Detco Crystal Varnish Great Experience (so far)

[rustnrot]

Today we put on the first coat of full strength Detco Crystal varnish over 2 Pettit sealer coats on a 1948 CC Runabout. Great stuff. We rolled with an 1/8" nap yellow foam roller and tipped it with a 4 inch Jen Poly foam brush. It levels so good it almost didn't need to be tipped. The bubbles left by the foam roller were almost nil. It was dry to the touch (but still what I would call "tender" in 2 hours). This was in a garage that was Georgia hot with extra humidity thrown in due to wetting the floor down. Door kept closed.

Many thanks to Scott Rosen for his past posts of this varnish; the main reason I had to try it.

For those of you that may not know, Detco Crystal varnish is a golden color like any other varnish, no sand between coats as long as the next coat is within 24 hours.

Another coat will be Thurs., Fri. then 2 on Sat. We will sand after the 5th coat. I will report the experience.

[Scott Rosen]

I'm glad you like it. I think you will be pleased with its durability and resistance to UV.

[Dale R. Hamilton]

How many coats will you use and do you plan to level it at any point with a sanding block? Was that a an oil stain under it?

[rustnrot]

We will sand level after 5 coats. Then 3 more after that. That was Interlux #573 CC stain, an oil based stain under two coats of Pettit Dry Sealer. I'd probably skip the sealer next time and just dilute the Crystal as per Detco's recommendations for new wood.

[Scott Rosen]

Another benefit of Crystal is that it likes to be put on in thick coats. It levels better and resists runs and aligators remarkably well. Because you can apply thicker coats, you get the job done in less time.

My wife says that the brightwork on Patience looks better this year than it has ever looked before. Even better than the day we took delivery of her, after she had been professionally varnished. The only thing I did differently was to use Crystal varnish.

The other day, I saw a guy walking on the dock past Patience. He stopped, looked carefully at the brightwork and then touched it and caressed it as if it were something almost alive. There's something special about varnished teak.

We do a thousand different things for our boats, but very few of them show to the outside world. That's one of the things that makes brightwork so satisfying. We instinctively feel that a boat that shows its owner's care by the beauty on the outside must also show the owner's care in the hidden details.

How 'bout some pictures, rustnrot?