[neilrush]

I have a redwood garage door in Sac, CA. The door faces south and has raised panels thus making it difficult to impossible to completely sand. I have tried marine varnish and it looks great for a few years but than begins to blister in places that I could not completely sand.

Thanks, Neil.

 

[Steve Neul]

If it's lifting the best thing to do is chemically strip it with paint and varnish remover. You might want to wait until spring to do it as no remover works well below 70 degrees. What brand spar varnish did you use? If you are having trouble with it you might spend the money and use the best, which is Epifanes. It is formulated to use for the deck of a boat. With any film finish though you need to keep an eye on the finish and when it starts looking dry apply a fresh coat. Once the finish gets dry it allows water to penetrate and then finally lifts the finish. A fresh coat from time to time is a lot easier than stripping the finish off.