Zinsser Bulls Eye Spar Varnish...

[DaveO]

Not happy with it. The dry time is excessive. I am making some replacement thwarts for my Father's canoe. I bought the Zinsser product because it was a little cheaper. The can says a dry time of around 4 hours to re-coat, at the proper temperature range and humidity level. Well my shop is at 70º and 35-40% RH. 12 hours later this stuff is still tacky. The first coat applied took almost 72 hours to dry to the point of not being tacky.
I have used Minwax's Helmspar Spar Urethane in the past with great results, I guess I shouldn't have tried to save a buck or two

Could it be the difference between a Spar Urethane and a Spar Varnish . Both have the same application instructions, but the Urethane formulation seems to be much better.

MTCW,
Dave

[woodArtz]

Thanks for the heads up. Sounds like a dud.

[flatheadfisher]

I am glad I saw this, I am was going to try some of that on my workbench! Not now. Thanks.

[Howard Acheson]

I'm curious, what species of wood are you using?

[DaveO]

Originally Posted by Howard Acheson

I'm curious, what species of wood are you using?

Beech, not an oily or extremely dense wood I think.
I'm still tacky after 24 hours, which is the stated full dry time. I applied full strength with a foam brush. The pieces are hanging vertically from the ceiling. I tipped off to the point of no runs or drips so I don't think my application was too heavy.
There is a series of numbers on top of the can, part of which could be taken as a manufacture date
L70011 07614 7 270 01D
That could mean that this can was made back in mid June of '07.
I would love to get another coat on and dry by Friday, but I don't think that this is going to happen. So I will just have to be happy with two coats...if this second one will ever dry.

Dave

Originally Posted by DaveO

Not happy with it. The dry time is excessive. I am making some replacement thwarts for my Father's canoe. I bought the Zinsser product because it was a little cheaper. The can says a dry time of around 4 hours to re-coat, at the proper temperature range and humidity level. Well my shop is at 70º and 35-40% RH. 12 hours later this stuff is still tacky. The first coat applied took almost 72 hours to dry to the point of not being tacky.
I have used Minwax's Helmspar Spar Urethane in the past with great results, I guess I shouldn't have tried to save a buck or two

Could it be the difference between a Spar Urethane and a Spar Varnish . Both have the same application instructions, but the Urethane formulation seems to be much better.

MTCW,
Dave

Dave, I have yet to meet any brand of varnish that I would recommend to anyone. Polycrylic man - try it you'll like it

[DaveO]

Originally Posted by jeff...

Dave, I have yet to meet any brand of varnish that I would recommend to anyone. Polycrylic man - try it you'll like it

Done that, and do But for this application I like the concept of the long oil varnishes for flexibility as this wood expands and contracts with the seasonal humidity fluctuations. Plus the added UV resistance is a plus.

Dave

[Gofor]

You may want to thin it by about 20-25% to see if that helps. It may build a little slower, but if you can put 3 coats on at 1/2 thickness every day it is faster than 1 coat every 3 days.

Go

[Makinsawdust]

Dave,
I had the same experience as you with this product on chestnut. Based on experience with their shellac, I was expecting great things from it even though it was less expensive. It's been months since I used it but it seems like it was very thin and "drippie".
Rob