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Brightwork


tomstock

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I need some basics on brightwork. You know, on old table is no problem...I sand it down, steel wool it, and then coat it with polyurethane... but brightwork on a boat must require something better...something better looking and more "maintainable".

Should I use boiled linseed oil? Varnish? Polyurethane?

Someone give me some pointers before I paint all of my heavily weathered and poorly finished brights brown!

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Traditionally, you use a Spar Varnish. Even McCloskey's Spar Varnish from Home Depot or Lowe's is good enough. The problem is that you have to revarnish every year (at least where I live in Southern California). The UV from the sun degrades the finish.

The alternatives are either an oil finish, or the finishes with more solids in them that block UV. Cetol is one of the UV blockers, but it has a kind of orange look to it to me. I understand they have a toned down version that looks more beige. The idea is that it covers the wood more, so you get an extra year or two from the finish. The oil finishes also need to be renewed, but depending on the wood, it can be as simple as wiping it on every month or so.

On my production boat, I use Epifanes gloss varnish, a high gloss, thick spar type finish. My wife made "hats" for all the wood trim (grab rails, hatch boards, etc.) so we protect the finish from the UV with the green and white striped Sunbrella fabric (you can see it in the background on our green Potter 19):

15.jpg

I'm not sure that's an option on a Weekender or Vacationer; there's a lot of brightwork.

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I've not used the Epiphanes, but Laura and I prefer Zspar's Flagship (2015) It supposedly has more UV protectants than any other spar varnish on the market.

We also use covers over as much of the brightwork as possible aboard Tehani, which in her case is the cabin top handrails and the companionway drops.

Spar varnish isn't really difficult to keep up PROVIDED you don't let it get bad first. If you do a light sand and recoat when you see it needs it, it's pretty simple to keep it looking good. Just DO NOT wait til it starts cracking- then it needs wooding and revarnishing.

8 to 10 coats is a good start by the way, for our sun anyway.

You can see the handrail covers in this pic- they are held closed with velcro.

post-36-129497645576_thumb.jpg

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I sand it down, steel wool it,

I do not recommend steel wool on boat projects, if the parts are installed on the boat. If you think you have all the fine residue cleaned up, you may not find this to be true next month. I use green scotchpads which can be purchased at the grocery store. Some marine stores will sell some coarse pads that can be used for this purpose, that cleans teak in the bleaching stage, that can be used also in the initial sanding of wood.

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I sand it down' date=' steel wool it, [/quote']

I do not recommend steel wool on boat projects, if the parts are installed on the boat. If you think you have all the fine residue cleaned up, you may not find this to be true next month. I use green scotchpads which can be purchased at the grocery store. Some marine stores will sell some coarse pads that can be used for this purpose, that cleans teak in the bleaching stage, that can be used also in the initial sanding of wood.

Good point ... you end up with dozens of little rust spots elsewhere on your boat! I had that happen with grinding I did on a trailer; the iron particles ended up on the boat and rusted.

If you get that, a good response is a clenser with oxalic acid, like Barkeeper's Friend (available at Home Depot). It is also suitable for stainless, as it doesn't have any chlorides in it.

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