[Milsurplus] MFP Varnish Experiment

[Steve Williams]

My experience in woodworking tells me that you may actually have a color
match even if it is lighter. Both varnish and tung oil darken with age. The
original formula may have been lighter in color too. IIRC it's UV light that

darkens it. If you were really trying to match colors so that it looked
older, you might try a few drops of oil based wood stain in the mix. Orange
shellac may also help. Just a thought.

73's
Steve
KB4DMF


-----Original Message-----
From: milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Tom Dawson
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 6:46 PM
To: milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Milsurplus] MFP Varnish Experiment


Back in mid September or so some of the chaps here were discussing MFP 
varnish, whether is was very toxic and what solvents wee appropriate for 
removing it.

This got me thinking as to how tough it would be to reproduce a suitable 
varnish from "purchasable" stuff.

The MIL Spec referred to, MIL-V-173, specifies a tung oil, phenolic varnish.

This sort of  varnish is much less common today than urethane spar varnish, 
but I was able to find a product, "Waterlox Original" Marine Finish which is

a available online for about 33 bucks per quart that seemed to fill the 
bill.  You can get it from Wood Carvers Supply Stores from 
www.woodworker.com .

By itself, the varnish looks OK although not quite yellow enough to pass for

the real thing.  Still, better than nothing.