varnish turned yellow and cloudy

Hello All, 

I finished building my wood duck 12 Hybrid this summer and I have been enjoying it ever since. My problem is with my varnish. I used Interlux Schooner High Gloss varnish with UV protection. It looked awesome in the beginning and I was the only one that noticed my own flaws ! now, the finish is looking cloudy and yellow in some spots, and on the rear of the kayak it feels chalky and you can rub off flakes with your hand. I store it in my garage and its never left out in the sun when I'm not using it. Im upset that the varnish did'nt even last a few months and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions? Should I sand it all off and start again?

Thanks 

Tim

 

4 replies:

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RE: varnish turned yellow and cloudy

That's really strange. Was the epoxy fully cured before you varnished? It takes a week or more for full cure. You will probably have to sand off the varnish. You can save yourself a lot of work refinishing if you forget the traditional varnish and use a marine urethane. It applies easier, takes fewer coats, dries harder and much clearer, and lasts longer. -Wes

RE: varnish turned yellow and cloudy

Only use a marine urethane if it has UV inhibitors in it! You absolutely need them to protect the epoxy. If you don't protect it it will look good for a few years but will be degrading under the varnish. Not really sure what happened with your varnish this time, I put seven coats of Epiphanes on my boats 8 years ago and it's withstood Florida sun and trips all over the east coast. Best thing to do is what Wes said, sand it off and re-do.

George K

RE: varnish turned yellow and cloudy

George is right about the UV inhibitors. I have had very good experience with Minwax Helmsman Marine Urethane. My Merganser hybrid still looks like new after three seasons of hard use in salt water and fresh. -Wes

RE: varnish turned yellow and cloudy

Thanks for the advice. the epoxy should have been fully cured because I did not varnish right away...looks like I have a fall sanding project now, let the fun begin !

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