Practical Boat Owner — January 2018

If the paint or varnish has been stored in a cold garage or shed,

stand it in a bucket of warm water for 10 minutes or so before

opening to make it easier to pour

When the gently warmed coating is well stirred and ready, pour
the amount required into the funnel. This means you do not have
to stand holding the tin over the filter or balance it precariously
as the filtering takes place

The varnish in the funnel can then be left to drain slowly down

through the filter into the container

Here’s what we’re left with – those congealed bits of skin that
cause so much angst when trying to do your sprucing up

You can either paint or varnish directly from the cut plastic milk

bottle or decant your varnish into a clean vessel

To keep the filter in place, wedge the top half of the first
container into the lower half of the second. This secures the filter
and stiffens up both containers, which are usually quite flimsy

FILTERING VARNISH OR PAINT

I find it best to just

filter what you need at

any particular time so the jar

can be used up before any of it

congeals again in the container.

Bundle the messy pieces up in

newspaper and it can all go in the

bin. The only thing you will need

then is solvents to clean your

brush afterwards.