emilyqualey:

The goal when varnishing is to fill the grain of the wood. After a coat of varnish dries, the product needs to be sanded. It needs to be wiped. Tacked. And then varnished again. It can take up to ten coats of varnish, or more to fill the grain. This is most definitly a tedious process. However, when completed, the wood enclosed in a sheen and a sparkle is glorious.

But overtime varnished wood rots when exposed to the elements of sun and water. Or, it can become worn and tired with the use of everyday living.

Depending on how worn, rotted and tired varnish becomes, there are two options: either strip all the varnish off and start the process of filling the grain again from scratch, or sanding through the surface impurities and add more layers of varnish.

As I go through the process of varnishing pieces of The Boat, watching for drips, sags and holidays - I see my reflection in the layers as they build and I realize, fuck, varnish is like life man - and I’m totally trying to figure out whether to scrape or sand.

(Also, looking for the right variety of varnish for these new and impending layers of life.)