finishing spars

[Tim Marchetti]

I have 4 coats of Pettit 1015 captain's varnish on my new ballanced lug spars. How many is ideal? and how many days should I wait before rigging and using them?

[Peerie Maa]

6, 8, till you can't face putting on another coat. As many as you can. Dunno about drying time, but I'd wait a day longer than it says on the tin, just to be safe. This says drying to hard time is temperature dependent: http://www.pettitpaint.com/fileshare...s/28710106.pdf

[David G]

On my own boats, I sometimes stop at 6, as I've frequently waited too long before an event. Eight is better, more is even better. Use the mfgr's spec to decide how long to wait before stepping, rigging, and using. I'd go at least a few days, and a few weeks would be nice. In practice, I've done it the next day, and the finish really requires handling with kid gloves, as it is quite green.

[Tim Marchetti]

thanks gents. I think I'll stop on Friday(7coats) as my sail will be ready on tuesday. I'm thinking it might be better to have more drying time then more coats?????

[Peerie Maa]

thanks gents. I think I'll stop on Friday(7coats) as my sail will be ready on tuesday. I'm thinking it might be better to have more drying time then more coats?????

Probably. You can always flat down and brush on another coat any time that you know you won't be using her for a few days.

[Clinton B Chase]

7 coats. Be gentle with the spars for about a week.

My fav varn (le Tonk) gets real hard/durable after a few months! Solvent based ones are full durability after a couple weeks.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

You are never allowed to stop varnishing. ever. for any reason.

[johnno]

Tim, too late now (store away in memory bank for next time), but my reading on finishing spars said to put on the first coat and let dry for three months! I let my first coat dry for a week. Then I stopped at six coats, leaving 24 hours between coats. To be honest, I think all this is really for spars left out permanently in the sun and salt, and for the religious ritual. For us I'd say it's more about a tough finish for wear and tear, because they'll be stored out of the sun. I'm putting mylar film around wearing parts.

[JimConlin]

... I'm putting mylar film around wearing parts.

Say more.

[johnno]

It's an idea I got from another forumite. Because I did not allow enough space in my mast partners for leather binding, I found (mylar) awning and sail repair tape, about 4 inches wide, and comes in a roll, sticky (very very sticky) backed, and clear in colour. There are also other non-mylar but similar products. I'm going to wrap the internal face of the partner and the mast and booms with this in place of leather. It's highly resistant to wear.

I'll keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

[JimConlin]

Anything like drafting mylar?

[johnno]

Not sure Jim..but here's a link to the Aussie version of what I'm talking about..it's sticky-backed which is what also helps for the purpose, though I guess you could also bind it on at each end. That would make replacement easy and not messy, compared with the full sticky version. You could also wrap the spar and put some sticky glue between the overlapped mylar, which would keep the sticky off the spars themselves.

https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_i...tAbsolutePage=

[Tim Marchetti]

thank you everybody. I will look into the mylar tape, becuase I also made my mast partner a little too tight

[Gerarddm]

Here's a question: is it preferable to leather the spar or the mast partner, or doesn't it matter?

[Canoeyawl]

Here's a question: is it preferable to leather the spar or the mast partner, or doesn't it matter?

I try to avoid leather on the spar because it obscures the most critical part of the spar. The exact place where they break 90% of the time.
That and it may trap moisture behind the leather further complicating matters.