different to many other "home" floor products, as long as you get good quality brand names. But I can asure you, if it has the words boat or Marine written anywhere on the can, it will be twice the price. Three time the price if it has both.
Another one I am a big fan on is moisture cure. It is fantastic to use, you can apply it very thick and it has a fast cure time.
Two pot urathanes are also good, but verycareful about the thickness of your pour. It is best coated by brush in about three heavy coats. When I was floor coating, (I used to work for a mate that had a floor sanding/coating business) he would say to me, "put it on like your not paying for it".
I would not go for single pot, even though they are still good hardwaring surfaces. The only major advantage to single pot is finding solvents that don't kick you out of home. Most of what you will be using, you won't be able to stand it inside for long. And don't attempt to apply any of them without a good resperator. Them fumes kill the brain cells off real quick and before long, you will notice you will be repeating yourself, repeating yourself, repeating yourself Plus you will forget what you were talking about. OK, so back to the?????????????????.............................. .... Oh yeah, So season it with a sprinkle of pepper...no that's not it.

[ssullivan]

Thanks, Wheels. That's a good intro to the urethanes/varnishes.

So I will look out for urethanes and also the moisture cure type. One that can stand up to high traffic. I'm glad I won't have to shell out for the marine coatings for this one. We are breaking the bank over here, and can't afford too many more really pricey items in this year's refit.