Today the first coat of varnish was applied to the entire interior of the coach. This went much faster than we expected and looks great. The product we are using requires additional coats to be applied within a few days, so we are going to do the second coat tomorrow (our regular Wednesday work day) and then do additional coats Thursday and Friday. We planned 4 coats of this first product, kind of a primer for the varnish.
After this we must hand sand the entire coach before doing the final 2 coats.
I should mention our choice of finish products. Since Eric and I are both boat builders I contacted one of the major suppliers to the boat industry, Epifanes. Their US sales manager has visited us several times to help with the selection of product and to help us understand their application. He also arranged for a generous discount on all the products we need. Their US headquarters is just up in Thomaston.
As for the brass chandeliers Eric found we could buy most of the components from a number of lamp suppliers. I have agreed to take on doing the lamps, right after I get the interior hardware done. I now have all the casting back and have polished a bit more than half of them. I expect I will have all the hardware ready to mount when the varnish is done and the surfaces ready for hardware.
Eric and I are both very happy with the look of the coach inside. Sorry that we are keeping the door locked, but the finish will look much nicer with less dust in it. As soon as we get the varnish on we will be allowing limited visitor access.