to get a thick layer of varnish onto wood?

I have this "yankee van"(WOLF's words not mine) that has bits of wood all over it, all heavily varnished to a high-gloss almost glass-like finish. well I took out the table bits of wood the other day as the kids had managed to chip it and I want to fix it.

Now before you start palpatating wolfie I am willing to hear about alternatives to varnish as long as I can acheive the same finish to the wood, I don't want to strip off all the panels and finish in this new material as that would take all year....

The stuff I managed to peel/snap/scrape off was a good 32nd of an inch thick anyhow.

So how do I best apply varnish to wood? One thick coat left to "settle out" to a glass finish or many brished on coats built up to thickness.  Some of the panels on the roof lining look like they have had the stuff poured on them as there are drips going horizontally(obviously done on a bench then set up the right way) into the cupboards.

btk

I doubt that it's v@rn!sh. V@rn!sh has a tendency to craze in baking environments such as the inside of a van so I'd hazard a guess at either pre-catalysed lacquer or acid catalysed lacquer with an 80% or higher gloss level. Automotive people tend to use acrylic base for the high gloss and it is sprayed on in multiple coats to get that "deep gloss" look, but you can get off the shelf spray cans of clear gloss lacquer at car paint suppliers such as Autopaint. To repair an area you need to sand with wet and dry to somewhere around 600 or 800 grit, wash out the repair area with thinners (degreases and get rid of contamination) then spray the damaged area with several light coats through a template mask (piece of card with a hole cut through it to diffuse the spray edge and allow feathering in). Only spray two coats in a session the allow the area to dry. Denib between spray sessions with a Scoth grey or maroon finishing "cloth" (very fine Scotchbrite pads sold for the purpose - Machine Mart do an equivalent if you can't find them elsewhere). If the build is too high, rub out with 1000 or 1200 grit wet and dry with a small amount of soapy water as a lubricant. Finally rub out with a mop on a drill (1000 to 2000 rpm) and some Farecla cutting compound (or 3M or T-Cut) and buff off. You may find it needs three or four sessions to build the depth of finish. You will find that the repair spray patch grows as you add to the coats..... Essentially it's just like doing a high gloss finish on a car body.

Scrit

it will not be Varn@#h , not on a Nelson's Bus!! it will be a 2 pack laquer on those jelopies dear chap!!!! under the yanks automotive rule book!
i reckon Scrit has it about right!!!

[quote author=billythekid  link=1147220522/0#5 date=1147291317]I loved reading your guide Scrit, after about a line and a half I just knew this wasn't the job for me... [/quote]
Oh rats! I've just had a load of cr*p elsewhere about being "too technical" about high gloss finishes, but they really can be the biggest PIAs to get right - however get it right and they are stunning.

You could always try a local car sprayer who's done high gloss or who doesn't mind doing duo-tones/metallics as the clear coat used will be similar to what you had on there.

Scrit