40) Beginning the Finishing

This past week I filled all remaining voids and cracks, and finally finished sanding. This weekend I began the varnishing. The first coats of varnish are fill coats designed to seal any unfinished wood (wood not sealed with epoxy). The unfinished wood is basically all of the trim, seats, and thwart. The varnish I chose was Z-Spar Flagship marine varnish by Petit. I chose this varnish becase I live in Florida and I wanted the maximum UV protection. First, I thinned the varnish 30% with Petit brand thinner (It is always a good idea to use the same manufacturer on things like this). Then I simply brushed the thinned varnish on with a foam brush. Not all foam brushes are created equal - the ones made in China are crap, they flake and "chatter" when you pull them over marine varnish. I got my brushes at Ace hardware, be sure to get the ones that say JEN MFG USA on the handle (I got this tip on the Bear Mountain Boat Shop forum). I plan on doing 3 coats with the thinned varnish and 3 or 4 with regular varnish.
Here are my weapons of choice for this weekend.

Taped of and varnished decks and gunnels, the cherry looks beautiful.


I can't wait to varnish the hull.