Varnish thinner ratio. No matter how new you are to woodworking you have probably used some type of varnish or oil based paint which is varnish with pigment added. I was using an iwata neo with a 5mm tip and needlebut i am going to go back to my paasche millennium with a fine tip and needle. Add thinner up to the specified percentage to compensate for the faster release of solvents. One way to identify varnish is by the thinner and clean up solvent listed on the.
Polyurethane is a common modern wood finish that can be purchased with either an oil or a water base. For general purpose thinning a 31 or 41 ratio of paint to thinner or similar ratio is appropriate. Varnish is a very common finish that is appreciated for its terrific moisture scratch heat and solvent resistance. The thinner to use for oil based varnish and polyurethane is mineral spirits 3 or 4 parts varnish to 1 part mineral spirits.
The information on the can talked about the 101 ratio of finish to catalyst but apparently didnt mention a thing about thinning with lacquer thinner so he used none. The ratio isnt crucial. This customer is new to spraying conversion varnish which is a two part mix that sets up and hardens chemically like epoxy forming a super durable finish. If you prefer to apply these finishes with a rag thin them with about 50 mineral spirits essentially creating your own wiping varnish.
The specifications are obtained from the lacquer product supplier and are typically available at the time of purchase. However some varnish products are marketed as a combined stain and varnish. The ratio for mixing thinner to lacquer will depend on the type of lacquer and the material and purpose you will be using it for. You may want to thin your polyurethane for a variety of reasons.
The standard mixture is 13 boiled linseed oil or tung oil 13 thinner mineral spirits paint thinner turpentine naptha and 13 varnish poly spar etc. Check paint container labels for the manufacturers recommended paint to paint thinner ratio. Varnish is primarily used in wood finishing applications where the natural tones and grains in the wood are intended to be visible. Now the blend mentioned in brians question involved using both linseed oil and tung oil.
Because you want to your finish coats to be less heavy because the polyurethane has thickened over time or just to clean your brushes or messes. Varnish is a clear transparent hard protective finish or film. Varnish has little or no color and has no added pigment as opposed to paint or wood stain which contains pigment.