Varnishong the ply in my van

The ply in my van has gotso damp that mildew is growing.  Is it ok to varnish it?  I had it fitted under my line x a year ago 

I'm assuming you mean the ply on the floor... It's no good varnishing it if it's already damp.

I would suggest you remove it completely and replace it with rubber matting (I bought mine from eBay for my particular model of van).

Cookie said:

I'm assuming you mean the ply on the floor... It's no good varnishing it if it's already damp.

I would suggest you remove it completely and replace it with rubber matting (I bought mine from eBay for my particular model of van).

Click to expand...

Nah, referring to stuff on walls and three doors.  The bit in photo has had line x or speedliner over the top of it for about a foot at the bottom.  I ripped out the ply on my floor ages ago.  I spill water all the time as I use barrels. 

I took all mine out went over it with a electric sander then gave it 2 × coats of screwfix garage floor paint using radiator roller. As long as ply is not wet it shouldn't be a problem. 

marc674 said:

I took all mine out went over it with a electric sander then gave it 2 × coats of screwfix garage floor paint using radiator roller. As long as ply is not wet it shouldn't be a problem. 

View attachment 15808

Click to expand...

So I should of sanded the ply before varnishing them? 

marc674 said:

I took all mine out went over it with a electric sander then gave it 2 × coats of screwfix garage floor paint using radiator roller. As long as ply is not wet it shouldn't be a problem. 

View attachment 15808

Click to expand...

I bought some of that floor paint last year with the intention of doing my van, but my shed needed doing first, even in the heatwave we had last year it took 2-3 days to fully cure and stank so I put off doing the van as I can't stand fumes or any strong smells, I intend on just doing it with grey gloss paint this year just so it looks better in the back of the van. 

triangle said:

So I should of sanded the ply before varnishing them? 

Click to expand...

By sanding it removes any ? from it and helps the paint / varnish to stick better. I also went over the ply with soft brush on hoover to remove any dust and a quick wipe with cellulose thinners to remove any contaminants 

Iron Giant said:

I bought some of that floor paint last year with the intention of doing my van, but my shed needed doing first, even in the heatwave we had last year it took 2-3 days to fully cure and stank so I put off doing the van as I can't stand fumes or any strong smells, I intend on just doing it with grey gloss paint this year just so it looks better in the back of the van. 

Click to expand...

I put one really thick coat on and it was fully cured within 24 hours. The smell of the paint didn't seem much worse than gloss house paint. The worst was the protektacote for the floor it stank and took days to cure