TotalBoat Gleam Marine Spar Varnish

Was a few days later receiving than expected delivery date. No instructions on can, but there is some online. Brush product on, and it does show brush strokes. Used lacquer thinner. Thinned 50/50. Overall I am very happy with this product, way better than other products out there. Used to refinish seats in Lund boat. Looks good and seems to protect wood well. Would look great if I sprayed it.

I used this on a couple live edge pine slabs for my dock bar. The stuff looks great & dried quickly for spar varnish. I brushed on 3 coats. It looked great, but a few hours later I notice one area w/brush marks & a couple that had almost a puddle, like it was too much in those areas. It seemed nice & dry so I took some sand paper & sanded those areas. All of those sanded areas sanded well. The product “talc-ed” up while sanding & didn’t load up the sandpaper with sticky fresh paint sometimes does. When paint is dry it dusts/talcs, if it’s not dry enough it’s gummy. This sanded well within 6 hours @ 90 degrees. Anyways, I wanted to apply another coat that evening so I brushed it on. An hour later I checked on it & was pissed to find everywhere I sanded it, the last coat wrinkled. Apparently, sanding the outer surface opened up the inner layer, which wasn’t quite as dry. The application of more varnish confused the inner that wasn’t as cured/dried & attacked it, wrinkling it. So I let it set for 24 hours, & then really sanded all the wrinkled areas with a DA sander w/150G, then 320G on the entire surface. Then I gave up on the brushing method & since I’ve got some nice spray guns from my auto body biz, I sprayed. Apllied more coats of Gleam, waiting a couple hours in between @ 95 degrees. Couldn’t be happier with the results. I don’t know why I tried brushing it. You’ve got so much more control with the gun. You do have to reduce it about 10-20% with xylene, which in California is thought to find, however Klean Strip makes a replacement product called Painters Solvent. It worked great.

A good, durable finish. Total Boat Gleam Satin is very glossy. I used it on the front door of my house, which is somewhat protected from the weather and after two years it looks like it did the day it was applied. I recommend it for a durable shiny finish.

I just used the product a few days ago, so I have no idea about durability, obviously. What is clear, though, is that the product is indeed recoatable within hours (and not tacky for days and days like traditional spar varnishes, attracting all kind of stuff and dust in the process). The ‘glossiness’ of the Gloss variant is outstanding as well and the enhancing effect on the wood’s appearance is very convincing. I applied the varnish with a foam roll and immediately eliminated the unavoidable bubbles with a soft brush. The varnish being not overly thick-flowing, this worked very well and resulted in a thin, very even coat (which is good, thick varnish coats are not a good idea, by experience). Be prepared, therefore, to apply the recommended 4-6 coats… To be noted: I have used the Satin version as well (bought on Amazon like the Gloss). The effect is different, but good as well. Be aware, though, that for some reason, this variant dries very quickly. So you have to be very fast in order to avoid brush marks! One last remark: while the product dries indeed very quickly, it stays fairly soft for several days until it completely cures.

I purchased both the gloss and satin versions of this same varnish. I use in on teak in a marine environment. I am very pleased with it as it does not require thinning and applies very well. I used a foam brush, and I was very pleased with the results. You do not have to sand between coats, but I did use a scrub pad between coats. I poured out only what I needed for each coat. I did not experience any issues with runs or other defects. I do wish that satin version had a bit less gloss than it does. I'm very pleased, and both products will be my go-to varnishes in the future.