I beleive Ed Levin posted this a long while back. I've had good results with it. CB.
Here's a suggestion from a framer who hates oil finishes: they are hard to apply well, tack up, don't set right in the cold, are a bunch of work, make no sense on softwood, etc., etc.
What I am about to describe is known as Finish for the Millennium (it was born as Finish for the 80s, then 90s) and is based on the waterproofer developed by paint chemists at the USDA Forest Products Lab in Madison, Wisconsin. The essence of the finish is household wax in mineral spirits. You can jazz it up using turpentine and beeswax and adding spar varnish for gloss and hardness, or use the barebones version (containing no mildew food) plus a fungicide for outdoor use.
Apply at any temperature, it dries in minutes. If you don't use too much wax you can add successive coats. Cleans up easily later with more finish. Buffs up to a dull shine with a soft cloth. Does tend to make timber surfaces a bit slippery.
I recommend it to all oil finish refugees. Try it, you'll like it.
Here's the deal:
FINISH FOR THE MILLENIUM
The Formula: 3 Parts Gum Turpentine (or mineral spirits)
1 Part Good Spar Varnish
Paraffin To Satisfaction
Recipes
for 4 Gallons: 3 Gallons Turps
1 Gallon Varnish
Wax: 2 -3 Bricks*
for 1 Gallon: 3 Quarts Turps
1 Quart Varnish
1/2 - 3/4 Bricks Wax
Heat turps in double boiler (tin can in old crock pot). Dissolve shaved wax in warm turps. Add to remaining turps and varnish. Use immediately. Allow several days between applications. Before re-coating, rub down timbers in accessible areas with a coarse cloth, steel wool, scotch-brite or fine sandpaper. Remove dust with a tackcloth before painting. If a high gloss finish is desired, increase varnish and wax content in the final coat (2:1 turps to varnish, wax to saturation).
*5 bricks = 1 box of wax = 1 pound
