Recently I repaired and varnished the Mahogany capping rails of a beautiful 86ft sailing yacht. The general rule of thumb is that every 2 years you should strip old varnish back to bare timber, re-coat to a minimum of 8-10 coats depending on product used, and then every 6 months apply at least 2 maintenance coats. In this instance, the yacht varnish substrate was over 2 years old, fading and burning through. First step was to strip the old varnish with hot air guns and scrapers, taking particular care not to damage paint work.
Then a series of sanding from rough grade down to fine, removing last bits of varnish and providing a perfect surface for varnish to adhere to. I also removed the sikaflex joins, and re applied with fresh joins, around stanchions and stainless joins. Before applying the varnish, we wash down and remove all dust particles.
Then most importantly, lay down protection on paintwork and teak decks, to avoid damage in the unlikely event of a spill or runs. Taping and plastic drop sheets were used. For this yacht, with the rails being Mahogany, we used our favoured product, Awlwood, which starts with a red primer to darken the mahogany look. Then applied 10 coats of Awlwood gloss, and light sanding between coats. Awlwood is a great product because of its ease of use, relatively no mixing except for a little thinner, can be applied in humid tropical conditions, and high builds fast, with fast curing times. Effectively you could apply 2 coats a day, but we prefer 24hrs for each coat and light sanding to get a perfect cure of the layers of varnish before applying the next coat.
I was trained to varnish on large superyachts by very experienced crew over 15yrs ago as a deckhand, and Ive been doing it ever since on all types of yachts. I pay particular attention to imperfections such as runs, dry spots, and steps, things to the untrained eye, most people wouldn’t notice. They can also be avoided with skilled technique.
At the super yacht level, it should look perfect, so I pay attention to detail.
Feel free to contact us for a quote should you need a touch up. Interior woodwork is also catered for.