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Let’s Try varnish. You’ll Need Good Light
Start with a 1-1/2 inch brush. It can be an inexpensive one since we are going to first be applying varnish coats to obtain a ‘build’, meaning some thickness of coats on the wood before we worry about sanding it smooth. You can use a throw-away ‘sponge’ brush on the flat paneling but sponges do not work well on the structural wood parts with edges, curves, reliefs and corners.
Pour some varnish from your quart can into a separate cup. Estimate how much you are actually going to use. Never varnish directly from the can as doing so will quickly contaminate your remaining varnish with ‘crud’ known as ‘inclusion bodies’ which will lump up your subsequent coats. If you have varnish left over in the cup when you are done finishing for today, paint it on the dog house or maybe on the hidden areas of your wood or on the backside of your paneling... Don’t pour it back in the can!
Before you start varnishing, it is a very good idea to clean off all of the wood that you have carefully laid out to varnish. Try using a soft dust brush first then a vacuum cleaner or air blower (Blowing the wood dust around can be a problem however), then wipe with a cotton rag dampened with paint thinner, let dry and, finally, go over the wood completely with a tack cloth. The cleaner you can get the wood, the better the varnish job will be!
There are at least two different theories about the first varnish coat.
I feel that the first coat should be thinned as much as 50% with the appropriate thinner for the varnish that you have chosen. Read the labels on the can regarding thinners. The theory is that the first coat will soak way into the wood-be especially thorough wetting the open end grain and seal it against moisture. Some woodie manufacturers actually soaked the wood in varnish to seal it!
Another theory is to use the varnish straight from the can without thinning. Perhaps reading the instructions on the can is the best way to go about this. Most brands recommend thinning about 20% on the first coat.
With my 1-1/2’ brush, I apply a 50/50 thinned mix of varnish, working quickly to get the wood thoroughly coated. Work a single piece of wood or a single unit such as a door at one time so you can be thorough and maintain control. After you become adept at varnishing you can work larger areas or multiple units. You may brush cross-grain or any way you choose to get the varnish onto the wood and once it is completely wet, shift to quickly brushing out the varnish WITH THE GRAIN so it will flow out smoothly. Thoroughly saturate the end grains with this thin coat!
If you are working on an assembled unit such as a door, pick a piece of wood at the top, varnish it completely, stroke it out with the grain then move on to the next attached piece of wood and follow the same procedure. Try to keep a ‘wet edge’ when varnishing, not letting the varnish dry before continuing on from the last point with new varnish. This takes a little practice as you must move down a door in several directions at the same time. This is why you will need to work quickly. However, varnish is really forgiving and multiple coats will cover any missed spots. Try NOT to leave too many missed spots during each coat. After a couple of coats, you will gain more control and find your own rhythm and style of applying varnish.
Moving On
After you have varnished your ready wood pieces with the 50/50 thinned mix, let the varnish dry for eight or ten hours then go right back and apply a second coat of the same thinned mix. As long as you do not wait any longer in between the first and second coat, the second coat will stick just fine. If you wait a day, you will need to sand lightly with 220 grit or a scotch pad so the next coat will stick. Let the second coat dry completely, perhaps taking two days. Now sand LIGHTLY with 220 grit and follow up with a scotch pad to completely dull the surface for the next coat to stick. These two thinned coats of varnish are not yet thick enough to sand aggressively.
Clean the sanded surface with a thinner rag, then a tack cloth and mix up a third coat of varnish. This time you need to mix 25% thinner with 75% varnish. Do read the instructions on the can regarding just what to use as a proper thinner for your selected varnish. Apply a third coat of the 75/25 varnish/thinner mix and let dry completely. Scuff thoroughly with a scotch pad, clean the wood and apply a fourth coat of the 75/25 mix. Let it dry completely. Scuff this fourth coat thoroughly with the scotch pad.
For the fifth coat and for subsequent coats, you want to thin the varnish 10% to 20% depending on the ambient temperature. You can use varnish at full strength here but it will not flow well if the weather is too warm. When your brush ‘drags’, you need to thin your varnish. Varnishing is a matter of ‘feel’ and varies from person to person.
After you have five or six coats of varnish on your wood, you can begin to sand more aggressively with 320 or 400 grit sandpaper between coats. Be careful of sanding too much on the edges as it is easy to sand through to bare wood. It is a good idea to avoid sanding the edges with sandpaper and just touch them lightly with a scotch pad to give them a ‘tooth’. The more coats you have, the cleaner you need to get your wood before applying the next coat of varnish. When you have successfully applied seven or eight coats, you are ready to apply a ‘last’ coat. Wipe that wood really clean and apply a last coat thinned at about 15%. When dry, check it out. How does it look? did you get a lot of junk in it? You can sand out a few lumps with 600-1000 grit wet and dry sandpaper, then rub it out with polish but if this coat has too many ‘inclusion bodies’, you will need to sand and apply another ‘final’ coat. Use your best brush on these last coats and clean them after use with lots of mineral spirits/paint thinner but NOT lacquer thinner.
Much of this varnish work is a learning experience and requires some getting used to before finding your own rhythm and style. Deciding on when the job is done is kind of a judgement call as well. You are done when you are satisfied that the varnish looks good and feels good to you.
There are other approaches to thinning, to sanding and to varnishing. I have one friend who always uses varnish straight from the can without thinning at all! He does put it into a separate cup before applying. He also sands solely with 150 grit in between coats, a grit which seems a little too rough for me but his varnish work is always superb! Another friend, who restores wooden boats, only uses EPIPHANES varnish and thins the first few coats 50/50 then applies some at 60/40 then some at 75/25 until he reaches 16 or 18 coats-all with a sponge brush! His boats are spectacular! These differences in procedures and approaches are really a tribute to just how versatile and forgiving varnish is! You will have to find a varnish regimen that works for you.
The final varnish coats can be sprayed of course, for that matter, all of the varnish coats can be sprayed. I feel that the beginning coats are easier to control with a brush during application. The brush also allows you to fully saturate and better seal the end grains of the wood.
Applying the Not-Zen, High-Tech Stuff: Urethanes
Urethane finishes can be applied directly to the wood but I recommend using some kind of sealer first-especially on the soft mahogany panels. Many sealers are available commercially: WATER-WHITE LACQUER, ACRYLIC, EPOXY and SHELLAC to name a few. I have used all of these types with excellent results. I prefer to use SMITHS ‘Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer’ (CPES) which is a two-part, A&B chemistry mixed 1: 1 for application. It is very thin and soaks way into the wood and seals it against water quite well. All types of finish can be applied over it.
Always test sealers and finishes first before using on stained paneling -
After applying a sealer according to the manufacturers instructions, if you choose to use one, let it dry, sand smooth with 220 grit to 400 grit sandpaper and clean the wood as dust-free as possible. Same as you would do before applying varnish. During the dust-off of the wood, it should be moved into a suitable spray booth and tacked off again.
Following the manufacturers instructions exactly, mix the URETHANE that you have chosen. Mix only as much as you think you will need, perhaps a pint or a quart. This material IS expensive!
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Hint... |
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Urethane is ABSOLUTELY CLEAR. NO TONE. If you wish to have your wood appear warm and golden like it does with a varnish finish, you will need to tone the urethane with DMX dyes which are available through your local auto paint stores. These dyes are known as ‘RADIANCE’ colors at the auto paint store. You only need a small amount of DMX #212 RED and DMX YELLOW (They only make ONE yellow). Take your own little bottles with good, tight tops to the paint store. You will need no more than an ounce of each color. The DMX RED is more intense than the DMX YELLOW.
Try a mix of one drop of red and four drops of yellow to each pint of your clear urethane. Use a SMALL drop dropper, not a BIG drop dropper! Drops can vary greatly in size, try to standardize the drop size. Add more color if you need it. Do a test first on some scrap wood. TEST, TEST, TEST!
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Put on your respirator, go into the booth, load your spray gun with your mixed urethane and spray on three coats of the urethane waiting about 15 minutes in between coats for the clear to ‘flash’. Let the finish dry for at least a day, maybe two, then wet sand with 400 grit to 600 grit using a rubber pad under the sandpaper-‘block sanding’. Watch those edges, don’t sand through the finish on them! Clean and tack the wood, spray three more coats in the same manner as the first three coats. The soft mahogany might need an extra shoot of two or three coats as it is very absorbent. Let the clear dry for a couple of days. You might have to sand out a few ‘inclusion bodies’ with 1000 grit or 1500 grit and then polish out the wood with fine polishing compound. This final step takes some time but can make for a super smooth and glossy finish-just like a custom paint job! Varnish can also be polished out in the same fashion but it takes longer to cure before it can be successfully polished or hand rubbed out.
If you are unfamiliar with spraying automotive paints, you should seek some professional help or choose to use brushed on varnish as a finish. The urethane finish is super tough and glossy but it IS high tech and requires some advanced knowledge to use properly.
One of the above methods of finishing should work for you. It is not a bad idea to find some wood to practice on before you start on your woodie.
Good luck and good finishing!
Rick Mack Enterprises
Restorations and all new wood sets & parts for 1949-51 Fords & Mercurys
rick@rickmack.com
P.O. Box 39631
Tacoma, Washington 98496
USA
253-539-0432
© 1999,2000 Rick Mack. Full copyright of the “Rick Mack’s Woodie Refinishing Guide” (RMWRG) is held by Rick Mack.
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