Varnishing the Empennage

06/20/2009

Empennage

Spent the weekend varnishing the finished tail. I found some epoxy varnish at Home Depot. It's a pour on type but I bushed it with a sponge brush which worked great. Things I learned today; First, when the directions say the varnish gels in 30 minutes, they aren't lying. At 30 minutes almost to the second, I noticed some “stings” in the varnish. About 5 seconds later I found I couldn't use the bush very well anymore. I thought that I'd be smart and pour the remainder of the varnish onto the wood. This didn't work and I had to spend the next morning [Sunday] sanding it smooth again. I also learned that epoxy varnish is very different from epoxy glue that I have and does NOT clean up with vinegar. I ended up getting varnish snot all over my hands and was very frustrated for about 2 hours trying everything to clean it off. I tried soap, lemon juice, vinegar, finger nail polish remover, and goop. None worked. Finally, hand lotion and time was the winner. The end result was I ruined my glass bowl I used to mix my glue up in. The solution was to use plastic disposable cups [5 oz.], craft sticks to stir the epoxy, rubber gloves, and a sponge brush. I would take some paper towels and wipe down everything. Then I'd mix up the varnish with some gloves I had on and throw the stick into a garbage sack I took with me. I had to mix small batches and work fast. I also discovered that epoxy varnish gets HOT. I discovered this when I made a batch too big and had to toss it. After a little while, it melted the plastic of the garbage bag. This also melted the plastic cup. That's why I needed to work fast before it started melting things. Once the varnish is used up and, on the wood, keep the brush moving and try to wipe the drips away. Once the varnish sets, there is minimal drips. I was able to finish the horizontal stabilizer today and start on the vertical stabilizer.