TotalBoat Lust Marine Spar Varnish

I bought a supposedly varnished bridge online, after 2 rain storms it leached chemicals into my koi pond and looked like garbage. I am a super newbie at this whole wood finishing thing. So, I searched everywhere for an environmentally safe varnish or sealer that wont drip chemicals into my pond- THIS IS IT!! In both before and after pictures, you can see the beauty of this candy coating (I used Amber High Gloss). Since I was pressed for time, I did NOT sand this, re-stain it, scrape it, or anything! I literally took the 5ft bridge on the left with a paint brush and a pint of this High Gloss Lust Boat sealer and this was the result! I did NOT thin this product or alter it in anyway, it goes on like painting with honey & I slathered it on thick! I used the entire pint in 1 day, and did a total of 3 full coats on the bottom & 3 full coats on the top (pictured) Taking a total of 7hrs in the month of May down in sunny Naples (very south) Florida. Even as thick as I laid it down, it was dry and ready to go again in 1.5hrs per coat with minimal fumes. I was amazed that it filled in the claw marks from cats using the bridge as a scratching post. It revived all the yellow water stains, and other imperfections- no buffing, no sanding, no scraping- NO PREP WORK! JUST BEAUTIFUL COVERAGE (for a great price)!!!

First, I'm an amateur, but I believe in trying your best. 6 years ago I grew so dissatisfied with the builders of my front door and their finish.. I threw caution to the wind and sanded and put 13 coats of Epifanes Clear Varnish on it. It still looks great today but a couple areas are checking and the varnish has cracked. The drawback.. each coat takes a day to cure. So for 2 weeks.. i sanded, vacuumed, tack clothed and then put another coat on. This LUST varnish.. accelerates my projects greatly. I can't speak yet to durability.. but Jamestown who I routinely get my products from wouldn't sell it and you wouldn't have as many happy customers if it failed miserably. So i come to my preparation and what works for me. #1, sand to bare wood and remove all old finish. #2, use west systems special clear epoxy and put on 3 coats. You might wipe your wood with acetone before applying to remove oils, I did before applying to teak. On #2 you might put on 1 coat, then lightly sand then apply 2 more.. with this expoxy you can apply 2, maybe 3 coats in a day without sanding between. #3, sand with 120 grit, blow with a compressor and tack cloth. #4, apply this varish. I used 10% thinning with a high quality mineral spirit. I applied 2 coats via rolling with a foam roller and tipping it with a disposable foam brush. I also sprayed 2 coats with a graco sprayer (again thinned out 10% with mineral spirits). To be honest I think the foam roller is better and that's how I did and will redo my front door. Update Oct 13 2024 I sanded my front door and got to bear wood on the cyprus. I applied 3 Coats a west systems clear 207 apoxy. And I have now applied 8 Coats of this product in 2 days. I highly recommend it see pictures. Again, I sent it out ten percent when applying the varnish, and with 3/8 knap roller and tipped with a large foam tip brush.

You can see from the pictures I did a rather large area of floor. The standard caution is "never use gloss varnish for floors". Well, I wanted it. I did it. I love it! I could not be happier. I had a very old floor which is pine, so soft and porous, and it had been very ill-used and neglected before we bought the house. It was in bad shape, uneven in color, texture, and not level. Old poly finish worn almost all off and unevenly. Lots of dints and dings in it. I refinished the foyer, hallway, living room and a large adjacent room I have made into a morning room. I wanted the durability and the flexibility of the spar or long varnish. We make a mess - water is always getting on the floor. This stuff is great - looks gorgeous and so easy to keep clean! As for being slippery - yes it is, but no more so than a polished marble floor. I have nearly broken my neck on those. We have a no shoes in the house rule so barefeet, socks or slippers are not really a slip problem. I also refinished an antique florentine coffee table and an antique desk. The desk was in very bad shape and I was not sure if I could fix it - broken and chopped mahogany veneer, roughed up surfaces. A mess. Well, it looks like new! I never imagined I could get it to look like this. I am so pleased - and did I say durable - waterproof - my dream come true. P.S. I noticed some reviews that said it was hard to work with and other stuff. II did a big, messed up floor! With a heavy weight t-bar and by hand edging. That was hard! but look at the results. It is work, but that is varnish. Varnishes are thick and I had long fry times because where I live it never stops raining. It comes down to elbow grease, patience, technique, and using the right tools and products. I only used total boat thinner with it, and total boat primer. It is important to use the manufacturers products because every varnish is unique. So, use the right things, patience, and practice - it is all about technique. Thanks so much!

Great product but shipping sucks.

This stuff is amazing. I used the sealer product first on two cedar projects. Then applied this the next day after drying. You can add coats about an hour apart without sanding (recommend by manufacturer) and complete the finishing in a day. Ultra smooth finish. Looks like it’s still wet until you touch it. Has a bit of amber which makes cedar look astonishing. Will be using again for outdoor projects. Goes on easily with a brush and self levels. 3-5 thin coats and it’s done. I’m still on my first quart after a picnic table and bar top. Definitely recommend.

I don’t often write reviews. This stuff is absolute garbage. It was applied the first time in climate controlled environment at a rate of two coats per day after a thinned coat was applied to seal the wood grain over a 400 grit mahogany surface cleaned with a tack cloth. Sanded lightly between coats which were given six hours to try and verified tack-free. By the fourth coat, it was apparent that the varnish was not at all tack-free once sanded. The entire project was sanded down to bare wood and the process. I opened another can thinking perhaps I had a bad batch. Nope. Made it to coat six with the same problem. Sanded the project down yet again and refinished with Rustoleum Spar Varnish. That worked the first time as advertised. Scroll past this Total Boat total disaster of a product.

Edit after 12 months below.... This is hands down the easiest varnish I have ever used. I used to use Petit Flagship on my brightwork, and it took forever to get any kind of buildup. With Lust you really can get 4 coats in on the same day. The shine is excellent and the only advice I would give you is to thin it a bit (all coats) to get it to flow out better. Some old salts will tell you this is SOP for any varnish. I did buy the TotalBoat Special Brushing Thinner 100 and I believe that may have made a difference. The ONLY downside I can find to this product is that the fumes kicked my put working right over the work surface without a respirator. Trust me, wear a good respirator (I use a P100) or you may have a Mad Dog 20/20 type headache before you even finish. 12 months later - This is a great varnish for interior work. After less than a year, and 10 coats of Lust it just failed. split and lifted. The boat is in a covered slip, but the pulpit gets Nort Florida sun for a couple hours each day. I used Lust on cockpit rails, which still look great. I reached out to Jamestown's support team, who had no answer other than "that doesn't look like 10 coats". Trust me, it was. My impression after a year? Don't depend on this in a high UV environment. It looks great on the bar in my front room and areas on the boat not in the sun.

Only reason why it’s getting 4 stars is you will need a lot to get the finish you want. High quality just need to make sure you put 5-7 coats with sanding In between.