Thread: Is this a good exterior Varnish to use?

Originally Posted by Freo

[...]
We live within 1km of the ocean, so there is lots of salt in the air.
The coffee table will be in full sun all year.

Is the following varnish suitable or is there a better one?

Cabot's Exterior Clear (Marine Grade Clear Varnish).

I haven't used that one. (I presume it's a single-pack varnish?)

But I can tell you that "Perfection" 2-pack varnish by International
is one of the best. You'll probably need to go a marine specialist like
Whitworths to get it , though. (Take a deep breath before you
look at the price.) And you need 5+ coats *after* you've finished
all the "coat, sand, coat, sand" business.

If you go that route, you'll also need to seal the timber first with 3-4
coats of 2-pack "Everdure" epoxy sealer (also by International).

The result is stunningly beautiful. (I applied it with a varnish roller
to cover a large area quickly, then quickly laid it off with a foam
brush within a minute or so before it became too tacky. You gotta be
quick, and do it in shade or on a cloudy day in Winter.)

I also live with 1km of the ocean, and I got about 4 years
out of it (in full sun) before noticing the first faint signs of
degradation that warned me to do a maintenance coat.
(The guys at Whitworths were surprised that I got that long.
With ordinary 1-pack marine varnish, they normally recommend
a maintenance coat every year, ie before it degrades too much).

HTH.