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About Greg Scholl
Expertise
Questions on Woodworking, wood finishing and refinishing of all kinds, repairing furniture and wooden objects,Architectural details, Woodturning, carving, tool usage, product usage, some chemistry as it applies to woodworking and related interests,cabinet making and furniture construction/design, etc. I have experience with all manners of colorants, finishes, paints, stains, dyes, glazes, and coatings,wood species recognition,usage,etc.

Experience
Fine furniture restorer and cabinet maker for over 30 years,serving high end Antique dealers, Interior designers, Collectors in the CT area. Sold, built, serviced, setup Home,Industrial and Commercial stationary woodworking tools for a major tool retailer in CT. for three years, sold hand and power tools, and offered instruction on use and care as well.I even have some Trade show Demo experience.

Organizations
none at this time.

Publications
Published in Fine Woodworking Magazine (12/97), included on Fine Woodworkings first "Best of Fine Woodworking" CD-ROM (2002) ...("27 year compilation of expert know-how"), local newspapers as well

Education/Credentials
Art School at Silvermine Guild in Norwalk, CT., 9 year apprenticeship in a European run Cabinet and Restoration shop in CT., various classes on subjects having to do with the field. Seminars by Major tool manufacturers, Delta, Powermatic, Performax, Porter Cable, Skil/Bosch to name a few.

Past/Present Clients
Many varied clients including work on Martha Stewarts' Westport, CT. show house, many fine Antique dealers and private collectors in and around Fairfield County and in Woodbury, CT.(the Antiques capital of CT.)
Consulting for area Painting/Decorating and Building contractors on non painting issues..(staining, wood prep.,clear finishing, floor restoration and architectural detail restoration and repair, etc.), local Museums and Historical Societies.

You are here: Experts > Hobbies > Woodworking > Woodworking > Why is Oil Varnish being changed to sythetic Varnish?

Woodworking - Why is Oil Varnish being changed to sythetic Varnish?

Expert: Greg Scholl - 10/27/2009

Question
Why is Oil Varnish being changed to synthetic Varnish?

Problem I am having:

I am an artesian and have used spar varnish for 30 years. If you have used Cabot Spar Varnish, you need to understand this:

Cabot has no right to place a synthetic product that compels oil, under a product which has been natural oil base for centuries. I have been testing this product. If you use it and let it set for 12 hours, it is in gum format and it can rub right off your surface with a rag. If it dries over a 3 day period it is like cement and does not sand easy. Who wants to sand antiques? The Cabot surface film will not take any additional oil finish wipes, since it compels any oil based product. All it takes is a film of bad Cabot and you have permanent streaks. The high gloss cans are not high gloss; and beware; it can not be sanded to a gloss surface because it is a synthetic gum. If any one knows of a class action effort against damage this product has done under the experience hands of wood workers?.. I am in. I bought my product from Lowe’s, who discontinued the Spar Varnish and has no alternative product on their shelves. Synthetic spar urethane is made for boats and under heavy duty sanding, and is called under the correct name of urethane, but beware, salespersons grab this product when a customer asks for spar varnish and claims it is the same. If I ask them where they learned this fact, they tell me they are told to say it. We are talking about Home Depot and Lowe’s together. I have been trying the ACE Spar Varnish which is doing well. Here is your solution. They do not carry much on their shelves, so let them know to restock.

It is important that Cabot Spar Varnish User’s know that the product will dry in the can to a gel if you do not place the lid on it while doing your job. It has no shelf life and should have never been placed on shelves to the regulated specifications. I do not know how this product was sold. This just tells me, large outfits like Lowe’s seem to be out of touch with regulations and test use of products. They rely on a hand few like us to get burnt and blow whistle. See the nations complaints on www.complaintsboard.com under this products name

Answer
Hi Kristen,Spar varnish is typically designed for exterior use and is not a good choice for finishing furniture.It's too soft and flexible as a cured film, and does not rub out well when compared to a conventional spirit varnish, shellac, etc. A Spar is a part of a boat, hence the name for this type of flexible,long oil varnish... I assume that by the word "compel" you mean repel? Most modern varnishes have been slowly modified using urethanes, Tung oil, and other resins, and now with the new V.O.C. regulations, these manufacturers have been forced to reformulate the product using slower, less aromatic, and less toxic solvents.....which is changing these products for the worse.Oil paint is now gone from the market almost completely, and all the other traditional oil based finishes will follow suit in the near future, unfortunately.
"The Cabot surface film will not take any additional oil finish wipes, since it compels any oil based product". I'm not quite sure what this sentence means, perhaps you can elaborate, as the Spar urethanes are still an oil based product. Typically, in the can, these varnishes have plenty of shelf life, but if you introduce ANY thinner into the product it will accelerate the gelling and ruin what's left.Oxygen is also the enemy of these finishes inside the can. You can thin a smaller batch of the varnish, in a separate container, right before application, but don't add that back to the can or you will start the gelling process, and eventually the varnish will solidify. If you're doing Antiques on a regular basis, you should definitely not be using hardware store products, especially Spar varnish on them. There are many places that sell more professional products, geared toward the Pro. I do however, agree with you in the fact that I'm pissed off that the Government is forcing companies to reformulate products that have served us for many, many years, in some cases 100's of years, and made our job extremely frustrating. Fortunately, one of the things they haven't been able to mess with is shellac, which has been around for thousands of years, and is supplied without the solvent in it, in solid form. It is the finish of choice for Antique restoration in many cases, and Jeff Jewett's site homesteadfinishing.com stocks many varieties, several of which I keep in stock at all times, and mix only small batches at a time. And while I'm aware it's not a great choice for table tops, or other hard wear surfaces, it does excel at almost all other finishing tasks when talking about Antiques. The Gel varnishes and urethanes like the General and the Bartley are also still available and excellent products.Unfortunately, complaining now won't do any good, as the changes have been in the works for a few years now, and it will take some time to "shake out" the market to arrive at a new selection of reliable and durable products for us to use. There are some loopholes that will still allow some companies to supply the older formulations in small containers I am told. But we'll see........regards- Greg

http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/htdocs/shellac3.htm

http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/htdocs/oils_varnish.htm#waterlox

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