Brightwork spot maintenance

[Phil Gowans]

I knew this time would come - one of the down sides of brightwork. I've got a number of dings that need fixing. Some of the spots even need filling. My rub rails are epoxied and finished with automotive clear coat. I would like to cover all wood with epoxy and I plan to use varnish instead of clear coat for the repair. I know how to sand it all down and start over.

:?: But, My Question:

How can I fix a spot? Will epoxy stick to clear coat? Am I going to have problems with the edge of the spot that is covered with clear coat when I epoxy? Is a good sanding sufficient preparation?

Any tips from you old timers? I suspect Charlie and Barry might have some expertise in this.

[Bill]

Phil,

I don't consider myself as an old timer or a pro on the Varnish/Epoxy techniques but I'll throw in my 2 cents for what it's worth.

(I have a bunch of Varnish/epoxy experiments "cooking" in the shop right now..)

I have one piece (Pine) that was stained (minwax oil base), epoxied (West 105/207), then Varnished (Epfanes), then clear coated (single-part spray automotive), then varnished again (Epifanes). All the Epifanes I use has to be thinned to a degree. I find it a bit too thick and tricky to use right out of the can (thinned with Epifanes thinner(turp)). So far, it's hard as rock and adhering extremely well. Thumbnail test results in a broken thumbnail

I sanded with 220 in between coats of every item. I can not express enough though, the need to wait until every layer is really dry before attempting to start the next steps. This especially holds true with using Varnish over Epoxy, a week minimum to let the epoxy gas out and then I'd call it safe. When fixing blemishes I use about a 400+ grit and mineral spirits to feather edges, usually this does the trick and you can't see where I have re-varnished.

I have heard of very good results using Detco Crystal Varnish, but I can't get it around here (or so it seems at this point)!

BTW: is the clear coat not working out?

Bill

[Barry Pyeatt]

Hi Phil,

Thanks for asking, I gather from your post that you plan on removing all of the finish (down to bare wood) to make the repairs.

This is one job I like doing.

Couple questions?

Is the wood itself damaged, just dented or is it just the finish? :?

If the wood is damaged, do you plan on trying to fill or repair/replace the damaged wood before refinishing?

If the answers to the above are no and you are just intending to refinish after removing all the old finish and epoxy. Then...remember that even though you might not be able to see it there is still epoxy residue in the surface of the wood underlying the finish. Only way to get rid of it completely is to remove more wood. (I wouldn't !) If it is dented rather than broken wood fiber, then I would raise the dents with sweating on the dented area until I raised it as far as I could and then I would take it down with no finer than 120 grit until it is at the stage to recoat. Then I would re-apply a thinned coat of epoxy and let it set up, sand it lightly (w/150/180 if needed), remove any blush and apply a second coat of thinned epoxy over it. (For the most part I don't use epoxy on britework, I only use varnish. Just personal preference unless glassing over it first.) After curing I would then sand lightly again with 180or 220 and then using a tack cloth completly clean the entire area and wait 24 hours and then I would begin to varnish after wiping it down one last time with a tack cloth.

Personally, I don't get to 400 unless I am wet sanding and working for a furniture grade finish.

I've not had a problem with re-applying epoxy over wood that had had epoxy/varnish on it before after taking it down with sandpaper to the surface. But I apply thin coats of epoxy and varnish to build it up slowly.

There is something charming about dents and dings in a boats britework, unless they are broken fiber and have some compelling reason to fill or replace I wouldn't worry about them too much. Damage that gets down to bare wood or broken wood fiber is a different breed, then we talk more seriously.

[Phil Gowans]

Bill - the clear coat is working fine. However, I'm not much of a painter. I had the painting done by a professional in his paint booth. He clear coated the paint and bright work. That way I didn't have to varnish everything. That was also an easy way to leave large panels (like on the deck) bright. But now that I'm home and on my own, varnish is a lot easier for me to deal with in my garage so I thought I'd use it. A question about your feathering. Is that on the initial sanding or your final sanding :?:

Barry - I don't think I was very clear here. I was trying to be lazy and not have to strip down and redo the whole rub rails for a few spots. I've got a number of different kinds of problems. I have dented finish, some damaging the wood, and worn spots down to bare wood. One bad spot is missing fiber. I planned to build it back up with epoxy filled with mahogany sawdust. This technique has worked fairly well before and matches the color fairly well. I used epoxy over my brightwork just to get a little better abrasion resistance. I really don't want to strip it all down and to redo it all. But, I am concerned about doing just a spot. I thought I'd sand out the bad spot then reapply epoxy to the spot and varnish the whole rub rail after all the fixes.

My question is: How do I tie in the epoxy to the existing finished surface around the spot I'm finishing :?: Or is that even a problem? Maybe I shouldn't even use epoxy on the spot. I can always just use varnish on the whole rail after sanding out the bad spot.

[Bill]

Phil,

I initially sand it down. Using a very fine sandpaper I build a little dish into the area. i'm only talking a layer or two into the six or seven I have on. I keep using mineral spirits to clean the area, let it dry a bit then sand some more. Each time you sand you'll see the edges fade away until your happy that a new coat will blend in. Using a 50/50 (varnish/thinner) blend it will all be seamless. I'll tell ya though, I've read that many folks look at their rub-rails as a "not so fussy item". Quite a few folks replace them every few years and don't take to much time with them. That's what they are: rub-rails! I have read some people use a bedding compound to hold them on with a minimal amount of screws just for this purpose. If you want, you might check out using CPES (penetrating epoxy) for some hardning and varnishing over that. Some folks say they get pretty good results.

Bill