Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 01, 2009 07:56pm | #1

   I suppose that the brushes made by Epifanes would be particularly good.  The two inch "full" model brush is over $45.  You may see recommendations to use badger hair brushes.  I don't believe any badger hair brushes are made, there are some white china bristle brushes dyed to look like badger.  If you could find a 2" badger hair brush it would likely cost well over $100. 

   That said, it isn't necessary to buy a the "best".  A reasonably priced natural bristle, or better a mix of bristle and ox hair will work quite well for prices less than half.  Just avoid the low end.  Tapered bristles, with a chisel-edged tip (not cut square across the ends) are things to look for.  

   Once you get past the minimum level you achieve varnish coats without laps and brush strokes through technique.  The best brushes makes it only a slight bit easier.  The first thing with Epifanes is that you need to thin it.  It comes from the can very thick, almost syrup.  Add 10% thinner and start from there.  Then, varnish technique calls for first spreading the varnish with the brush to get a thin, even coating.  With Epifanes, you have plenty of time to apply and spread the varnish. 

   With the varnish spread thinly, and any missed areas located and filled in, the final step, that eliminates bubbles, brush marks or laps is the vital tipping off step.  Take your almost dry brush, hold it very lightly and almost vertically, gentle kiss the surface moving with the grain to even out thin and thick areas.  Mostly, if you have thinned sufficiently, brush strokes will automatically level and any bubbles will have popped. 

1. 
   ted | Jun 01, 2009 09:12pm | #2

   I did purchase a (what I'd consider a higher-end brush ($40.00)) good brush but actually went back to my "lower-end" Purdy white china bristle brush after the high-end brush started shedding profusely. The Epiphanes was so thick out of the can it is hard for a brush novice like myself to get a decent finish. The can and the manufacturer recommend thinning no more than 5% after the third coat. Thinning it at that level doesn't seem to make too much of a difference and it is difficult to get a thin coat with out having the brush want to "drag" on the surface and the tendency then is to end up with a bunch of spots where the finish won't flow out at all and end up with a sort of dry patch.

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 01, 2009 10:58pm | #3

   They don't really mean it when they say to thin no more than 5%.  That's just there for the VOC regulations.    If the makers told you to thin it, that would be almost the same as including the thinner in the can. 

   You can thin any oil based varnish to any degree you like without affecting the end result (except for the number of coats needed to build a given dry thickness.)  Thinned sufficiently, Epifanes flows out and levels quite nicely. 

   A $40 brush shouldn't be shedding, unless mistreated, so I'd be talking to the manufacturer.  Loose bristles, except for a few right in the beginning, are not part of the program for good brushes. 

1. 
   ted | Jun 02, 2009 09:44pm | #6

   Okay, would you thin with Naptha or Mineral Spirits?

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 02, 2009 10:51pm | #7

   It depends on the temperature and the size of the objects being varnished.  Naphtha evaporates faster and mineral spirits less rapidly.  If I had vertical surfaces I'd use the naphtha so it would flash off more quickly and reduce the time I had to worry about sags or runs.  The choice makes no difference to the final outcome. 

   Edited 6/2/2009 3:51 pm ET by SteveSchoene

2. 
   user-187006 | Jun 02, 2009 08:18am | #4

   I've been using the Corona brushes with the black handle. I get good results at a fair price. They are readily available at West Marine, and usually at the big home centers. This year I switched from Epiphanes to Schooner brand varnish because it dries faster and holds up just as well on my sailboat. Keep the brush very clean and brush back into the wet edge as you go.

3. 
   WillGeorge | Jun 02, 2009 11:36am | #5

   No expert here but I have a friend that uses only OX Hair brushes for applying varnish. He does not do furniture but does alot of varnishing wood trim for very up-scale houses. Some new construction (is there any these days?) but mostly older homes. He retired this spring. Guess no work?

   Anyway, I'd think he at least knows what works for him. I could be wrong, but I am SURE he said the Ox/Bear and the Ox/Badger hair mix brushes are the best for vertical work. Now that I typed that, I wonder what is best for Horizontal work then?

   Maybe he just referenced vertical because that is the hardest to do?

4. 
   frenchy | Jun 03, 2009 04:58am | #8

   Ted it's hard to brush a really smooth coat.    I spray instead.. YOU REALLY HAVE TO HAVE PRESSURE TO DO IT.  Don't try it with HVLP equipment.   a couple of other points, heat the epiphanes really warm  try it like a double oven deal.   Heat the water  130 is good.  leave it in there long enough and pour it into your spray gun at that temp and use up the varnish in less than 5 minutes if you want it to flow on well.     

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 03, 2009 05:22am | #9

   Spraying a slow drying oil based varnish is also very difficult to achieve.  You have to have some way of moving the overspray away from the sprayed surface so it doesn't fall back on it and create a grainy surface.  The air you are moving over the sprayed surface has to be well filtered or you will multiply the dust problems.  Much easier in my opinion to develop sufficient brush technique to get excellent varnish coatings with a brush. Good varnishes, such as Epifanes, are really pretty easy to brush evenly.  A shorter learning curve that developing the facility to spray it well.  You just have to pay a bit of attention.   

   You increase viscosity for a few moments by heating, you increase it for a longer period by adding a little thinner.  Use the thinner. 

   Spraying is a good technique for materials designed to be sprayed--finishes that dry quickly and that either come at spraying viscosity (some waterborne finishes) or can be thinned to the right viscosity (lacquers and other solvent based products) 

   If you want to spray, and have a safe place to spray, then two-part polurethanes, for example, will give you the durability of Epifanes, in half the time.  (By safe place to spray, you have to deal both with flamability, and with these two part finishes components that may be toxic.  One part of a polyurethane is some form of an isocyanoate, for example.)  Such a sprayed finish won't have quite the depth of the brushed on marine varnish, but can hold up VERY well.  The problem is that home shops and small commercial shops seldom have the serious spray booths required to do the job safely. 

    

1. 
   frenchy | Jun 04, 2009 02:12am | #10

   a decent spray booth can be made with nothing more than some clear  plastic hung to prevent overspray from getting on the rest of the equipment in the shop..

     as for overthinning.. I'm sorry I'll defer to Epiphanes on this issue.. When I sprayed my boat (1947 Chris Craft Riveria)  I was relatively new to spray guns.. it worked out just fine.. deep shiny gloss. 

     Plus it was an extremely durable finish.. those who over thinned it to brush it on never wound up with the same clarity or duribility..

    By the way  2 part polyurethanes will never develope the same depth or quaity as Epiphanes..

     If they did  boat restoration places would be all over them rather than that INSANE finishing process using epiphanes.