BUSY!

  For those that check in hoping for an update I would like to bring you up to speed. Lately all work has been outside and on boats. Varnishing season has opened here in Gig Harbor and is keeping me quite busy. Filliquist Studio also had a visit from the Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow. What a Treat!!

   After a visit form the Balvenie Ambassadors Nicholas and Russel the weather turned bright and sunny and the varnishing season officially started. So far two power yachts and a sailboat (seen below) have been the latest recipients of fresh coats of varnish, except in the case of the one power yacht that is receiving Cetol over Teak at the request of the owner. 

   While Cetol has it's place (I don't quite know yet, but I'm sure it has one...) I would have rather seen the owner go with Amazon's teak oil. This would give the wood a more uniform look and allowed for a non-glossy working surface, as the teak is in traffic areas such as handrails (below) and along the dogwalk underfoot. But that is only a matter of opinion, right?

    On both of the power yachts the same "varnisher" had refinished both boats. He also happened to do a horrible job. Good for me. Bad for the boat and the owner. One must realize that when looking at good work there is less to see. In this case one shouldn't see swirl marks from the disk sander and one definitely should not see cross grain marks from the BELT SANDER!!! One coat only lasted 8 months the other has started to release from the wood and peel off in 10" (250cm) sheets! Turns out that both boats paid more than just the high price of an overpriced "varnisher". They are now paying the price to get the work done right the 2nd time.

    A final note- both boats were "varnished" with a two part poly varnish and both boats were not properly primed. Four years later the "varnish" can be peeled up in solid sheets with a dull putty knife. Not good. After seeing work like this, I still believe that there is no shortcut to excellent work that lasts a long time.