Applying varnish with a roller

[pilott]

Just thought I'd pass this on - though I may be labelled a heretic!

With lots of spare time due to lockdown, I finally got around to renewing the varnish on a cedar strip/epoxy canoe I made years ago. My varnish of choice is Minwax Helmsman Gloss.

It's a lot of area to varnish- both inside and out. And it's a nasty mix of vertical, horizontal, curved and overhang surfaces.
Since it gets lots of dings in use, I feel that a "good enough" finish is appropriate.

Accordingly, I decided to try using a 4" foam roller to apply.
I thinned the varnish about 10-15% with mineral spirits and set to. It worked great! Nice even application; no drips; no bubbles. Probably te best finish I've ever achieved
I'll definitely use a roller in future for varnishing, where applicable

[sailah]

It's a good tip, I always roll on varnish for flat surfaces with a foam roller. Then tip off with badger brush. It allows you to control the amount you put down and do large areas quickly while keeping a wet edge for tipping off.

Most of my varnish is detail stuff so I use the brush mainly.

[rbk]

You’ll find that a full flow coat with roller can stipple then sag the finish and requires a quick tip off as suggested above to really finish it off. The roller does a great job at applying an even film over a large surface where as a bush can easily unevenly distribute leading to sags and runs. It is still important to use the minimum amount of varnish the roller will hold in order to stop runs and sags.

[slug]

Originally Posted by pilott

Just thought I'd pass this on - though I may be labelled a heretic!

With lots of spare time due to lockdown, I finally got around to renewing the varnish on a cedar strip/epoxy canoe I made years ago. My varnish of choice is Minwax Helmsman Gloss.

It's a lot of area to varnish- both inside and out. And it's a nasty mix of vertical, horizontal, curved and overhang surfaces.
Since it gets lots of dings in use, I feel that a "good enough" finish is appropriate.

Accordingly, I decided to try using a 4" foam roller to apply.
I thinned the varnish about 10-15% with mineral spirits and set to. It worked great! Nice even application; no drips; no bubbles. Probably te best finish I've ever achieved
I'll definitely use a roller in future for varnishing, where applicable

Yah , whenever possible roll and tip varnish

The pros don’t like foam rollers ...They leave edge tracks and tend to skid

The preferred roller is short nap mohair

The brush for tipping is also special . It’s called a laying off brush , very wide and thin .it holds little paint and removes little paint

A paint cycle would use a cutting in brush . A laying off brush and a mohair roller

Typically max thinner is used to maintain the longest wet edge

For best results both the paint and substrate temp should be the same.. room temp

https://www.anza.co.uk/products/brus...ff-brush~p8773

[tkeithlu]

Pilott, thank you for taking the risk - I would never have thought of using a roller, and now I even know which one to use and the accepted techique.

[Exctyengr]

I have been using the roll and tip method for years on both brightwork and furniture that I have built. I use a 4" foam roller and a 2" Jen polyfoam brush. I learned this technique from reading Rebecca Whitman's excellent book "Brightwork, the art of finishing wood" A good read and full of good information.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by pilott

Just thought I'd pass this on - though I may be labelled a heretic!

With lots of spare time due to lockdown, I finally got around to renewing the varnish on a cedar strip/epoxy canoe I made years ago. My varnish of choice is Minwax Helmsman Gloss.

It's a lot of area to varnish- both inside and out. And it's a nasty mix of vertical, horizontal, curved and overhang surfaces.
Since it gets lots of dings in use, I feel that a "good enough" finish is appropriate.

Accordingly, I decided to try using a 4" foam roller to apply.
I thinned the varnish about 10-15% with mineral spirits and set to. It worked great! Nice even application; no drips; no bubbles. Probably te best finish I've ever achieved
I'll definitely use a roller in future for varnishing, where applicable

Works fine. I do that with the exact same varnish ( just semi-gloss) I don't even thin it! and I tip it out with a foam brush. Works fine.

[Gaia]

We do the same thing and have done so for years, foam roller and tip but not in the tropics.! We have used this method with two part polyurethane and it works a treat. No sanding except for the second last coat and before the first.

Outside of the tropics we have used the same technique for polyurethane paint coats, roller and tip, two people to maintain wet edge and have done so on a hull with great success but it must not be too hot.

Jim sv GAIA