Varnishing

fallguy said:

I really like Epifanes UV Gloss

so much depends on where you are

oil will require more repeated efforts

sunny places need more varnish layers

honestly, I'd oil floors and varnish all else

unlike Rumars, I have many hours on the heat fun and I always use plywood scraps sanded to a sharp edge; just be careful not to dwell and scorch; and I prefer the gun and a fan

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thanks fg, i will look up the epifanes.

Rumars said:

The "trick" is to buy really high quality sanding paper and stick to the grit sequence.

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YES!

I don't, personally, like orbital sanders for wood, especially if going for a clear finish. They leave tiny squiggles. Following the sanding sequence Rumars talks about, it really isn't that hard by hand.

-Will (Dragonfly)

brendan gardam said:

i have all those types of sanders, i even know how to use them horrible things. i have this recurring dream where i come home from work and my wife hands me a cup of tea and says honey i hope you don't mind but i sanded your boat ready for painting and vaccumed all the dust up to.

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That's on you mate, you neglected to introduce the wife to the joys of sanding and varnishing. It's not to late now, but you might have to sweeten the deal with some expensive gifts to build up that pavlovian reflex.
Of course you could take that money and just hire the dry ice guy, he'll be quicker. Training the wife is better long term investment since the money stays in the family and contributes to domestic happiness.

Just don't rouse her with a trumpet!

brendan gardam said:

there are a few repairs to do. on the first photo you see the trim on the port side of the doorway is broken off near the bottom. there is another small repair to do inside where a window leak has been dripping onto plywood. i really like the idea of paint the flat surfaces gloss white and revarnish all the edges. my standards are not very high, just want it to look neat and tidy, no show finish.

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I see a few other potential issues. They can be dealt with latter if needed.

Put 3 or 4 coats of high gloss varnish where you want the accent wood to show. This makes it possible to clean paint accidents up. It is nearly impossible to get paint off of raw wood.
Prime for paint.
Fix flaws that show up. You will need some wood toned caulk. Dedicated bathroom tile shops have the best selection of colored caulking.
Reprime and do all but the final coat of paint.
Take varnish to completion. High gloss for all but the final coat. Lower sheen varnish can appear cloudy when many coats are applied.
Final coat of white to cover up the varnish drips.

Rumars said:

That's on you mate, you neglected to introduce the wife to the joys of sanding and varnishing. It's not to late now, but you might have to sweeten the deal with some expensive gifts to build up that pavlovian reflex.
Of course you could take that money and just hire the dry ice guy, he'll be quicker. Training the wife is better long term investment since the money stays in the family and contributes to domestic happiness.

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Domestic happiness /= my wife sanding.

fallguy said:

Domestic happiness /= my wife sanding.

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It's not about the sanding, it's about both partners beeing happy with the situation. Sometimes this implies spending quality time sanding togheter and sometimes it implies gifting your wife something she desires so that you can also spend money on something you desire. Every marriage is different after all. But as a generalization I would be happier with a women doing the sanding and varnishing since they have better hand eye coordination and more patience and desire to achieve a perfect result.

As Blueknarr says "prime for paint". Since you will be painting plywood I recommend an epoxy based high build primer, that way it's easier to achieve a high gloss surface.

You know what they say,
"Don't teach a wife to sand wood, instead teacher her to yearn for the beauty and warmth of highly polished varnished wood."

-Will (Dragonfly)