Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 S-Series LEADERBOARD

A first-time varnishing experience for a Contender sailor

by Daniel Hollands 2 Apr 2020 02:30 PDT
Varnishing from bare wood - scraping back © Daniel Hollands

Daniel Hollands has sent in this account of his first attempt at varnishing from bare wood, with a useful level of detail for anyone else wishing to undertake such a project.

After sailing my Contender for a year at Hythe and Saltwood Sailing Club, and then Bough Beech Sailing Club for their Icicle Series over the winter, my Contender's deck varnish was looking somewhat worse for wear. It was cracked in places and peeling around the shroud mountings.

I anxiously made the decision to re-varnish it myself. I have previously worked with gelcoat and marine paints but never with clear varnish and was unsure of the finish that I would be able to achieve. I opted for International Compass varnish for this project due to being able to apply multiple coats per day and its good reviews online.

After buying some paint stripper to remove the existing varnish on the deck, I quickly discovered that it wasn't going to touch whatever was previously applied to this boat. Out came the heat gun and scraper and, several evening's scraping later, the deck was free of varnish.

I then sanded with 120 grit up to 400 grit to remove any remnants of varnish and scratches, before applying my first coat of varnish diluted by 30% (as per the datasheet) and it looked fantastic until it dried... I was surprised to find that this first coat had dried almost completely matt with a few semi gloss areas. At this point I was questioning whether I had made the right choice doing this job myself.

As I had already started I thought I couldn't make it any worse so I then sanded the deck with 320 grit and cleaned it off before applying more varnish thinned to 10% for the next three coats. The final coats were applied after another sanding, this time to 400 grit and diluted by 5%. The finish had come out looking quite reasonable albeit with some significant orange peel.

I decided to purchase a polishing machine from Amazon as I've wanted one for ages but hadn't the project to justify it, and next day it arrived. I then took to my now reasonable looking deck with 600 grit and then 1200 grit wet and dry to flat it back completely.

I was quite excited at the prospect of using my new polishing machine; out to the garage I went. I used some Farécla G10 compound squirted on the deck with some water and a foam pad, and on turning the machine on, it promptly applied the polish to everything in the garage around waist height! After changing technique I was able to keep the polish on the deck and got several polishing sessions in, and the finish of the deck was beautiful.

I then applied several coats of Carnauba wax which improved the finish further and it came out far better than I could have dreamed I was capable of.

All that hard work has paid off, and she looks great, Dan! Remember we want to hear YOUR stories of boat repairs, renovations and invention too.

Related Articles

Contender Final Fling at Rutland
An autumnal feel in the air with leaves covering the dinghy park With colder mornings, leaves covering the dinghy park, shorter days and an autumnal feel in the air, it can only mean one thing, it must be time for the Contenders annual trip to the waters of Rutland. Posted on 17 Oct
Contenders at Castle Cove
Glamorous conditions on Portland harbour The Castle Cove Contender open meeting was held over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of September on Portland harbour in what would turn out to be glamorous conditions with blue skies, sunshine and around 10 knots of wind. Posted on 20 Sep
Contender Travellers Series at Weston
Forecast of warm conditions and a reasonable breeze encourages 19 keen competitors Weston Sailing Club were the hosts for the latest round of the Contender Travellers Series over the weekend of 3rd/4th August. A forecast of warm conditions and a reasonable breeze had encouraged 19 keen competitors to enter for the weekend. Posted on 7 Aug
Contenders at Shoreham
A lumpy sea venue, but with a handy harbour to launch into, to save on bow erosion Shoreham Sailing Club is perfectly formed for Contenders, A lumpy sea venue, but one with a handy harbour to launch into, to save on bow erosion. So good in fact, it will be the Venue for the 2025 Nationals, this then would be the pre-event. Posted on 25 Jul
Contenders Travellers Trophy at Hythe and Saltwood
Should you risk being the first to launch on a hairy day? The weekend of 6th-7th July saw Hythe and Saltwood Sailing Club hosting the seventh round of the British Contender Traveller Series. The entry for this event amounted to fifteen boats with three locals and twelve visitors. Posted on 10 Jul
Kiel Week 2024: A sailing festival with all facets
285 extremely varied sailing races between light winds and stormy gusts The Kiel Week Regatta 2024 came to an end on Sunday after 285 extremely varied sailing races between light winds and stormy gusts. Posted on 1 Jul
Kiel Week: Dream races reward long wait for wind
Patience of all active participants and the regatta organisation was required The patience of all active participants and the regatta organisation was required on the penultimate day of Kiel Week 2024, when it took around five hours for a sailable sea breeze from the east to build up on all five courses on Saturday (29 June). Posted on 29 Jun
Kiel Week 2024: Strong gusts take their toll
Torn sails, broken masts and 16 injuries were the overall result of a tough day at sea On Friday (28 June), gusts of force six to seven caused problems for the Kiel Week athletes on all five regatta courses in eight international boat classes. Posted on 28 Jun
Kiel Week: Danish Dynamite and Samoa double start
The second half of Kiel Week marks the hour of the eight international classes Changing mood in Kiel-Schilksee: The second half of Kiel Week marks the hour of the eight international classes. High tension is guaranteed, as the regatta is the showdown between numerous world and European champions. Posted on 27 Jun
Hartley Boats Contender British Nationals overall
Final day battle for the title at Paignton After a rather epic day on the water, the final day of the nationals arrived. Overnight the results showed it was really a two horse race going in to the last day with both Graeme and Ed having a chance to win the event. Posted on 19 Jun
Trinidad and Tobago - Sail Service StayMaritimo 2023 S600 FOOTER