1.1 Mask off

• Mask the repair area to protect the surrounding surface.
  
  

1.2 Rinse

• Rinse with fresh water to remove loose dirt or any attachment on the surface.
  
  

1.3 Degrease

• Degrease the surface with a specialized cleaning product. Use a soft sponge to work the product onto the surface.
  
  

1.4 Rinse again

• Rinse the surface well with plenty of fresh water to remove the cleaning product including the solvent impurity.
  
  
• Allow the surface to dry.

2.1 Remove flaking paint

• Remove all paint or varnish in bad condition. This could mean that you’ll have to remove all the paint or varnish down to bare substrate. It’s ok to save any layers (of paint) that are in good condition. Any varnish that is left may lead to differences in the appearance in the final varnished area.
  
  

2.2 Complete repairs

• If sanding to bare wood use 80-180 grit paper on the bare surface and increase the sand paper grit in increments of 100 to create radius rings until final sanding of the surrounding coatings is completed with 280 grit. If the damage is only superficial, start with 180-220 grit and work with gradually finer grade up to 280 grit to achieve a smooth transition to the good area.
  
  
• Single pack paint must only be repaired or overcoated with other single pack paints.
  
  

2.3 Remove rotten or weathered wood

• If you have weathered or rotten wood, make sure you replace all wood that’s in bad condition.
  
  

2.4 Sand primer

• If the primer/undercoat layer or existing varnish is still in good condition, it can be left on the surface. Sand with 280 grit and apply new fresh undercoat or varnish to achieve a good surface for the final finish.
  
  
• Single pack paint must only be repaired or overcoated with other single pack paints.
  
  

2.5 Final sanding

• Any bare wood should be sanded with 80-180 grit to help the paint scheme adhere to the surface. For a varnish scheme, sand in the direction of the grain with 180 grit to minimise sand scratches showing through.
  
  

2.6 Remove particles

• Remove sanding residues with clean compressed air or vacuum cleaning.
  
  

2.7 Clean surface

• Wipe the surface with a suitable thinner immediately before painting to remove any final particles. It’s important that the thinner has fully evaporated before you apply any paint. You can also use a tack rag.

Varnishes normally don’t need to be stirred but if they do, use a clean wide blade and use a slow stirring lifting action to incorporate any sediment – this may happen with satin or matt finish varnishes.

You don’t need to shake the can to prepare the varnish; this will introduce air and make it difficult to apply.

For small repairs

• For small repairs, artist sized brushes may be more suited available from suppliers of craft materials.
  
  
• If the area to be painted is very small you can obtain smaller rollers from various hardware stores. Some are often called radiator rollers that are very good for small and difficult to get to areas.
  
  
• With any repair the area to be repainted will need to be larger than the actual repaired area so the paint system can be transitioned gradually to avoid sharp demarcation lines.
  
  

3.1 Mixing

• If it’s a 2 pack product mix the individual components thoroughly. Add the curing agent to the base (the stated mix ratio must be used), stir and leave the mixed varnish for around 10 minutes to allow bubbles to disperse. Two pack products have a limited pot life when mixed. Refer to label or technical data sheet for further information.
  
  
• Decant the varnish you need for each session into a clean plastic, paper, glass or tin container/tray.
  
  
• Close your varnish can and put it away to avoid contamination and also to prevent it from ageing prematurely due to solvent loss.
  
  

3.2 Application

• For bare wood, the first 1-2 coats are normally thinned (by up to 50%) using a compatible solvent. This will help the varnish to penetrate into the grain providing better adhesion.
  
  
• Once these sealing coats have cured, lightly, sand the raised grain using 220 grit paper but try not to break through to the timber on edges.
  
  
• When applying varnish, brush it out with firm strokes along and across the grain holding the brush at 90 degrees to the surface.
  
  
• Finish by gently stroking the surface with the brush at 45 degrees to flatten out the brush marks and pop any bubbles that might have appeared.
  
  
• On vertical surfaces, lay-off with light vertical strokes. This will let any brush marks flow out and create the best possible finish.
  
  

3.3 System build

• On exposed exterior surfaces, it is important that the tops of the grain are well protected. To do this you have to fill the grain structure to the tops of the highest grain first before you start counting the number of coats applied.
  
  
• Application of 3-4 coats without sanding following the overcoating information on the datasheet or label on the can is a good way to achieve initial film build. Allow these coats to cure/dry and then sand in the direction of the grain with 280-320 grit paper to remove brush marks, dust, runs or any other raised defect.
  
  
• During the system build process, only use enough thinner to make application easy.
  
  
• The more thinner you put in, the less paint that is applied to the surface and the more coats you will need to put on.
  
  
• This process may need to be repeated several times to achieve a suitable varnish layer to protect the wood.
  
  
• Once any grain has been filled then apply the number of coats as recommended on the label or technical data sheet.
  
  

3.4 Final sanding and application

• Once the grain is completely filled, sand the varnished surface with 400-600 grit in the direction of the grain.
  
  
• For the final application, add an additional 5-10% thinner compared with the system build step. This will help to achieve a smoother surface with less brush marks.
  
  
• Apply 1-2 final coats of varnish to achieve a smooth finish.
  
  

For small repairs

• Apply the final coats thinner towards the outer edges of the repair so as to reduce the edge thickness which will help make the repair less noticeable.
  
  
• You can achieve this by physically spreading the paint out further or thinning the paint with the brushing thinner recommended for the product. The thinned paint can be spread out more easily and will result in a thinner film. Thin between 5 – 10%.
  
  
• Removing any masking tape whilst the paint is still very wet may assist in allowing the paint to flow slightly more at the edges.
  
  

Important:

• It is possible that the repaired area may show a colour difference when compared to the original finish due to exposure of the existing coating and changes in the timber colour brought about by sanding of the timber.
  
  
• To minimise colour differences and the fact that a patch repair will very likely be visible, try and carry the newly varnished areas out to defined panel edges or join lines; for example if you have repaired a hatch, revarnish the whole hatch.
  
  
• With varnishes it is possible to cut and polish the edges so as to remove any sharp edges but such work is not easy and is best left to the professionals unless you are well experienced and confident in carrying out such work.