1.1 Rinse

• If you need to, rinse the surface with fresh water to remove loose dirt or any detachment. You can also scrub it with a hard sponge.
  
  
• Allow the surface to dry.
  
  

1.2 Degrease

• Degrease the surface with a specialized cleaning product.
  
  

1.3 Rinse again

• When using a water soluble cleaning product, rinse the surface with plenty of fresh water.

2.1 Final sanding

• The particular grit you use will depend on the laminate, but 120 grit is normally suitable. Be careful not to sand through the resin layer down into the fibres.
  
  
• Once sanded, the surface must have a dull, uniform finish. Even small glossy spots or areas can potentially stop the paint system from adhering properly.
  
  

2.2 Remove particles

• Remove sanding residues with clean compressed air, sweep the surface with a clean brush, vacuum clean or rinse with fresh water.
  
  

2.3 Clean surface

• Wipe the surface with a suitable thinner or a tack rag to remove the final particles.
  
  

2.4 Fill any pinholes

• If any pinholes or air inclusions appear, you’ll need to fill them before you continue.

Varnishes normally don’t need to be stirred but if they do, use a clean wide blade and use a slow stirring lifting action to incorporate any sediment – this may happen with satin or matt finish varnishes.

You don’t need to shake the can to prepare the varnish; this will introduce air and make it difficult to apply.

For small repairs

• For small repairs, artist sized brushes may be more suited available from suppliers of craft materials.
  
  
• If the area to be painted is very small you can obtain smaller rollers from various hardware stores. Some are often called radiator rollers that are very good for small and difficult to get to areas.
  
  
• With any repair the area to be repainted will need to be larger than the actual repaired area so the paint system can be transitioned gradually to avoid sharp demarcation lines.
  
  

3.1 Mixing

• If it’s a 2 pack product mix the individual components thoroughly. Add the curing agent to the base (the stated mix ratio must be used), stir and leave the mixed varnish for around 10 minutes to allow bubbles to disperse. Two pack products have a limited pot life when mixed. Refer to label or technical data sheet for further information.
  
  
• Decant the varnish you need for each session into a clean plastic, paper, glass or tin container/tray.
  
  
• Close your varnish can and put it away to avoid contamination and also to prevent it from ageing prematurely due to solvent loss.
  
  

3.2 Application

• Apply varnish by brush with firm strokes along and across the grain holding the brush at 90 degrees to the surface. Do not thin unless required to ease application.
  
  
• Finish by gently stroking the surface with the brush at 45 degrees to flatten out the brush marks and pop any bubbles that might have appeared.
  
  
• On vertical surfaces, lay-off with light vertical strokes. This will let any brush marks flow out and create the best possible finish.
  
  

3.3 System build

• On exposed exterior surfaces, it is important that the tops of any weave pattern are well protected. To do this you have to fill the weave pattern first before you start counting the number of coats applied.
  
  
• Application of 3-4 coats without sanding following the overcoating information on the datasheet or label on the can is a good way to achieve initial film build. Allow these coats to cure/dry and then sand with 280-320 grit paper to remove brush marks, dust, runs or any other defects.
  
  
• During the system build process, only use enough thinner to make application easy.
  
  
• The more thinner you put in, the less paint that is applied to the surface and the more coats you will need to put on.
  
  
• This process may need to be repeated several times to achieve a suitable varnish layer to protect the laminate.
  
  
• Once any weave pattern has been filled then apply the number of coats as recommended on the label or technical data sheet.
  
  

3.4 Final sanding and application

• Once any weave pattern is completely filled, sand the varnished surface with 400-600 grit.
  
  
• For the final application, add an additional 5-10% thinner compared with the system build step. This will help to achieve a smoother surface with less brush marks.
  
  
• Apply 1-2 final coats of varnish to achieve a smooth finish.
  
  

For small repairs

• Apply the final coats thinner towards the outer edges of the repair so as to reduce the edge thickness which will help make the repair less noticeable.
  
  
• You can achieve this by physically spreading the paint out further or thinning the paint with the brushing thinner recommended for the product. The thinned paint can be spread out more easily and will result in a thinner film. Thin between 5 – 10%.
  
  
• Removing any masking tape whilst the paint is still very wet may assist in allowing the paint to flow slightly more at the edges.
  
  

Important:

• It is possible that the repaired area may show a colour difference when compared to the original finish due to exposure of the existing coating and changes in the epoxy / carbon fibre colour brought about by sanding of the epoxy / carbon fibre.
  
  
• To minimise colour differences and the fact that a patch repair will very likely be visible, try and carry the newly varnished areas out to defined panel edges or join lines; for example if you have repaired a hatch, revarnish the whole hatch.
  
  
• With varnishes it is possible to cut and polish the edges so as to remove any sharp edges but such work is not easy and is best left to the professionals unless you are well experienced and confident in carrying out such work.