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MCOS · 28-03-2016, 12:28

Lacquer, in most formulations is waterproof. Case in point, most car touch up spray cans were lacquer up until acrylic urethane took over. Many older cars had original finish of lacquer and many a hot rod was painted in lacquer since the finish can be fine sanded and then buffed/polished to a high shine. It does crack more readily than enamel and the various acrylic enamels that have taken over the automotive finish fields. Some colors were very UV resistant. Others, particularly the reds. yellows were prone to fading. Another wide usage is lacquer wear - wooden dishes ect. . Most pre made kitchen cabinets are finished with lacquer. Mainly because it is a harder finish.

That said, I would not consider using lacquer over varnish for exterior marine surfaces. Varnish can be easily sanded and redone. A light sanding to afford better grip between layers and old varnish can be coated with a fresh layer and will look good as new.

Just my opinion.

HopCar · 28-03-2016, 13:39

If you want to spray marine varnish, you can do it with one of these.
Preval Spray Unit Complete

You'll need to play with thinning the varnish but I've seen some good results with these.

Since your time is limited you might want to try Awl Wood. I haven't tried it yet but I'm going to soon. They claim you can put on two or more coats a day.
http://www.awlgrip.com/products/clea...s/awlwood.aspx

Rustic Charm · 28-03-2016, 14:34

I had to google what you meant by 'laquer' as the term is comminly used here to refer to varnish

Inside ive used just marine varnish.

Outide where i have wood, im about to use a varnish with high UV resistance from Norglass. Many people here use a two pack varnish for outside work, which dries super fast and is hard.

billdre · 28-03-2016, 14:41

If you are looking for a way to protect your wood and keep it simple and durable I would recommend Sikkens brand Cetol Marine Wood Finish. We're short on season too in Buzzard's Bay Massachusetts. I was never willing to deal with varnish. Everyone I see who uses it spends crazy amounts of time sanding and redoing it. I redid all my exterior teak three years ago. At the time it didn't have any finish left from a prior owner. The gray look. After cleaning I applied two coats of the light finish. Didn't need to do anything for two seasons. Last year we retouched parts with no other prep. Depending on how fussy you are it looks very nice. This year we will do a more comprehensive job. But it protects from UV, gives good color and the first two years of zero maintenance make it a winner for me.

deblen · 28-03-2016, 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by HopCar

If you want to spray marine varnish, you can do it with one of these.
Preval Spray Unit Complete

You'll need to play with thinning the varnish but I've seen some good results with these.

Since your time is limited you might want to try Awl Wood. I haven't tried it yet but I'm going to soon. They claim you can put on two or more coats a day.
http://www.awlgrip.com/products/clea...s/awlwood.aspx

Thanks-more possibilities.

deblen · 28-03-2016, 15:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

I had to google what you meant by 'laquer' as the term is comminly used here to refer to varnish

Inside ive used just marine varnish.

Outide where i have wood, im about to use a varnish with high UV resistance from Norglass. Many people here use a two pack varnish for outside work, which dries super fast and is hard.

Lacquer is commonly used in furniture factories & in some boat interiors.
It dries in 1/2-1 hr & allows several coats per day. Very strong fumes-like glue sniffing. Acetone like.
Not sure yet about it's suitability outside & in marine environment.
Can be brushed or sprayed-even available in spray (rattle) cans.
My working/sailing outdoor season is very short & wx is very changeable @ N45deg on east coast of Canada. Looking for something to use outside without taking weeks to build up coats & /or requiring special eqpt. Day dreaming I guess-can't hurt to ask.

Thanks

deblen · 28-03-2016, 15:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by billdre

If you are looking for a way to protect your wood and keep it simple and durable I would recommend Sikkens brand Cetol Marine Wood Finish. We're short on season too in Buzzard's Bay Massachusetts. I was never willing to deal with varnish. Everyone I see who uses it spends crazy amounts of time sanding and redoing it. I redid all my exterior teak three years ago. At the time it didn't have any finish left from a prior owner. The gray look. After cleaning I applied two coats of the light finish. Didn't need to do anything for two seasons. Last year we retouched parts with no other prep. Depending on how fussy you are it looks very nice. This year we will do a more comprehensive job. But it protects from UV, gives good color and the first two years of zero maintenance make it a winner for me.

Thanks. I have heard very good reports of Sikkens. Some cedar shingled houses locally have used Sikkens with good looking durable results.
Yeah-you need a lot of time & patience for varnishing outdoors in our latitudes.

wesevans · 28-03-2016, 15:12

The best product for exterior teak I have used is Honey Teak made by Tom Fibula Signature Finishes. It has a very high UV protection, dings are easy to repair and maintenance is once a year with light sand and over coat. I live in Florida and my boats get a lot of UV exposure.

Rustic Charm · 28-03-2016, 15:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by deblen

Lacquer is commonly used in furniture factories & in some boat interiors.
It dries in 1/2-1 hr & allows several coats per day. Very strong fumes-like glue sniffing. Acetone like.
Not sure yet about it's suitability outside & in marine environment.
Can be brushed or sprayed-even available in spray (rattle) cans.
My working/sailing outdoor season is very short & wx is very changeable @ N45deg on east coast of Canada. Looking for something to use outside without taking weeks to build up coats & /or requiring special eqpt. Day dreaming I guess-can't hurt to ask.

Thanks

Why don't you use one of the two pack varnishes then? Norglass and International both make one.

Cheechako · 28-03-2016, 15:25

There are Lacquers, and there are Lacquers. Paint companies sometimes call things that dry fast Lacquer that really aren't. I've done quite a bit of "real" Nitrocellulose lacquer work on musical instruments. I would not recommend it for sun exposed uses. I believe Ta Chaio and some other Chinese companies used a sort of lacquer on interior work some. It certainly seemed to be on my CT.

ex-12m-guy · 28-03-2016, 15:29

I second the recommendation for Honey Teak. It holds up over 3 years in South Florida, which translates to almost forever in northern latitudes.

Drawback: Expensive. A bit of a pain to apply, as five coats are required (2 honey teak base, 3 clear coats) for the complete job.

Tom Fabula will ship the materials most anywhere via FEDEX.

Signature Finish and Honey Teak Products - Home

leftbrainstuff · 28-03-2016, 15:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by deblen

Any experience using laquer & specifically "spray can" laquer instead of varnish(any "varnish") on boat brightwork-interior & exterior?

I use spray can laquer often on "home" projects-wood & metal-& it works great.
Fast dry,tough,easy-smells horrid-need good vent. or do it outdoors on nice day.

I've Googled & read,but can't seem to find convincing evidence of it's UV tolerance & general weather/ longevity on exterior wood.

We have too short a season & very changeable wx to accomplish much outdoor varnish work locally. Varnishing requires removal of items & taken indoors here.

A rubbed laquer finish on an auto used to be the epitome of quality.

Note: I have consistently misspelled lacquer throughout. Take a deep breath,& live with it!

Tks/ Len

Lacquer will deteriorate when subjected to UV light. It also has poor hardness relative to varnish so it will scratch and mark easily.

There are no shortcuts to sanding between multiple coats of varnish for a gloss finish.

If you replace the wood with any of the good artificial pvc based replacements, like dek king, then you get color stability.

We replaced our teak deck with dek king and couldn't be happier. Maintenance free.

We plan to replace the remaining teak hand rails over time. Until then we use a teak stain. Less work than varnish but no gloss.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

vjm · 28-03-2016, 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by wesevans

The best product for exterior teak I have used is Honey Teak made by Tom Fibula Signature Finishes. It has a very high UV protection, dings are easy to repair and maintenance is once a year with light sand and over coat. I live in Florida and my boats get a lot of UV exposure.

This product sounds great, and based on testing it looks promising. More details? How did you prep? How long has it lasted?

I am also in Florida and this seems like a great product for the area.

barnakiel · 28-03-2016, 17:06

I have used can spray lacquer (=varnish) on surfboards. When you finish a repair in epoxy it is 'mate', so you spray it to return the gloss. I never saw the lacquer peel off or anything.

b.