TotalBoat Halcyon Gloss Marine Varnish Quart

I used the amber tinted product on an old porch swing. The swing was extremely weathered and I was not expecting perfection upon completing the project. I researched products that would provide a quality finish and reduce the amount of time to complete the project - TotalBoat fit the criteria. After sanding the swing and wiping down the wood, I began applying the varnish with a brush at 11 AM - in my garage which was at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I started varnishing the back and worked my way to the front. By the time I finished the 1st coat on the front, the back was dry enough to begin applying the 2nd coat. Each subsequent coat took a little longer to dry than the coat before it. Some reviewers have claimed that the product dries too quickly in moderate heat - given how quickly it dried at 55 degrees, I can see how it might be challenging to apply in warm or breezy weather. I finished applying the 5th and final coat at 4:15 PM - total time to complete, 5 hours and 15 minutes. The cleanup process was very simple - my brush was easily cleaned with water (no soap needed). The swing looks great and WAY BETTER than I imagined it would look when I first placed the swing in the garage at the start of the project. I rated durability at 5-stars for now and will validate/update the rating after a few seasons of weathering.

Left a good finish on the wood

This is my first time using this product so I can't yet truthfully rate it for durability but the Amber gloss finish looks fantastic on the western red cedar Adirondack chairs I built. I used a Earlex HVLP sprayer to apply the finish without thinning as was recommended to me but I will probably experiment with thinning next time as the coats went on a little thicker than I like. This varnish is very easy to use, dries fast, and cleans up with soap and water. Whoever designed the packaging deserves an award! The bags are so much more convenient. You can squeeze the air out of the bag when you seal it up and don't have to worry about the contents skinning over in the container and there is less bulk to throw away when you're finished. I wish other paint manufacturers would start using bags!

After a great deal of research, I selected the TotalBoat Halcyon Marine Varnish for this patio bar project. The bar is built with bog stock graded yellow pine, heavily sanded to 220 grit. I stained it with a water based stain to bring out some grain detail and applied 5 coats of Halcyon amber gloss varnish to the horizontal surfaces and 3 coats to the vertical surfaces with an HVLP sprayer. I am very pleased with the color and finish. The product was easy to apply and very forgiving. The Halcyon was virtually odorless and dried quickly for 1 hour recoat intervals. I finished the entire bar in about 6 hours. We will see how it holds up to wear and tear. I did thin the final 2 coats by about 10% to allow for more self leveling time, as it was 90 F, 65% humidity.

In Seattle, we have small weather windows for varnishing, so it's great to find a varnish that can applied one coat per hour. The finish seems to be just as tough as a traditional varnish. The "stop loss" bag container is awesome, squeeze out the air before sealing and don't worry about it going bad for months. A couple of caveats, like trad varnish, make sure you have a wet edge on the brush (I use foam). Also, it's fairly thick so I noticed it doesn't soak into pits and scratches in the old finish. So take 10 minutes extra to sand and prep those damaged sections (feather the edges or sand a little deeper).