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)