exterior paint/varnish - HELP!!!

Hello all
I'm Judy, a new member...need your collective expertise.
built a lovely new house, facing north last year with many (many) timberframed windows - New Guinea rosewood.
At the time I was recommended a marine grade varnish - Bondall Marine Grade Clear Timber Varnish in satin for the windows, both inside and out.
Well..needless to say within 6 months the 'horizontals' started to show some wear and tear, the varnish has worn off in parts, to bare timber...
Now, I am trying to find a superior varnish which I can use over this existing varnish - and won't wear off in under a year!
Any suggestions?
The Bondall is an oil based varnish, so (apparently) any water based stuff won't go on until the Bondall is completely removed - an enormous job!
Appreciate any recommendations from the 'panel' out there.:wink:

Welcome to the site. As to your question of the varnish peeling off, after 6 months seems a little bit quick. Personally I have not worked with Bondall Marine Grade Timber Varnish so I can not comment. I do have a few questions, how many coats were applied to the timber? After the final sanding of the windows was the dust removed? Are you also getting peeling on any of the interior furniture?

You are correct to avoid a water based varnish over an oil based one. Something that is going to sound strange, water based varnish does not last as long as the oil based varnish. :B But these days there are improvements.

Thanks for the reply Christos
And you are right to ask how many coats of varnish was applied. There has been some dispute about this as several painters were involved in the job - best I can tell 3 coats only was applied to new timber frames. from my research it appears 3 coats is the minimum required to seal the wood etc.
The inside of the windows are holding up better than the outside.. less fade on the wood, and no flaking or wearing away..
Is it the product, or should there have been more coats of varnish applied to the frames in the first instance?

I can not comment on the product, but if this is for ourdoor use then it should be fine. Have you sent a mail to Bondall asking them what they think?

I have used Watson exterior estapol on a shoe rack that I made. This is over two years ago and has held up quite well. Originally when I made them the first shoe rack I used Watson interior estapol and they put it outside. It lasted for about 18 - 20 months before it started to show wear. Just easier to make another one and finish with exterior estapol. Not that I am saying to make new windows. :U

So it seems strange as to why this would wear so quickly.

Have you had any feed back on this?

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Originally Posted by judy2

Hello all
I'm Judy, a new member...need your collective expertise.
built a lovely new house, facing north last year with many (many) timberframed windows - New Guinea rosewood.
At the time I was recommended a marine grade varnish - Bondall Marine Grade Clear Timber Varnish in satin for the windows, both inside and out.
Well..needless to say within 6 months the 'horizontals' started to show some wear and tear, the varnish has worn off in parts, to bare timber...
Now, I am trying to find a superior varnish which I can use over this existing varnish - and won't wear off in under a year!
Any suggestions?
The Bondall is an oil based varnish, so (apparently) any water based stuff won't go on until the Bondall is completely removed - an enormous job!
Appreciate any recommendations from the 'panel' out there.:wink:

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Just joined Judy, My 2 Bits, To have varnished timber in Australia Facing north, you need to treat the timber as do boat owners do and sand/ re-coat every 4 months.. Dulux used to have a Marine Varnish that was up to the task 20 years ago that they sold to /Northane who may have cut corners now...

Judy, probably the best system you can use is Sikkens Filter 7 or Supernatural over Cetol HLS. You will never get the same life from transparent finishes as from paint.
http://www.tenaru.com.au/

see products

Cheers
Michael

Hi Judy and welcome aboard!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

I have used Feast and Watson Weathershield on outdoor furnitur. Admittedly it gets nowhere near the punishment your application gets, but after 6 years it is still in excellent nik. I tis loaded with UV inhibitors.

Sorry, as someone who has used these products I beg to differ. Sikkens products are marginally alright to use in Europe but sadly do not make the grade here in Australia.

I re-iterate. Treat it like a boat, sand and re-coat every 4 months... And use Gloss not Satin