Varnish over painted name on bright transom?

[dmede]

When painting a boat name on a varnished mahog transom, do you then varnish over the paint?

thanks,
dave

[Thad]

Yes, says our long time name painter here.

[dmede]

So proper sequence would be like... varnish maybe 2 or 3 coats, paint name then varnish 2 more costs?

[pcford]

So proper sequence would be like... varnish maybe 2 or 3 coats, paint name then varnish 2 more costs?

More like 8 to 12 coats of varnish, paint name, then two more coats.

Be very careful to remove all of the sign painter's layout marks. They sometimes are not good about cleaning them up. They are hard to see on the sanded varnish.

[dmede]

More like 8 to 12 coats of varnish, paint name, then two more coats.

Be very careful to remove all of the sign painter's layout marks. They sometimes are not good about cleaning them up. They are hard to see on the sanded varnish.

No sign painter, just my wife ;) She come from an artists family and is a good painter so I'm having her do the name. Any tips on how to lay it out? I was going to print the font as I want it and haver her trace that outline on the sanded transom with some carbon papper, then paint.

[Jay Greer]

Here are several tips. Choose the alphabet of your liking. Make a paper cartoon of the transom. Layout the lines for the space the name will occupy, paying attention to how the spaces compliment each other. That is the mass of the name in relation to the space of the transom. Remember that if the transom is raked, the letters will have to be distorted by elongation of height in order to read well from a normal height. Place vellum over the layout lines and sketch in the copy. Turn the tracing backwards, tape on a window and see how the spacing looks. Once you are happy with the copy. Transfer it on to solid paper with a copy machine. Your can make several copies which will allow your wife to practice before commiting to the real transom. Once she is ready to paint on the transom, perforate the letters with a pounce wheel, lightly sand the back, tape the cartoon on the transom and pounce either with charcoal dust or white chalk powder. Paint the letters with One Shot Sign Paint. Once dry, add outline and or shading. If the transom already has enough varnish on it, more does not have to be added over the letters unless they are gold leafed.
When it is time to add a few coats of fresh varnish, the letters can be sanded lightly and the entire transom then given two or more coats.
Jay

[Bob Cleek]

I rarely disagree with Jay, but...

I WOULD varnish over the lettering in all cases. Two coats in fact. The reason is that you will have to maintain the varnish over time. With a couple of coats over the lettering, you can lightly sand the entire surface and then revarnish. If you don't put those couple of varnish coats on there, you will end up scratching the lettering when you prep to revarnish. It's a bitch to "cut in" when you are sanding to avoid that, and, even if you do, you will have to cut in around the lettering to avoid painting over it as well. True, the varnish may discolor the lettering slightly and that will build over time, but in my experience, by the time that becomes an issue, you will either be ready to strip and redo the whole shebang anyway, or can easily repaint the lettering over the existing stuff if the varnish is still sound.

Another "short cut..." You can also trace the lettering in reverse (mirror image) and xerox that. You can then transfer the xeroxed image to the prepped surface by rubbing it on the back with a heat source. The xerographic process uses heat to fix the image by melting finely ground particles. If you rub the back of the fixed image with heat, it will transfer to what it is touching. I have found that a little mini-soldering iron sort of gizmo with a round flat tip about the size of a penny works great for this. It came with a kit for repairing vinyl upholstery. You don't want super hot. Find something of this sort in a crafts store and experiment. It's a lot easier, less messy and more accurate than the traditional ponce wheel and chalk.

[dmede]

Thanks for the help everyone. I think I'll go with Bob on the varnish issue, seems like having varnish over the paint will allow for easier touch coats.

My wife can probably get it done freehand but will use technique where you charcoal the back of the proof then trace on the shapes to get a transfer. Just enough to get the outline. We'll see how that works.

[pcford]

No sign painter, just my wife ;) She come from an artists family and is a good painter so I'm having her do the name. Any tips on how to lay it out? I was going to print the font as I want it and haver her trace that outline on the sanded transom with some carbon papper, then paint.

Jay addressed laying out the name well. He pointed out some issues that the "trace the computer print-out" guys ignore.

In time the name will be varnished over but for the first go-round it does not have to be.

[dmede]

Okay we got the name on today, looks great.

Now I need to top coat it with some varnish. I have been using McClosky's Man O War spar varnish (semi gloss). While I kinda like the yellow color of McClosky's I don't want to yellow over the name too much right away. So are there any recommendations for a clearer varnish to use over the Man O War stuff? I need something I can get at my local hardware store (nothing fancy) that will be compatible with what I've already laid down on the mahogany.

[Lew Barrett]

I don't know about hardware varieties, but Detco Crystal among the clearest of the marine varnishes. I have not used it myself, so this is not necessarily an endorsement, but it is specifically made to be clear, and I believe it is a quality product.