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Author Topic:   Urethane vs. Varnish

whalebone posted 04-18-2002 08:39 PM ET (US)
Ok, I found out through sanding the crap out of the red stained mahoganey that I have the beautiful Honduros blond mahoganey. I want to bring out that luster and keep the maintainance down on it. Towards the end of the year the water is shut off at my dock. I do not have access to fresh water to clean off the boat. Will bleaching help the process to bring it back to original luster? What does the jury say on either one or the other. Thanks, edg
JBCornwell posted 04-18-2002 10:36 PM ET (US)
Howdy, Whalebone.
A good marine polyurethane or 2-part polyurethane will bring out the beauty of the Mahogany without any need for bleach or stain. It will outlast conventional spar varnish by several years.
Good luck.
Red sky at night. . .
JB :)
Chesapeake posted 04-19-2002 09:52 AM ET (US)
I agree with JB. Here is an additional suggestion, though.
The polyurethanes don't have the same warmth of color (slight amberish) that varnish has and can look a bit industrial. A great combo is to use Awl-spar for a few coats to get that very slight amber color and then follow up with Awl-brite, which is a tough-as-nails multi-part poyurethane finish. The combination is really hard to beat, but am told it lasts considerably longer, as JB would indicate. Have recently used this, but hav not time tested it as yet.
Bob
whalebone posted 04-19-2002 09:53 AM ET (US)
thanks, jb I think I will go with the poly.
lhg posted 04-19-2002 03:22 PM ET (US)
If your mahogany is blonde, it is bleached out by the sun, as mahogany has a redish tone. You have probably not sanded off enough of the UV damaged wood. More sanding required to get into the fresh wood.
I disagree with the others. I would only use a top grade of modern marine spar Varnish, with maximum UV inhibiters, about 10 coats. These are usually the most expensive grade within any given brand.
I like Z-Spar's Flagship grade. The West Marine catalog has a good discussion section on the various types of wood finishes, page 409.
Chesapeake posted 04-19-2002 04:51 PM ET (US)
Larry: Have you tried the Awl-spar / Awl-brite combo? Since you disagree with the poly approach, I assume so and would be interested your assessment of the long term life. That is the primary reason I have used. The final look is the same to me as a Spar varnished piece provided you go to the extra trouble of using the Awl-spar first for the amber tone. Thanks for the feedback.
BTW, my brother introduced me to the products as he first used "Awl-brite only" (no spar) on the rebuild of the console on his '71 outrage. I didn't particularly like the color and hence, called US paint who suggested the dual approach.
Bob
JFM posted 04-19-2002 05:02 PM ET (US)
Whalebone, I also like the spar marine varnish better. The reason is that it's easier than poly for up keep. Sometimes poly will peel makeing it harder to touch up. With varnish, steelwool or light sanding is all you do to build it back up. But either will do a good job. Regards, Jay

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Author	Topic: Urethane vs. Varnish
whalebone	posted 04-18-2002 08:39 PM ET (US) Ok, I found out through sanding the crap out of the red stained mahoganey that I have the beautiful Honduros blond mahoganey. I want to bring out that luster and keep the maintainance down on it. Towards the end of the year the water is shut off at my dock. I do not have access to fresh water to clean off the boat. Will bleaching help the process to bring it back to original luster? What does the jury say on either one or the other. Thanks, edg
JBCornwell	posted 04-18-2002 10:36 PM ET (US) Howdy, Whalebone. A good marine polyurethane or 2-part polyurethane will bring out the beauty of the Mahogany without any need for bleach or stain. It will outlast conventional spar varnish by several years. Good luck. Red sky at night. . . JB :)
Chesapeake	posted 04-19-2002 09:52 AM ET (US) I agree with JB. Here is an additional suggestion, though. The polyurethanes don't have the same warmth of color (slight amberish) that varnish has and can look a bit industrial. A great combo is to use Awl-spar for a few coats to get that very slight amber color and then follow up with Awl-brite, which is a tough-as-nails multi-part poyurethane finish. The combination is really hard to beat, but am told it lasts considerably longer, as JB would indicate. Have recently used this, but hav not time tested it as yet. Bob
whalebone	posted 04-19-2002 09:53 AM ET (US) thanks, jb I think I will go with the poly.
lhg	posted 04-19-2002 03:22 PM ET (US) If your mahogany is blonde, it is bleached out by the sun, as mahogany has a redish tone. You have probably not sanded off enough of the UV damaged wood. More sanding required to get into the fresh wood. I disagree with the others. I would only use a top grade of modern marine spar Varnish, with maximum UV inhibiters, about 10 coats. These are usually the most expensive grade within any given brand. I like Z-Spar's Flagship grade. The West Marine catalog has a good discussion section on the various types of wood finishes, page 409.
Chesapeake	posted 04-19-2002 04:51 PM ET (US) Larry: Have you tried the Awl-spar / Awl-brite combo? Since you disagree with the poly approach, I assume so and would be interested your assessment of the long term life. That is the primary reason I have used. The final look is the same to me as a Spar varnished piece provided you go to the extra trouble of using the Awl-spar first for the amber tone. Thanks for the feedback. BTW, my brother introduced me to the products as he first used "Awl-brite only" (no spar) on the rebuild of the console on his '71 outrage. I didn't particularly like the color and hence, called US paint who suggested the dual approach. Bob
JFM	posted 04-19-2002 05:02 PM ET (US) Whalebone, I also like the spar marine varnish better. The reason is that it's easier than poly for up keep. Sometimes poly will peel makeing it harder to touch up. With varnish, steelwool or light sanding is all you do to build it back up. But either will do a good job. Regards, Jay