Speeding up varnish or oil cure times?

[Tony]

Hey y'all,
I have what may be a stupid question...

If you needed to use a piece soon that you were varnishing or oiling, could you put into an oven at a low temp (200?) to speed the cure? Would it screw up the finish? Anything wrong with doing this to speed up undercoats?

Just wondering...

[LazyGuy]

While the oven makes sense for drying, I would not attempt it with a piece that is going to show.

My humble opinion is that you can't rush varnish or a good paint job but you can add a little japan dryer. It should be available where ever you buy good paint. The downside is that when you speed up the drying, you give the paint/varnish less time to flow out so you get more brush marks. Use it for the base coats but for the final, I would use a couple of drops at most.

I do not use it, I like to extend the dry time to get a smoother result. Friends of mine that are pros use it with outstanding results.

[Tony]

Mostly I was thinking about using it for undercoats. Where I live, it's very moist for the majority of the year, and cold for at least half. That means it's not practical for me to varnish anything unless it's Jun-Sept, which, coincidentally, happen to be the best sailing times, during which I DON'T want to be varnishing :-) If I can speed up the undercoats then I can take my time with the final couple of coats and still wind up saving days. I know, shortcuts never give you the same results, but for some things the super-deep-youobviouslyspenthalfyourlifeonittogetittolookthisgood finish isn't really necessary (But for others...).

[Tim]

There's an Interlux product called "Jet Speed" varnish that cures more quickly than regular varnish. I used it once on a boat about 20 years ago, so that's my only experience. I neither recommend nor un-recommend it--but there you have it: it exists and might be an option for you.

If you're talking about smallish pieces that you could put in an oven, then I don't understand why you couldn't varnish them all normally in your house during the off-season. Or maybe this rush is a one-time thing since the season is about underway.

Haste makes waste, as they say. Do it the normal way if you can.

[Tom Young]

Hey y'all,
I have what may be a stupid question...

If you needed to use a piece soon that you were varnishing or oiling, could you put into an oven at a low temp (200?) to speed the cure? Would it screw up the finish? Anything wrong with doing this to speed up undercoats?

Just wondering...

I've had good luck with Jet Speed varnish for build coats. Specifically, I've used it for my spars where springtime weather makes regular varnishing difficult.

On my main spar, I was able to put 2 coats on in one day, a third the next and the first real varnish that afternoon. I didn't sand between the first three.

This is just to speed up the build up process. I've since tried this method in a few other areas with pretty good results. The old way would be best but weather doesn't always cooperate.

Of course it won't hold up by itself, but it will fill woodgrain quickly.

So far, the spars which received sufficient coats of varnish over the Jet Speed, are holding up well with a single yearly maintenance coat, six years later. I expect 5 or 6 more years before I'll need to wood the spars again.

[Ceasar Choppy]

This year I used Epifanes' Rapid Clear on the toe rail as suggested by Hirilonde's who was trying it for the first time as well.

It goes on quick (like thinned varnish), has good build and color, and you can recoat within 4-5 hours of the previous coat without sanding.... AND you can use it as a builder and apply the final coats using traditional varnish. With all the rain we've had here in the East lately, I'm a convert as I was able to get 8 coats on in 3 weeks. If I had a rain-free weekend, I could have theoretically put on 3 coats a day or 6 coats total, but alas, that never happened.

[Tony]

Or maybe this rush is a one-time thing since the season is about underway.

:-) Guilty :-)

I screwed up the finish in my electrical panel somewhere around the 3rd coat. Sanded it all off, oiled it. Will varnish *Next Year.* :-)