Your preferred Satin finish spray?

[Scotty W]

I am about to the point of varnishing my deck, hull, masts, spars and deck cabins and have pretty much decided on a satin finish. When shopping online for spray, Minwax has 4 different types listed on Amazon:

 

1. Minwax water based polycrylic satin.

2. Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane satin

3. Minwax Lacquer satin 

4. Minwax Polyurethane satin. 

 

My first ship build and would love to hear your recommendation for a finish. It’s still too cold to spray varnish here but warmer weather is around the corner or it better be and I want to be ready. SWMBO wants gloss but you know how they like shiny things. 😂  I told her I didn’t want it to look like a toy. Thoughts?
 

[BenD]

I use Minwax satin wipe on poly. It's easy to brush some on and then quickly wipe off the excess. It leaves the wood treated beautifully and with very little shine. If you want the spray version go with #4. Minwax Polyurethane satin.

 

There are also artists' satin and matt varnishes that work well too. They tend to be acrylic and don't bring out the colors of the wood as well. 

[Bob Cleek]

If you are looking for a recommendation for a finish, I guess the first question is, "What do you want to accomplish by spraying flat varnish on your model?" Any finish recommendation will depend in the first instance upon what kind of wood it is and how you want it to look. Since you are going to be portraying bare wood decks and spars, leaving the wood without any coating of varnish would make the most sense. 

 

"Satin" varnishes, which is to say simply gloss varnish with fine powder mixed in to kill the gloss, add thickness to the finish coating without any corresponding benefit. The flattening compound not only dulls the gloss, but it dulls the "depth" of the finish below it. "Satin" finishes are simply a product which poorly mimics a traditional hand-rubbed finish. 

 

If you want to change the color of the bare wood, a stain is in order. 

 

If you want to accent the figuring of the wood (which most would not, since the figuring is likely hugely over-scale) two-pound cut white (clear) shellac will do that neatly and without any gloss whatsoever.

 

From my personal perspective, I don't understand why folks want to spray "satin finishes" on their models, but I know that they do. Rubbing on something as simple as a 50/50 mixture of boiled linseed oil and turpentine with result in a very nice satin finish with no discernable build-up of the coating. When it comes to painting and varnishing a scale model, "less is more."

 

Any finish that is too glossy can be rubbed down with rottenstone and/or pumice or even with a Scotch-Brite pad.) This results in a level of gloss (or "matte," depending which direction you are coming from,) which the modeler can control themselves, depending upon how much rubbing they do, There is no finer finish than a hand-rubbed one. The smoothness of a rubbed finish has to be experienced to be believed. The flatness or "satin" appearance is a function of the polishing of the primary reflective surface of the piece, not from finely ground dirt mixed in with all the coats of varnish applied. 

 

I know some swear by water-based coatings, but it's my opinion that although some are quite good, Limiting the materials list to the fewest basic natural materials possible yields a model of the highest archival quality possible.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Bob Cleek

[tlevine]

This SWMBO likes shiny things where appropriate.  What are you building?  A modern pleasure boat has a much different appearance than an 18th century warship.  Why are you considering a spray-can product when you have much more control with a hand applied one?   I use Danish wood oil if I want anything other than a flat finish.  Apply, wait a few seconds, wipe off.  Adding more coats increases the gloss.  

[Scotty W]

Varnished with Minwax Satin Verithane Spray today, finally reached 62*F.  Got some fuzz to remove but turned out ok. Hung it with a spent guitar string. Masts and spars done too but didn’t photo, sorry. How best to remove fuzz from surfaces? Scotchbrite? Suggestions needed. Thanks. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Scotty W
Add detail.

[Knocklouder]

Looking good, if it is fuzzy, I use 400 grit sand paper or steel wool. Sand it down and re spray. Some times I use lemon  oil, but be careful glue doesn't  stick well to some finished surfaces.  😅 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Knocklouder
typos of course

[Dr PR]

#0000 steel wool gives a fine smooth matte finish. Very good for removing fuzz from wood.

 

However, be sure you brush or wipe the surface thoroughly so you don't leave steel fragments. Maybe even use a magnet to collect the fine bits. The steel bits may rust over time when exposed to humidity. Personally, I have never seen this problem.

 

With sandpaper you need to brush also to remove grit and wood dust.