Subject: help! my varnish has pimples,..
From: bilgeworthy
Hi, new varnisher here. When I brush it on carefully, I can see tiny
gas bubbles forming in the wake of the brushstroke. Most of them pop
but some do not and others seem to form during the drying process. The
more I try and brush it out the worse it gets. The unhappy result is a
beautiful piece of wood with assorted pimples strewn about the finish.
I have tried expensive brushes and foam brushes with the same result.
I have tried straight varnish, thinner, cheap and dear and 216
(xylene) as brushing agents. I follow the routine from the Brightwork
Companion as well as I can. Not shaking or redipping from the can.
I'm working indoors with everything at room temp. I have used brand
new Schooner Varnish, some old junk in a can and a custom artists
mixture of Danar (Damar?) and magic emollients etc. They all act the
same. It's less noticeable on 25 year old teak than on newly made
woodwork but it's the same result even after 8 coats. I sand out the
flaws between coats. I am definitely open to suggestion at this point.
Gosh, the old teak just takes your breath away. If I can just take
care of this complexion problem.
After 8 coats the bubbles would not be coming out of the wood.
So are your sure that they are not small bits of contamination? I've had people
tell me that the bubbles they see while applying varnish don't seem to fully
pop and go away. And after looking closely at them I've found them to not be
dried bubbles but particles of contamination or dust.
Are you filtering the varnish? Tacking off well?
Applying it outside? Or in a dust free room/area?
If they truly are bubbles perhaps you should add a bit more thinner (if your
adding any now) to give the bubbles less viscosity to fight and more time to
pop.
Capt. Bill