Thinner for Epifanes

[Jay Burns]

Quick question, finishing a wood slab bar top and planning to use Epifanes Clear Varnish. Planning to thin the first few coats, is it required that I purchase the thinner directly from Epifanes. Or will I have near similar results using a general cheap mineral spirit locally.

[Jamie Buxton]

It depends on where "locally" is. The mineral spirits available in California is a low-VOC stuff which does not evaporate completely, and does not work well to thin any varnish. Mineral spirits from Oregon is still the old stuff, and it works correctly.

[Bill Adamsen]

The Epifane thinner says it contains Naptha. What percent it doesn't say. Klean Strip does carry a product called VM&P Naptha (which Klean Strip recommends over paint thinner for fast multiple coats) which is "designed" to thin Varnish (amongst other things). Not sure of the restrictions on where that is sold. Being timid, I have always just bought the Epifane thinner at the exhorbitant price charged.

[Wayne Lomman]

Use the correct thinner. Other solvents will clean it up but may inhibit the curing mechanism. This is especially true in regions with strict voc regulations. It means cheaper solvents that don't really work that we'll. Cheers

[Doug Hepler]

V&P Naptha is more volatile than "mineral spirits" (MS) and therefore evaporates faster. You can blend them if you like. They are both petroleum distillates. Epifanes and other alkyd resin varnishes dry and then cure. Even if you thin with a faster drying thinner, you still should respect the recommended drying time between coats. I'm ignorant about states that limit VOC. I have used MS from the hardware store with Epifanes many times and it worked just fine.

By the way -- Epifanes is excellent varnish, but it is a long-oil (spar) varnish. Is your bar top outdoors or exposed to bright sunlight indoors? You might consider an alkyd interior varnish that would dry harder and possibly be a bit less expensive.

Doug

[Jim Mackell]

I've been using Epifanes for years and I always use naptha as a thinner for the first few coats. Be cautious, a little goes a long way. I allow 24 hours between coats, but that's up to you.

[John TenEyck]

The directions on the can say to use mineral spirits so that's what I've always used.

I agree with Doug. Epifanes is a great exterior varnish but I would choose something else for a bar top unless it's outdoors. Epifanes takes forever to cure and is still pretty soft even after it has, as it needs to be to survive outdoors. Waterlox, etc. would be a better choice indoors, IMHO.

John