Floats I made 40+ years ago

[Trilob]

very nice. keep fishing them

[Polecat501]

They have aged incredibly well, I don't suppose you remember what type of varnish you used as it has stood the test of time admirably?

Now that’s a good question! I know it was a water-based wood flooring sealer, from a stately home restoration project locally; they very kindly gave me a small tin of the stuff. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name, but this would have been in the mid 70’s and I used it until I ran out. The trick was to use several very thin coats, using a fine brush and then put the floats on rotary dryers for the 4 hours or so it took to dry. I had bodged a rotary dryer from a rod varnish dryer, revolved at about 10 rpm, and I think this is the key to getting a really good bond to the quill or cork, other than very careful prep, of course.

I could never get on with dipping floats, in paint or varnish. Yes, it produces a thick coat quickly, but without a commercial kiln dryer I could never get the float varnish or tip paint to dry correctly to remain stable. Maybe that’s why commercial floats look so good but crack and flake so quickly?