Building a Chesapeake Light Craft Northeaster Dory -- Sanding and Varnishing . . . repeat, repeat, repeat!

The dory after five coats of varnish

After putting the second coat of high-gloss Interlux Schooner Varnish 96 on my dory, I wasn't entirely satisfied. The paint went on too thick in places so that I had some little runs; in other places it was too thin and left "holidays." The only cure for those problems was a thorough wet sanding. I generally used 320 or 400 grit sandpaper for this and did not notice much difference between the two. For the bigger drips I'd drop down to 220 for the first pass. (I'm trying to be quite specific about my problems and procedure so that others my learn from my struggles and so that I myself will be reminded in a few years when it is time to refinish the boat.) To handle the drips, I used a block while sanding to try to achieve a flat surface. Elsewhere I just pushed the sandpaper with my fingertips in an effort to roughen up the shiny little golf-ball dimples. Since I did not want to sand through the underlying coats of varnish, I did not try to get the entire hull perfectly smooth and uniformly gray.

After sanding, I mopped the boat out thoroughly with a damp dish towel and then wiped it down again with a clean cotton rag moistened with denatured alcohol. I let my can of varnish warm in the sun for a few hours, hoping that would allow me to apply a very thin, smooth coat. . . . And it worked! The third coat of varnish was good enough that I seriously considered calling the job done. The finish was very glossy with only a few drips and holidays. But a high gloss finish does reveal imperfections by making them gleam. And more to the point I was a bit concerned about the thickness of the protective coat. How much varnish had I taken off during all that sanding? The varnish is there to provide a sacrificial layer of paint and block UV light from harming the fiberglass. If it looks nice, that's just a fringe benefit. I decided that a fourth coat (this time of Interlux Goldspar Satin Polyurethane Varnish 60) would add to the boat's beauty and durability. And I decided that I could apply this coat “hot” -- i.e., without sanding the previous coat of varnish since it was still wet enough to perfume the garage with the scent of paint. I did, however, wipe it all down very carefully with denatured alcohol to insure a clean surface and to soften the varnish and assist in bonding.

Alas! I should have stopped at three . . . as is avowed by many a binge drinker waking up with a hangover! One thing I immediately learned is that Interlux Satin Varnish is an entirely different beast than high-gloss Interlux Schooner Varnish. I had learned that I could apply the Schooner Varnish in an exceedingly thin coat and achieve full coverage without drips. With one quart of that varnish I now know that I could give the interior of the dory six coats of paint (if I were doing it again). In contrast, the satin varnish is much thicker. I doubt I could get three coats from one quart. I fumbled and stumbled during my first application, slopping it on so thick in some places that it subsequently dripped, and yet my brush went dry so quickly that I left other places bare. I won't say it was a disaster, but I was sharply disappointed to have gone from a  a lovely third-coat finish to an ugly fourth.

The only remedy was to let the paint dry for two days, sand out the drips, and try again. During that time, I reviewed some YouTube videos about applying varnish. I particularly recommend the technique of dabbing the paint in vertical bars before spreading it with firm brush strokes. Here are a pair of links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bk7Tb0Zi48&index=5&list=WL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWI_0vrDh0s&index=6&list=WL

(I have been using a foam brush instead of a bristle brush, but my technique is the same.)

For the fifth coat (which I was determined would be the last), I recruited Sue to help me. The satin varnish seems to begin drying even more quickly than the high gloss so Sue's job was to follow along right behind me, craning her neck in every direction so that the light on the wet paint could reveal drips and holidays before it was too late to deal with them. Ultimately, the fifth coat went on reasonably well. I can imagine it being better, but I pronounced it, “Job done!”

That brought up the next task: flipping the boat over and preparing the bottom for its three quick coats of high gloss varnish. In the past I had recruited my friend Terry to come over and help me turn the boat, but I was reluctant to do so this time. The boat is now significantly heavier than it was in the past and turning it has never been particularly safe for us or the boat. Instead, I used my rope-rescue training and equipment to lift the boat and turn it in a carefully controlled manner. It worked so well that I'll include some photos of my rigging the next time I update this blog. (With luck, that should be within a week and it should celebrate the completion of the boat!)

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Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take many small steps. – Helmut Schmidt

Behold the turtle, he makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. – James B. Conant

Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something. -Thomas Alva Edison

There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. -- Louis L'Amour