Varnishing Meranti hydrotek

[cf4000l]

Hi all. I'm replacing all 1/2" ply in a 78' San Juan 28 project. There was damage from condensation and wicking caused rot at the bottom of many panels. I was going to use teak ply and my marine lumber supplier sold me on 1/2" Hydrotek 1088 (Meranti). I knew finishing would be a little tricky but the amount of deformities in the varnished surface is disturbing. They look like contaminants but keep re-appearing with each coat. I am using Captains varnish 1015 on 220 grit orbitally sanded surfaces with an 1 1/2" china bristle brush and I'm using a compressor to blow away the sanding dust and once the pieces are in the garage I have been wiping them with a tack rag prior to varnishing. I have been filtering the varnish before use and all sanding has been done down wind on my back deck away from the garage. Is it possible these are micro splinters at the surface? I literally will have 3 or 4 "specks" in the varnish within a couple inches of starting to draw the brush across the surfaces of the sanded panels. Discouraging. I'm getting tempted to convert them all to white. Am I being too picky? I'm looking for ideas from experience! Mike.

[James S]

cant help with any ideas short of did you use any sealer first?
but I can say good luck with it

[cf4000l]

Thanks for the input. I did not use a sealer. I am new at this and the research I did before didn't cover sealers. You know how learning curves are. In retrospect I may have used a rubbing varnish or an oiled process instead. I am replacing the brush and giving it another coat. Instead of 220 paper, I'm trying steel wool. A good nights sleep has generated a bit more optimism. Mike.

[cat man do]

Probably the best way would have been to give it a few coats of epoxy first, sealing the ply , then sand and varnish.

Because the epoxy has a faster buildup than the varnish, it would now look like it has many many coats of varnish on the job where it may only have 2 or 3.

Dave

[Blue Stocking]

Not a good idea to use steel wool. Any fibers caught in the grain will eventually show rust. Use bronze wool.

[James S]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

Not a good idea to use steel wool. Any fibers caught in the grain will eventually show rust. Use bronze wool.

I'll second that...there are also some reasonable non metallic "rubbing" pads...Ace hardware has a pretty extensive selection.

[clockwork orange]

I totally agree with dave on using epoxy to seal and build depth before varnishing. You mention blowing off with a compressor,if its a larger, piston type you need a good filter system to keep oil out of the air as that will cause the problems you mention,most of the smaller portable models are oiless diaphram types and are ok.
Steve.

[cf4000l]

I used steel wool yesterday prior to reading the bronze wool postings. I also switched over to Man O War satin spar varnish. I still have the contaminants but when it dries they are virtually unnoticible and they look really nice. I actually like the satin look much better. I'll pick up bronze wool tomorrow and continue in this direction. I'll link the project to the forum in the near future when I get som spare time. Thanks for the tips. MIke.