64 Resorter varnish help please

Has anyone ever used Deks Olje #1 and #2 to finish a wooden boat (64 Century Resorter)? Pros/cons? Is it "factory" to darken with stain or to leave the natural wood tones. Any input would be great.
Thanks

 

Am I to assume that no one has used Deks Olje "varnish" . I am told it is the latest,greatest thing. Anyone??????

 

Does anyone know what varnish the Century factory used originally?

 

I have never used or even heard of the product you have described. more than likely it was a spar varnish. Try the ACBS's site may find some info there.

 

Deks Olje has been around for ions. But its more like a oil coating that dries harder than most teak like oil finishes. One is the matt finish, and 2 is high gloss oil finish with a skin like finish, but not really a linseed oil varnish.

FWIW, this is a good link to the product.
http://www.flood.com/Flood/Products/Exterior/Marine/Deks Olje Product Page.htm

Like this?

 

I keep getting small bubbles in the deks olje #2 when applying and they harden into the finish as is dries. I have spoken with the rep @ Flood Co and they don't seem to have any answers. I have had to sand out the bubbles numerous times. Thought about stripping back down to bare wood and using the "factory" stain and varnish, but I can't find anyone who knows these products.

 

The bubbles could be a number of things. It could be a fisheye from wax, or from chemicals that you wipe down the surface with, if indeed you are doing, and also if you are shaking the can, or stirring it, and not letting it sit to settle, than this will also do it. But one thing to keep in mind, is if you are attempting to do this over real varnish work, have you sanded the coat of varnish, and is so what type of sandpaper did you use for it? In some paper, the glue that holds the grit on to the paper leaves a film on the surface

What types of rags are you using if indeed you are wiping the surface down before application? Also, this time of year, what working climate or surroundings, such as a garage, that maybe heated by day, and then cool by night? There are a lot of things that can cause bubbles, or fisheyes, in your surface, even down to a cheap brush that many attempt to use in your applications of a coating. Can you post a closeup picture by some chance of your hull? If you have sanded it, does the dust residue have a mineral spirit or turpentine smell to it? Is the existing surface residue , when sanded, appear to be a bit yellow or white, in the sanding dust?

 

I'll ditto Oyster's comments, with even more questions: Are raw wood areas sealed (epoxy, CPES, sanding sealer)? Are you applying the varnish in the morning then having the warmth of the day raise the temperature of the work, causing gas out? Working under florescent lamps? Using an incompatible solvent on a rag as a tack cloth? Overly or aggressively brushing the varnish? Using a brush softer then a baby's butt?

There are many things that can screw with varnish, most every one is prep and conditions related.

 

Here is a close up of the bubbles that are actually hardened into the varnish and a shot of the hull planking. I assume the lighter boards are from a previous repair. Any advice on how to even up the color ?

 

Thank you all for you comments and help. Here is the method up to this point:

1. Old varnish sanded off w/ 180grt
2. Replace rotted planks
3. Sanded w/ 180,240,320 ( I will look up the type)
4. Wiped w/ non waxed tack cloth
5. Applied "mahagony" stain
6. Applied DeksOlje # 1 per directions
7. Applied DeksOlje #2 per directions,can not shaken, applied with foam "brush"
8. Tried adding Penetrol to #2 to help with the bubble problem as the suggestion of the Flood reps ,only to have the bubbles divide into hundreds of smaller bubbles. ouch!!

Evironment: Fluorescent lighting (what effect does this cause?), ave temp 68-70 in the day ( Nat gas heater), maybe cooler (50) at night due to "energy saving heat reduction" by the boss.

I haven't noticed a smell to the sanding dust and it appears to be a white residue.

I will post some more pictures as soon as I get a chance.

For the love of wood, Thanks, Paul

 

In the short list on my updated comments, I would not be using this product for the topcoat in the beginning over existing varnish, which I would think to be an oil based product. Rarely these hulls have a true polyuethane product, which sands white, and does not have a nice oil smell or pine scented smell when sanding it.

This may not be an issue, hard to tell. In our area, most of the big box stores sell a brand of the olde reliable,, formula of varnish for those runabouts , Captains Varnish under the name Helmsman, which is a bit thicker, and may need some penetrol to flow and apply on a vertical surface that I would try, even in a short fine line taped area. This will allow you to sand and feather the edges for the real coat and blend together.

Look at the ingredients label on the cans, or ask at a good paint store in your area for a linseed oil varnish coating, or mineral spirits based product and try a small taped off area of the existing hull. You cannot apply varnish in multiple coats under normal situations, because of the curing times, especially if its too thick. But thining it too much, can cause the loss of gloss. But if your hull has a lot of build up on it, the fresh coat has no place to soak in, too, if its applied too thick. Purchase a badger hair or ox hair brush, normal ones are "Purdy" in good paint stores. Another brand is even the Corona that is sold that will do a decent job. As a side note, this is a neat story of the company.

http://www.coronabrushes.com/corona/index.cfm?event=showStory

You state that you have a new plank? Is this problem just on the new plank? If so, where did you get the wood, and what conditions was the wood stored in? I know there are a lot of questions. But its hard to diagnose a problem without touching the problem.

Also you do not need to be using 320, in the initial coating and buildup. 180, in the beginning layers, after the wood is blocked unform color and surface with even 80 to 120, depending on the conditions of the new woods. All you are doing with the 320 is polishing grain. Are you machine sanding, or hand sanding?

FWIW department, varnish with UV protections, will create sanding dust that is creme or yellow color.

 

All of the origianl varnish was sanded off prior to applying stain, deks olje # 1, and deks olje #2. I didn't actually do the sanding so I didn't have a chance to catch any scent. It was machine sanded, then hand sanded.
The planks that were replaced are below the waterline and were fiberglassed over, as this is a frequently trailered boat. The bubbles are showing up mainly on the horizontal surfaces, rails, bow and stern deck. There was 2-3 day drying time between coats.

 

Unless you have some real issues in your process of sanding and wiping down, the next best thing to do is to try a bristle brush and another material. I for one have not used the product as a topcoat on any runabout, only on teak rails and teak swim platforms, as a color wood sealer. Good luck.

FWIW, the picture looks like fisheye to my old eyes, which comes from the finish releasing from the surface. The most common cause is from some form of wax. But one thing that you stated gives me some concern to think another way, and that is that the penetrol causes an increase in bubbles. You have to stir in penetrol changing the material consistancy, but you still apply it with a foam brush on the same surface. So maybe try it on another piece of raw wood, maybe, if you have a spare piece, and see what happens, letting it dry in the same surrounding elements before you do anything else on your boat..

 

Thanks again for your input. The bubbles actually are raised bubbles and don't seem to be "craterlike" fisheyes like what you would see in a paint job.

I will try testing on a sample piece.

Any advice on how to even up the color differences between the old planks and the repaired ones? ( see picture above)

 

Not sure if this will help, but awhile back used I used deks olje # 1, and deks olje #2 on some old wooden blocks, was instructed to use wet and dry sand paper to apply the no1 and brush for no2. The blocks had everything from old varnish to oil, grease and tallow on them, scraped and sanded then sanded in the no1, they came out really good. The old guy that had me on the job insisted that sanding in the no1 one was the best way to get a good finish, he told me brushing it on would be a waste of time. Tried it both ways and he was right, the brushed ones just did not look as good, uneven finish. Mind you sanding the stuff in was a messy job.