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Because we’ve never used AWLWood and we aren’t going down to bare wood, if we can avoid it, this is all a bit of an experiment. So we decided to a couple of test runs on different parts of the hull to make sure that everything works as expected.
For AWLWood going over existing varnish you have to sand down to a layer which is firmly ‘anchored’ to the existing hull. As the boat has been varnished on a regular basis it meant we had to carefully work down through quite a lot of varnish.
On the transom for example we found a layer which hadn’t bonded to its preceding layer and basically peeled off. It’s quite frustrating to have a nice uniform sanded surface only for part of it to suddenly reveal shiny unsanded varnish! The uppers layers were also protecting the lettering, so we had to carefully sand to try and remove the layers while not sanding off the lettering. We really want to keep the originality, for the providence.
AWLWood isn’t a varnish, at least not in the traditional sense, it is a completely transparent liquid, but it performs in a very similar way to a traditional varnish. For application we are using a 4″ roller with a 2″ brush which we use for ‘tipping’ the varnish, this involves using the brush to ensure the AWLWood is properly flattened and reduces the dimpling that a roller can leave.
There is an on-line course on varnishing by a chap called Dan Lee which has really helped us educate ourselves on this. https://danleeboatbuilding.co.uk
Below is a gallery of some before and after shots. Next step is to sand the test patches back and do the first coat of the full hull. We also have to go back to bare wood on the bottom of the transom (Where the blue tape is) and build that areas back up. Unfortunately the previous layers of varnish had got water underneath them. It is quite convenient, as we are going to have take the upper gunwales back to bare wood, so this is a good test.
