Am painting spar varnish over paintwork on replica english gypsy wagon. The old boys used to apply several coats of o. shellac over their paintwork. I need to know how to color spar varnish to get that warm amber tone. Must be color fast and durable since this wagon will be constantly exposed to all types of weather. Thanks! Mitch

Scott W. Mitchell

The paint store can tint the varnish with universal colorants. I have done this many times and it works.

Tried going to the ********** and got only something opaque. Cost $7.00. Need something just as transparent as orange shellac. Don't want to spend rest of life glazing all those details. Mitch

Scott W. Mitchell

What you need to start with is a regular oil based spar varnish and it will look like shellac even after it is tinted. You need to go to a paint store and not a home center as they will have no clue what to do and even some in the paint store won't know either but if there is someone who has been around for a while they will know what to do. A quart of spar varnish should cost around $13.00.