Clark - does the spar varnish harden into a barrier finish? I've always been leery of barrier finishes on green wood. I've had some bad luck with poly and varnish - hazing, cracking, etc.
Mike:
Spar is a flexible finish. So it can move along with the wood. I'm not talking about building up a thick, water-tight shell on green wood. As you and Don point out, that leads to other problems. I'm just saying that it's more resitant to UV, and doesn't seem to dry out the way oil-based finishes do.
For interior timbers, we use our own variation on the
Recipie listed here. It's a lot of work to heat up the spirits, melt the wax, etc, but we love the result. CB.
