Varnish

John pulled the mask over his face as he picked up the flathead screwdriver and walked to his work bench, where his cans of paint were awaiting him. It wasn't the main varnish he was using that he was concerned about so much as the mineral spirits that he was mixing them with - the smell was powerful, and he would be in close proximity to it for the next hour or so. Though it wasn't necessarily dangerous to intake those fumes, doing so for that long would surely not be a wise decision. Better safe than sorry.

Honestly, he was still kind of weirded out by the idea that the first layer was made by mixing the varnish with a paint thinner. He understood the idea - it allowed the varnish to sink into the pores of the wood, creating a better seal that would last longer. Which was good, because the tools and instruments he created were meant to last for a long time. It was just such a strange concept, and one that he certainly wouldn't have ever come up with on his own. From time to time, he wondered who the first person to come up with that technique was. To think of mixing paint with paint thinner - who would even think of that? Or perhaps it was simply a mistake that worked out. Who knew.

He took the painting slow. It wasn't particularly hard or precise work, but he preferred to have to fix as few mistakes as possible. It wasn't like more traditional paint, which could be covered over by secondary layers and be more or less alright. Every untended to mistake would be evident through subsequent layers. Granted, the varnish could be sanded, and should be between every layer regardless. But the further down he had to sand to correct a mistake, the more layers of painting he would have to do. And that only served to invite more mistakes.

It was a good thing he wasn't overly artistic - he was much better at the slow grinding of building than he was a the precise movements of painting. He managed with the varnish because it was just a flat covering, and anywhere it wasn't supposed to go he could cover with tape. And it was a nice thing that he could work at slowly over time - as he finished layering the paint, he set aside his tools and cleaned up what he could, then went about his day. It would be hours before it had dried off, and another couple after that before he felt comfortable with putting the next layer on. One in the morning, to last for the day - one in the evening, to dry as he slept. It was a good system. And it made him feel satisfied when all was said and done.