{"id":746,"date":"2014-08-19T13:34:08","date_gmt":"2014-08-19T17:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/?p=746"},"modified":"2026-02-17T11:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:51:17","slug":"varnish-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/teak\/varnish-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"What Varnish to Choose?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"post-updated\"><strong>Last Updated: February 16, 2026<\/strong><!--?php echo get_the_modified_date('F j, Y'); ?--><\/p>\n<p><!-- Quick Recommendation Box: What Varnish to Choose --><\/p>\n<div class=\"bps-quick-reco\" style=\"border: 1px solid #e5e5e5; border-left: 6px solid #0a6fb5; background: #f8fbff; padding: 16px 18px; margin: 14px 0 22px; border-radius: 8px;\">\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 8px; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: .06em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #0a6fb5; font-weight: bold;\">Quick Recommendation<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0 0 10px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.25;\">What Varnish Should You Choose?<\/h2>\n<ul style=\"margin: 0; padding-left: 18px; line-height: 1.6;\">\n<li><strong>Traditional spar varnish:<\/strong> Best for a <strong>classic warm gloss finish<\/strong> with good UV protection and flexibility for exterior wood.<\/li>\n<li><strong>High-build varnish:<\/strong> Ideal if you want <strong>fewer coats and faster film thickness<\/strong> on brightwork.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Two-part (urethane) varnish:<\/strong> Offers <strong>maximum durability and chemical resistance<\/strong>, but requires more precise application.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bottom line:<\/strong> Choose varnish based on <strong>durability needs, maintenance expectations, and desired finish appearance<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin: 12px 0 0; color: #555; line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>Tip:<\/strong> For exterior marine use, always select a varnish with strong <strong>UV inhibitors<\/strong> to protect wood from sun damage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Typically a\u00a0varnish is what is used to protect wood that exposed to the elements for long periods of time (think teak wood on boats).<\/p>\n<p>Here are the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/teak-oil-and-wood-restoration-c-13687.html\"><strong>links to our varnish choices<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\">to check as well.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/awlspar-spar-varnish-m3131-p-9649.html\">Awl-Spar Classic Spar Varnish<\/a><\/strong><\/span><strong style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"> (with reducer)<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">\u00a0is the highest quality classic spar varnish with state of the art ultraviolet inhibitors and absorbers used for brightwork protection against water and weather. It has excellent durability, and is fast dry, fast recoat for quick build up. For above waterline use only.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/teak-oil-and-wood-restoration-sikkens-cetol-marine-c-13687_14069.html\"><strong>Cetol\u00ae Marine Gloss with Next Wave<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u2122 UV-absorbing technology is a durable clear gloss protective wood finish, developed as a topcoat for Cetol Marine, Cetol Marine Light and Cetol Marine Natural Teak. \u00a0Next Wave technology is the next generation of Cetol Marine from Sikkens with a unique UV-absorbing package, which is specialty resins and advanced UV absorbers that provide greater protection, durability and longevity. \u00a0Cetol Marine Gloss provides a high gloss, hard wearing, UV protection and an easy to clean finish. \u00a0It can be used where a gloss appearance is preferred on top of Cetol Marine, Cetol Marine Light and Cetol Marine Natural Teak. \u00a0Do not use on decks.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/marine-spar-varnish-by-duralux-p-10811.html\"><strong>Marine Spar Varnish<\/strong><\/a> i<\/span>s a super clear, high gloss varnish for exterior and interior use on new or previously varnished surfaces subject to abuse from parching sun, fresh or salt water, severe weather conditions or abrasion. Formulated with an ultra violet screening agent, Marine Spar Varnish will hold its gloss on exterior surfaces far better than conventional varnishes. Excellent for use on boats doors, furniture, porches, bar tops, or any other surface where a durable clear gloss finish is desired.<\/p>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"http:\/\/w.sharethis.com\/widget\/?wp=6.9.7\"><\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated: February 16, 2026 Quick Recommendation What Varnish Should You Choose? Traditional spar varnish: Best for a classic warm gloss finish with good UV protection and flexibility for exterior wood. High-build varnish: Ideal if you want fewer coats and faster film thickness on brightwork. Two-part (urethane) varnish: Offers maximum durability and chemical resistance, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152,11],"tags":[164,217,305,304,216],"class_list":["post-746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boat-maintenance","category-teak","tag-awlspar-varnish","tag-captain-jacks-varnish","tag-cetol","tag-marine-spar-varnish","tag-varnish"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=746"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4180,"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions\/4180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bottompaintstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}