TOPIC: Spar Varnish-what's your preference?

I'm stripping and refinishing the mahogany trim on my boat. I've used some Helmsman Urethane Spar Varnish on a couple other projects, in satin finish. Thinking about Semi Gloss or Gloss for the boat. What would be your preference? This is for areas in the cockpit and cabin bulkhead, not wooden hull or decks.

I'm a gloss fan myself.

Bob

Many urethanes, poly's & varnish use flattening agents to make them semi or satin. I always suggest that a straight gloss be used for the initial & build coats, boats, furniture, whatever.

The flattening agents, in semi's & satin finish, IMO, can also muddle the finish if it's used for the build coats, obscuring the grain.

If you want the satin or semi-gloss finish, add them after doing the initial & bulk coats w/ the gloss. It'll look better & last longer.....

I only use Gloss. It draws out all of the beauty of the grain. Also, stick with varnish and not polyurethane. Poly is like plastic - it doesn't stay soft enough to flex and expand and contract with the wood. In a short time it will start to "release" from the wood and make a big mess and a lot of work. I have a disc of varnish that was left in my brush pot about six years ago. After it set I peeled it out. It is still flexable and soft. Make sure you use a spar varnish that has the U V filters to protect the stain and wood.
Just my opinions!
Bill

Like the other FG Members here, I also prefer the high gloss varnish. I think you may have seen the restoration I did on all of the mahogany on my Wife's 1960 Glasspar Seafair Sedan over on classicglasspars.com. But, if not here are some photos of what the woodwork looked like:

The first photo is of the footrests that are just below the mahogany bulkheads:

[img] The second photo is of the mahogany door leading to the cabin on our Seafair Sedan. That is with six (6) coats of "Interlux" shown below: [img]http://www.fiberglassics.com/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/DSC_0732-20140313.JPG

Here is a photo of the "Interlux" High Gloss Varnish that we used Norm:

Norm, we tried the "Pettit" High Gloss Varnish, but for us it just did not seem to work as well. It may have been something I was doing wrong. BUT,...the "Interlux" High Gloss Varnish worked great and I was very pleased with the way it came out.

Norm, here are a couple more photos of the mahogany bulkhead and trim boards alongside the seats from a little further away. These photos were taken before we finished installing the gauges and switches on the driver side dashboard.

Thanks for all the great ideas. Looks like I'll be going with Gloss spar varnish and not the Urethane. I've started with the cabin door (same door as the Seafairs) and with a small fold down table that attaches to the cockpit coaming. Got them stripped and sanded with 120, and I'll finish that with 220. My door panels had shrunk and split and I'm working on repairing them. I love woodworking so this will be a fun project.