I recently built a bathroom vanity for my daughters bathroom. Cherry faceframe, drawer fronts and raised panel doors. I used Bartleys gel wipe on varnish, approx 3 coats. The bath is well ventilated with window and exhaust fan. Now i am having 2nd thoughts about using the gel wipe on. it looks nice but in another post (or i seem to remember) after i did it i saw a negative comment about using it in a bath . . . . and that comment keeps nagging at the back of my mind (well, there is alot of stuff nagging me back there).
Am i worrying too much? Should i (can i) recoat it with something?
Replies
You are worrying too much, just don't do your boat in it.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
The issue is less the kind of varnish but the fact that three coats is not very much varnish, probably less than one standard brushed on coat. Put on more material and you will get more protection. It will begin to look more like a regular varnish finish as it slowly builds the film.
Thanks to both of you for the responses. Patrick
Steve, having started with gel, would it be inappropriate to brush an oil based varnish over it? Or should i just keep rubbing more coats on?
thank you, Patrick
Which ever is more comfortable for you. At the end of the day the gel varnish is just a oil-based varnish. Brushed on varnishes build faster, but with the downside of collecting more dust nibs, and the danger of runs and sags.
Do an experiment. Make up a test panel, put Bartley's on it, and see how well it resists the amount of splattered water you think will happen in your bathroom.
(My experience is that it won't do well. But don't take my word for it. I'm just some random guy on the web. Do the experiment, and you'll have an answer you can really believe.)
Edited 6/10/2008 12:59 am ET by Jamie_Buxton
Was that comment about a water based varnish? I like wipe ons--closer to the wood look than brushed ons--and the one I use right now is oil based poly. Wouldn't hesitate to use it in a bathroom. I learned a big lesson after recalking my shower tub combo with acrylic 'shower and bath' calk. DO NOT USE MATERIAL THAT IS SOLUBLE WITH THE ELEMENT YOU ARE TRYING TO RESIST. The calk said it would only work if fully cured before exposure to water. In my bathroom I think fully cured would have taken several months. It slowly washed away, for weeks on end while we tried to keep the baby from playing with it, all the while the silicone around the diverter and valves sat even prettier than the day it was squeezed.
Brian
I used to work at Bartley. The varnish has 15% or more polyurethane in it so it will protect, but you need more coats. As has already been stated by someone else, the wipe-on varnish process results in very thin layers. I generally do 3-5 on vertical surfaces, and 5-7 on horizontal surfaces. If I really want protection, I'll put a final coat or two of a wipe on polyurethane or apply quick drying varnish using Jeff Jewitt's technigue of diluting the varnish with naptha so you can wipe it on. (the technigue is in a FWW article, but simply put, you dilute the varnish with around 50% napha and wipe it on with a paper towel) . The Bartley varnish gives you a nice, level, smooth surface to wipe on the poly or varnish, so you get a nice smooth finish. Steve
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