TotalBoat Gleam Marine Spar Varnish

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.

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’m so impressed with Gleam! I used it to finish our front door and I wanted a product that’s easy to apply, quick to dry, and looks great. I followed the instructions that in order to get a good satin finish, you start with gloss and add satin at the end. I applied the first coat thinned with the TB thinner and did a flood coat with gloss. I applied the finish with a foam roller and tipped it off with a foam brush. The door got 6 coats of gloss (1.5 cans) which made it so reflective I could see my face in it! I then scuff sanded, cleaned, and applied 2 coats of satin which gave me a great sheen. I was impressed with how smooth it went on. It flattens out nicely, and was easy to apply.

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.

The product is great but I don't know who is shipping it. Why ship a gallong of expensive product via USPS with no box packing to keep the can from being dented? It arrived with a can of spray paint The paint was from another distributer but both were just rattling around in the box with no cushioning. Not sure where the full order originated but they must have run out of packing material. I'd rather pay for FedEx or Amazon delivery if that got the package packed properly. Most of my orders do arrive packed well--not sure what happened here. Anyway, the can held together without bursting.