Epifanes Clear Varnish

The exact varnish you want to use for an authentic 1950-60's Gibson or Fender vintage style gloss finish. This is for serious builders only - you will likely need to wait 36-48 hours per coat before sanding, unless you live in the desert. It will produce that unmistakable glass clear, ultra hard, ultra long lasting UV resistant that will look beautiful 50 years down the line.Tips:You HAVE to thin this with mineral spirits. Otherwise you'll see each paint stroke and have to sand down a lot with each coat.If you're doing a headstock with a waterslide decal, I highly recommend you first set up your base color/stain/coat and then coat that with some clear gloss spray lacquer (like Stewmac sells). Then sand down to smooth with like 1500-3000 sandpaper, just really smooth feeling. Lay down your decal, press down with non-linty (cheap) toilet paper to remove wrinkles and excess water. Allow the waterslide decal to dry for 8 hours. Then begin coating with this varnish, thinned with mineral sprits in very thin coats. Thinner than you'd think, just make sure to cover everything evenly. Allow each coat to dry for at least 24 hours before you even think about touching it. Better to wait 48 hours. Then sand with 3000ish grit sandpaper, and barely sand any edges - they strip really easily.Final coat should be extremely thin and with plenty of mineral spirit to minimize any paintbrush marks.Then, WAIT. Leave it to dry for at minimum a week, ideally a month. At the end of a month this varnish will have hardened to a glass-like consistency. Then buff it out, polish it, and you have a guitar for a lifetime.

I used this product for a mahogany exterior door. I had zero experience with varnish. I am very, very happy with the results, beautiful color and wood grain, though I would have done better with experience.Issues: I was worried after the first coat that it would get darker and darker, but the Epi staff promised it would not. (Very helpful staff) Even so, after 4 coats of original I shifted to rapid clear. Great time saver, but it was necessary only because my door hanger needed me to get done asap and original takes 24 hours a coat, both door sides. Had I had the time, I would stick with original.You pros know varnishing is an art. Absolute dust free environment is very helpful. Perfect brushes too. I found that foam brushes left lots of bubbles, so stuck with natural Wooster Yachtsman brushes. Even at their prices, however, bristles fall out. Very important to inspect before it dries and pick them out while you can. And by the way, if you work fast it seems to me that you can keep brushing over the fresh varnish to smooth and spread until it is obviously drying (obvious in the eye of the beholder).Minimum of 7 coats is an absolute. Had I had the time I probably would have gone with a dozen. It's partly the need/desire to get a piano finish, but also the recognition that you will or should sand off half of each coat to keep it level, flat, slick.Last pointer. Noted above, I was inclined to stay with original but time pressures forced me to rapid clear. Figuring that I was losing a bit of the richness of original, I put a few drops of original in the rapid clear. Bad idea. It just converted the 5 hour drying time of rapid clear to the 24 hours of the original. I suppose carpenters or DIYs should not dabble in chemistry.

08/19/2015: Epifanes Clear Varnish (1000 ml (about a quart))Ambient temperature for all dates = 65-75 degrees F. Humidity = approx 80-85%.August 15:First coat, 1:1 Epifanes high gloss and Klean Strip odorless mineral spirits (Klean Strip is $33.63/gal plus $27.50 shipping at Amazon or $14.63/gal and free in store pickup at Home Depot). Varnish coat was applied with a foam brush over finely sanded and stained mahogany on a 1962 Chris Craft wooden yacht. The mahogany was in poor condition due to exposure to several windy and rainy winters.Dry to the touch in 4-6 hours but still a soft/fragile feel (as with all subsequent coats. (Just about right for the next coat)).The first coat already showed signs of a superior gloss but the wood grain still had a feel that it should be filled with additional coats of varnish.August 16:Second coat, no sanding, 1:1 applied with a foam brush.August 17:Third coat no sanding, 1:1 applied with a foam brush. Now building a beautiful gloss.August 18:Fourth coat still no sanding, 2 parts Epifanes and 1 part mineral spirits (2:1) applied with high quality bristle brush. Wood grain now filling nicely and a high gloss is obvious.August 19:Light sanding with 320 grit wet/dry (wet) paper, wiped clean with damp cloth, wind dried.Fifth coat 2:1 applied with a high quality bristle brush. Gloss is now deep and far superior to any product I've used to date (I've used many over the past 30+ years).I will let these coats cure for 5 to 7 days, sand with 320 or 400 grit wet paper and apply coats six and seven. I will update this review at that time.Epifanes lives up to the many stellar reviews it gets and looks like many many hours of hard work went into this old wood (well, it did but it looks like many more than what was actual).This varnish spreads on easily and flows nicely to eliminate most if not all brush marks.I still have at least 3/4 of the first quart and I ordered a second can so there will be no interruption in the work.The only downside thus far is; I live with a Malamute Husky and he is blowing fur right now so keeping his hair off the wet varnish is a challenge. I can't blame him or Epifanes for that so I just live with it and have a hair picking session each evening. Good opportunity to drink a beer and admire the results of this great spar varnishNow if only it is as durable as folks claim,,,If the beer is nice and cold, I just may apply an eighth coat (or ninth).More later!,,,,,It's now later and as promised, here's more:8/25/15:The first coats cured very well and I applied an undiluted coat of Epifanes. The overall result is a bit disappointing, not because of any real flaw with the varnish but undiluted it simply gels and leaves a wavy feel as well as visible texture on the surface. The varnish itself is quite thick. More like a high viscosity motor oil treatment than conventional varnish. I suspected this may be the result so I only varnished a small area. Now when this coat cures, I'll sand it smooth and re-coat with a mixture of 2 parts Epifanes and 1 part mineral spirits.08/26/2015:I applied a mixture of 2 parts Epifanes and 1 part mineral spirits. The result is back to outstanding so I will not use this product undiluted in the future.The gloss really is great and tough. Remember that Malamute Husky? Well. he's still blowing fur. He jumped on the varnished mahogany when the coat was only 24-28 hours old. To my amazement, there were no scratch marks at all. When this fully cures, we will both be happy little boatsters!!I love this stuff!!! BUT, I strongly recommend that you use a 2:1 dilution for final coats. The application is much easier and the resulting gloss will make you proud!AND, SINCE THIS IS A RATHER PRICEY ITEM, A COUPLE HINTS TO HELP SAVE A FEW BUX:1. If you don't use it all within a week or so, as you use this up, pour the contents into a smaller can. This will reduce the air space and help keep the remaining varnish from turning to gel.2. If it does start to gel, thin it with mineral spirits and use one of those Mr. Coffee type fine mesh strainers and pour the varnish through it. This will filter out a large majority of the clumps and help insure a nice smooth finish when you go to use it again. I shouldn't have to say this but in case the hot coffee lady from McDonald's is reading,,, if you filter the varnish through the coffee filter, don't use that filter for making coffee.Thank you.AU//(~_~)\\

This product beats anything you'll find in your neighborhood hardware store or HD that masquerades as "Marine Varnish." I've used it on outdoor chairs, tables, handrails and it lasts and lasts. I gave it only a three for ease of use because one does have to follow the instructions for multiple coats. Nevertheless, the long-lasting results are well worth the effort.

It's a great product but sometimes people need a satin finish not high gloss