Epiphanes - A personal review.

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

I recently tried Epiphanes on bare wood as my coating. Lots of people had lots of good things to say about it. It also is more expensive ($43/Qt.) than most.First off,. it is thicker than maple syrup which also means lots of solids and thicker coatings possible. If you were to look at the solids content in Epiphanes and other varnishes, the Epiphanes being so high actually brings the price per square foot covered to less than other brands.Because of the thickness (viscosity) it took a while to get used to but went on and leveled out pretty good. When dried, it is quite tough and I was amazed.The only negative thing I can say about it is it has that 1960's look of cheap polyurethane which back then looked very much like cheap plastic. I put on 4 coats about 3 weeks ago and like I said, this stuff is durable. Yesterday, I bought Schooner varnish and coated the Epiphanes with it. The Schooner varnish, which is not nearly as tough as the Epiphanes definately does look much better. My plan is to give everything 4 coats of Schooner over the Epiphanes and I will be quite satisfied. This was just a personal review of a finishing product that most of you will be looking for pretty soon.Tony B

 

[Bejasus]

have you tried Bristol Finish

wife does all of our varnsh and is now a complete convert to Bristol Finish for all outdoor work. We have a similar product in Europe called Coelans. Both are extremely hard wearing easy to work with 2 part coatings. Not cheap, but only really necesarry to sand well before first and last coats. Recommend between 7 & 10 coats and it is pretty impervious to UV, frost and just about every thing elso you can throw at it. Not cheap either.

 

[Maine Sail]

Tony..

I've found if you thin the first two Epifanes (ep-e-fah-ness) coats, which I'm guessing you may have, it looks less artificial and it also bonds better. I've applied it full strength, only on interior stuff, and you're right that it can look look like a bar top..Also, an acetone wipe right before application removes any teak oils that have migrated to the surface and with thinner varnish helps adhesion..Here in Maine it's not 100% the UV that kills varnish. The added extremes in temp and humidity and the expansion and contraction of the wood combined with weather and UV all work against us. 90 degrees and 90% humidity in the summer to 20 bellow zero F and 15% humidity in the winter wreaks havoc on varnish, and my hard wood floors, no matter how thin the first coat is. Heated indoor storage minimizes this but at up to triple, sometime quadruple, the price of out door it's just not a wise or feasible option for other than the ones who bleed blue up at Hinckley or Morris...

 

[higgs]

Bristol Finish

They actually recommend 6 coats and there is no need to sand after any of the coats as long as they are applied within 24 hours of the previous one. A project can be ready for a new coat in about an hour so onecould conceivably put all six coats on it one day. They do suggest to do a light sanding after 5 coats in order to get rid of any sags or drips. I have been redoing some of the woodwork on Trav'ler as the PO was a little sloppy and I want to make it right. he used Bristol Finish, which has held up quite well in the 3 seasons I have owned the boat. I have found working with this stuff to be just fine.By the time one gets it UPSed to the door, a quart runs about $70.

 

[sailaway78]

Damn you and thank you

Tony, Mainsail and others. I first want to damn you for making the extra work for me. I started refinishing inside teak, and to my eye it looked pretty good. Then I started reading some of you wood working guys posts about varnish. So, next I had some smaller pieces of trim that I re did, and used some of your ideas and suggestions. Looked absolutely perfect. Now I am going to have to resand and re do what I have already done. So damn you for the extra work I have to do, but thank you for the tips and info. you have given which will make things look much better.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Phillip

Most of these chemicals are compatable in that with a light scuffing you can put one over the other. Read the instructions, it will tell you if you can go over existing varnish.Actually, for interior work, I have in the past used Minwax brand exterior varnish and it has held up quite well. I definately would not use it for exterior work. Next year I will try Bristol. By the way, for those that think you are getting ripped off by the more expensive stuff, you aint. Chemicals cost.Generally speaking, when it comes to paints and finishes the more expensive the product, the better it is.Tony BBTW, I have also has very good luck in the past with automobile grade 2-component clear coats.