Varnishing - Sponge or Bristle?

[Ken Z]

I use a purdy or an equal, spendy but worth it, it is only used for spar varnish. I wrap a layer 11/2" of painters tape from the metal banding toward end of bristles, so a wrap to cover a 11/2 "of brissles , exposing app. 3/4 or more of bristles. This stiffens the brush and keeps to a mim. varnish into the metal banding. When i apply the varnish say to a 2' area, depending on the width to be covered, i load the brush and dab every 3"-4" to say a 2' areathen flow the dabs together to get a uniform thickness coverage, varnish is a flow comes from the wrist. clean brush with thinner soap and water rinse , drip a little thinner, or mineral spirits on bristles and put it back inside the paper/cardboard package it came with to conform the bristles and they dont go haywire, try to avoid the sun while varnishing.

[SV Sailfish]

Originally Posted by SSgtPitt

"Purdy" white china bristle. Always buy Purdy brushes. They'll cut a razor sharp line with a little practice.
A sponge doesn't have the stiffness you need to push the varnish where it needs to go but I do keep a few sponge brushes for small quick touch ups and I consider them disposable.

[Alan j]

Originally Posted by SSgtPitt

"Purdy" white china bristle. Always buy Purdy brushes. They'll cut a razor sharp line with a little practice.
A sponge doesn't have the stiffness you need to push the varnish where it needs to go but I do keep a few sponge brushes for small quick touch ups and I consider them disposable.

I like sponges, but have discovered that some are less stiff depending on the source. I have had good luck with ones at Home Depot.

[lolly08]

Not all foam brushes are garbage. Lowes sells a foam brush made by Wooster that is just outstanding. I've used them for varnish and Awlgrip. And issue with any foam brush is it will not lay a decent amount of varnish. I use a china bristle brush for the first 3 coats and then go to Wooster Foam. With Awlgrip - we lay it on and cross hatch with a roller and tip off with a 3" Wooster Foam Brush. The finish is flawless. So was the prep. I also have a Fuji HVLP system and spraying varnish is the cats meow.

[picklesandjesse]

I have bristle brushes that are old friends. Many happy memories of doing brightwork in beautiful places. With the right attitude doing a good varnish job is very rewarding and sometimes you can even get paid to work on some very lovely boats.

[Calif.Ted]

Poor results first time I tried foam, then a pro told me to knead the foam well before use because they are coated to prevent accidental contamination prior to sale, if you don't knead them they don't absorb the varnish evenly and don't carry enough when loaded.
Still haven't parted with my collection of expensive china bristle brushes but they haven't been used in a long time.

[SSgtPitt]

Professionals use Purdy brushes. I have others in my arsenal, mainly as dusters. But a well cared for Purdy will last a life time. "Aaaargh" seems to know what he's talking about and gave great advice.
Unfortunately trying to tell someone how to paint / varnish is like watching porn to learn how to pleasure a woman. It just doesn't work.
The best way to get good really good at painting / varnishing / pleasuring is to Practice, practice, practice

[Cheechako]

A sponge type doesn't work bad, but I find a good bristle brush you can load up with varnish and flow the stroke longer. The foam works then just stops flowing. I hope that makes sense.

[otterhound]

I've varnished professionally for 35 yrs and while I've tried foam brushes for small jobs nothing beats a well kept, good quality badger hair brush. At least for me the build up and depth of gloss is superior to anything I've used including spraying.
Rod

[HopCar]

Elder & Jenks Capitol Ox with a Pencil Handle is my favorite brush.
Yes, I often use foam but it just doesn't feel right.

[Mithril Bham]

Had this discussion many times. Covered well above. Use foam but don't share that freely with the fanatics I know.
As an aside: ever use wire tape for some applications? I find it very helpful.

[Squanderbucks]

I like the foam brushes for general varnish work. Also if using a quick drying varnish you can re-use them over and over on the same job by putting in a ziplock baggie and placing in the freezer. Few hours later when able to re-coat just pop it out of the bag and let it warm up 5 -10 minutes and start right back where you left off. If gets worn out in midle of the job just toss it and keep working.. I have used one for a week at a time when building up multiple layers. Final coat just use what you like - thinned varnish/polyurethane on an expensive bristle brush or use another foam. When comparing foam and bristle brushes I find that foam outperforms cheap to mid-priced brushes but if you go to the very expensive brushes they can do a marginally better job. Everyone has their own pickiness level.

[HopCar]

For those who use real brushes, I recommend Imperial Rapid Brush Cleaner. It really works better than mineral spirits or paint thinner.

One trick for holding down the cost is to let the thinner settle after cleaning the brush. Then pour off the clean thinner to reuse.

[Scott Berg]

Purdy makes good brushes; we like these; great price and look a lot like the outstanding Epifanes brushes https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[evm1024]

I use foam (jen mfg) brushes for general work. And some nice Purdy brushes where I want to spend the extra time.

I tell people that my boat is a working boat, not a work of art.