Varnish Recommendations

[CarlosEcheverria]

Hello everyone,

I’m about to begin working on two Artesanía Latina kits — La Pinta and La Santa María — and I’d love to get your input on varnish options.

Could anyone recommend good varnishes that:

• Work well with the wood typically used in these kits,
• Are available in the U.S. (or easy to order online),
• And offer a finish that suits historical ship models (I’m leaning toward satin or matte, but open to suggestions)?

Any tips on brands, application techniques, or what to avoid would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

Best,
Carlos

 

[Graham]

I have used Rustin's stain and varnish for ship building, furniture and other woodworking projects for years and it is a consistently good product. Their fast drying Satin varnish is good (15 minutes to touch dry), but is milky on application so go thin and avoid thick edges as they may dry white; that is true for all fast drying varnishes. Sorry, not sure if it is available in the US in stores or on US Amazon.

If spraying I use a rattle can, brand name is 'Polar'.

You can also get good results with acrylic (water based) varnishes, but these take an extra couple of coats as they are very thin.

As my Dad used to say - two coats are better than one.

Rub down between coats using very fine wire wool, but make sure you dust down well.

Avoid - yacht varnish. It has it's uses, but can take up to 8 hours to dry.

I hope this helps.

 

[CarlosEcheverria]

I have used Rustin's stain and varnish for ship building, furniture and other woodworking projects for years and it is a consistently good product. Their fast drying Satin varnish is good (15 minutes to touch dry), but is milky on application so go thin and avoid thick edges as they may dry white; that is true for all fast drying varnishes. Sorry, not sure if it is available in the US in stores or on US Amazon.

If spraying I use a rattle can, brand name is 'Polar'.

You can also get good results with acrylic (water based) varnishes, but these take an extra couple of coats as they are very thin.

As my Dad used to say - two coats are better than one.

Rub down between coats using very fine wire wool, but make sure you dust down well.

Avoid - yacht varnish. It has it's uses, but can take up to 8 hours to dry.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the great tips! I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Rustin’s, available online with Amazon. Good to know about the milky look with thick coats — that’s a helpful warning. I appreciate the Polar spray tip and the reminder that acrylics need more coats. And yes — your dad’s “two coats are better than one” is spot on!

 

[Roger Pellett]

Testor’s Dullcote. Mass market brands like Rustoleum also sell Matt varnishes in rattle cans. Probably the same stuff, Just in a bigger can.

I doubt if these rattle can finishes are actually varnishes. I believe that they are actually nitrocellulose lacquers. They can be sprayed to provide a thin coat and they dry rapidly.

Roger