On 2/24/2014 3:43 PM, Wayne.B wrote:

Varnish, Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss, about 8 to 10 coats when starting
from bare wood.

Stripping is done with a heat gun and hook blade scraper; followed by
sanding with 100 grit; bleaching/cleaning where needed; sanding again
with 220 grit; sanding again with 220 after every 2 or 3 coats of the
Epifanes; and ideally a top coat of Epifanes clear gloss. This year
I'm going to try wet sanding with Tung Oil before the first coat of
Epifanes. That is supposed to fill the grain and minimize later
sanding. Stay tuned.

I hired a guy to do all that when we first bought the boat and it
ended up costing over $6K. Now that I'm retired, we're doing it
ourselves.

That's what I like about aluminum...