Where do you varnish your tiki? - Tiki Carving

AA Aaron's Akua Member Rancho Santa Margarita, CA Joined: Jul 09, 2004 Posts: 1596	AA Aaron's Akua Posted posted on Sun, Nov 7, 2004 7:38 PM I’m not sure how you guys go about varnishing the bottoms of your tikis, or how you keep ‘em from sticking to the paper, tarp, or whatever. Here’s a little vanishing setup that I made with some plywood, 4x4, and a quarter inch steel rod. It works pretty well if you don’t mind drilling a quarter inch hole in the bottom of the tiki. First I turn the tiki upside down & coat the bottom, then flip it back over and set it on the steel rod to finish up the coat. Also, here’s a good article on the chemistry of varnishes, and what are the different types: http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00063.asp The article is definitely worth a good read vs. a quick scan. Here's an excerpt regarding spar varnish, which seems to be the best type of varnish, hands down: "Phenolic resins combined with tung oil produce a varnish with superior water resistance, good hardness, exceptional flexibility and good alkali, grease and UV resistance. It's called spar varnish. Unfortunately, the drying times are excruciatingly long, and spar varnish has a deep yellow color that only gets worse as it ages. Still, spar varnish is the best choice for projects, such as outdoor furniture, that will be exposed to the elements." As a side note, I did notice that the deep yellow of the varnish helped to tone down the very deep reddish brown stain that I used. Golden or greenish tones applied as a topcoat will always help to neutralize or flatten reddish tones. (I spent several years as a carpet dyer in my younger days and learned a few things about mixing colors). Hope this is helpful. A-A "Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness." -Pablo Picasso [ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-11-07 22:24 ]

I’m not sure how you guys go about varnishing the bottoms of your tikis, or how you keep ‘em from sticking to the paper, tarp, or whatever. Here’s a little vanishing setup that I made with some plywood, 4x4, and a quarter inch steel rod. It works pretty well if you don’t mind drilling a quarter inch hole in the bottom of the tiki. First I turn the tiki upside down & coat the bottom, then flip it back over and set it on the steel rod to finish up the coat.

Also, here’s a good article on the chemistry of varnishes, and what are the different types:

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00063.asp

The article is definitely worth a good read vs. a quick scan. Here's an excerpt regarding spar varnish, which seems to be the best type of varnish, hands down:

"Phenolic resins combined with tung oil produce a varnish with superior water resistance, good hardness, exceptional flexibility and good alkali, grease and UV resistance. It's called spar varnish. Unfortunately, the drying times are excruciatingly long, and spar varnish has a deep yellow color that only gets worse as it ages. Still, spar varnish is the best choice for projects, such as outdoor furniture, that will be exposed to the elements."

As a side note, I did notice that the deep yellow of the varnish helped to tone down the very deep reddish brown stain that I used. Golden or greenish tones applied as a topcoat will always help to neutralize or flatten reddish tones. (I spent several years as a carpet dyer in my younger days and learned a few things about mixing colors).

Hope this is helpful.

A-A

"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2004-11-07 22:24 ]

Post #124132 by Aaron's Akua on Sun, Nov 7, 2004 7:38 PM