Hi folks,
My new house (30 years old) has some sort of varnish on the windowsills. The sills and trim boards are pine (interior). On some of the sills, the varnish is cracking. Its not bad but there are visible cracks.
I’d like to spruce up the house, it looks a bit tired. I am curious what the options are for cleaning the sills and refinishing them. I’d rather not strip them and give them a full refinishing job, but my gut tells me its a bad idea to put another topcoat over the cracking finish.
Also, I am curious what other finishes I can use over the existing poly. Oil-varnishes? Shellac? BLO? Other varnishes?
Thanks.
Replies
Window sills
I'm not a finishing expert by any stretch of the imagination, but varnish on exterior window sills strikes me as a poor choice. Unless, that is, one desires to refinish them every year or so. Even the best spar varnishes intended for marine use don't last long outside. Owners of wooden boats, for example, aren't really sailors, they're boat refinishers. ;-)
If I were in your shoes, I'd strip them down and paint them with a good exterior enamel.
Spruce Up
Without to much work as you're asking I suggest - clean wood with steel wool + turps, lightly sand, re-coat with poly shades urethane. It is a color and finish in one can. Choose the right color to spruce up the woodwork -
SA
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