David,
We use water based finishes for 75% of the stuff we do. If you want a
deeper look (oil based look) You can apply one or two coats of amber shellac
and then finish with two coats of exterior clear acrylic. Water based
exterior is still not as good as the Marine spar varnishes. Either way
always remove all the old finish.
cm
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
The two recent threads describing one person's travails with Thompson's
Water Seal bring to mind something that's been bugging me recently
concerning this. I recently refinished a friend's front door, an
oak-veneered Craftsman (genre of architecture, not brand name) that was
severely weathered. When I was buying veneer to patch it, I asked the
people at the hardwood store what they recommended for varnish: they told
me that their brand of water-based varnish was the stuff to use, and
should last 10 years or so. (I forget what brand; maybe McCloskey?) It
wasn't cheap.
Anyhow, I followed their suggestion. When it came time to varnish, I was
really disappointed at the look of the varnish, both in the can (it was
milky) and as it went on. It turned out OK, sort of: there were a few
spots of old varnish I couldn't quite remove, and these showed through as
blotches. It looks better than before I worked on it, but I have the
nagging feeling that an oil-based varnish would have blended with the old
varnish better.
I understand why states and counties are moving towards banning oil-based
stuff: I know about VOCs, and as a human being, I appreciate not having to
breathe photochemical smog. But I still prefer oil-based paint and
varnish. It just goes on so much more smoothly than water-based stuff.
It's too bad the substitute is so poor by comparison. (Except for
clean-up, which is a lot easier with water-based.)
--
Napoleon won the battle of Waterloo. The German Wehrmacht won World War
II. The United States won in Vietnam, and the Soviets in Afghanistan.
The Zealots won against the Romans, and Ehud Olmert won the Second
Lebanon War.
- Uri Avnery, Israeli peace activist
(http://counterpunch.org/avnery09022006.html)