Re: Varnishing Woodie
 

I used McCloskys Man o war spar varnish on mine. Also thinned the first coat 50/50, but with a Daly's product 'Ship n shore'. I did not want an ultra gloss so I put 3 additional coats of their Man O War in a satin finish. (green can) I have since decided I could use a bit more gloss so I plan on the next coat will be the blue can 'semi gloss'. I remove the six doors and varnish them on sawhorses and use a foam brush on the panels and a good bristle brush on the frame. Yes, I did varnish inside the doors and back sides of everything, two good coats. I love the amber tone imparted by real marine varnish and I gotta say the look of the clear coat on new maple street rod thing makes my skin crawl. Mine hasn't seen rain yet and I'm not anxious to. There are no wipers on my woodie yet, so I won't be tempted. I drive one of my other flatheads when the ceiling is low.

Re: Varnishing Woodie
 

GB, I couldn't agree with you more. The look of a new maple body, with an automotive clear finish, in my opinion looks hideous, almost too white. Over years, the varnish takes on a nice "golden amber" hue, almost like a wooden boat. If you drive your car enough, it's a fact of nature that you will eventually get rained on. My take on it is, that life is too short to worry about rain and I'm not going to stop driving my Woodie long distances. If I get rot, I'll repair it.

Re: Varnishing Woodie
 

Sounds like a good life plan woodiewagon46. I hope to get ours done before I leave this earth. Been at it off & on now for over 30 years. Too much keeps getting in the way or should I say greater priority.

Re: Varnishing Woodie
 

I'm not so worried about actual rot... It's the black that gets into the joints. Maple is just such a bad choice for outdoor woods, yet I stuck with tradition and used it. If I had 'do-overs' I would use locust for the hardwood and marine teak plywood for the panels. Neither gets black when wet.. But then again teak/locust just wouldn't say 'ford woodie' like the maple does. I kept trying to find a more polite way to describe the new maple-clearcoat look, but hideous is what I meant. Then there's the chrome wheels and the dark tinted windows and well, I better quit because it's just a fun hobby and everyone can do it the way he enjoys. I just like my old stuff to look old and so I'll end my rant with that.