Best Option for Varnish On Sailfish Centerboard?

S

skamen

New Member
Hi,
My Sailfish centerboard went MIA last year. A friend of the family made a beautiful new centerboard out of oak. The centerboard has been cut and shaped and looks like it should work great but I need to put the varnish on it. What type of varnish would you recommend? I found a finish for $36 at the local marine supplier. At the local hardware store I found varnishes that while not designed for marine use are water resistant and only cost $5 or $6. Do I need to shell out for the Marine varnish? What would you suggest my best choice would be for economically finishing the centerboard?

Thanks,

-Scott
 
I would buy a quart of good marine varnish such as Captain's 1015 or similar and do a good prep job on the board and then start applying coats. The first coat or 2 should be thinned to help with penetration. Depending on preperation you will need 6 to 8 coats of varnish to give you a nice smooth finish which should last for years if properly taken care of, good luck.
 
I put 4 coats of McCloskey MAN O' WAR spar varnish on all of my wood parts and used 0000 steel wool between coats to give each coat a grip for the next ones. This is made specifically for marine applications. It is different than some of the other varnishes as it specifically states to not thin.......which I didn't. I compensated by applying the first 2 coats relatively thin. The last 2 coats were applied fairly thick by comparison.

You can order this online but you might call around to some of the hardware stores near you to see if they carry it. If they do not, they might be able to order it for you. Cost around $15 a quart which is way more than you need but the nice thing about it is you'll have lots left over if you decide you want to touch things up sometime.

Hang around as you'll most likely get lots of replies........:)

Good luck!
 
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