The best extior poly?

General rule: There are no good finishes for exterior use. UV deteriorates all finishes, so the best you can do is minimize maintenance.

The best advice I’ve had so far ifor exterior finishes s to use penetrating oils. Any film-forming finish will eventually flake off, even if you sand and recoat regularly, so eventually you have to start over by stripping it. With oil finishes, you just have to apply a new coat every 6-12 months—a quick job.

I’m always open to new tricks, so if someone else has a better solution, let me know.

-- Steve B - New Life Home Improvement

Oils are out of the question. They want it stained and want swomething that can hold up to the weather without redoing it every couple of month. I am waiting for a call from a few paint places to see what they recommend.

-- Owner of custom millwork shop

Every varnish or poly I know of if not mixed with an oil will crack and fail. There are some mixtures of really good spar varnish, tung oil, and turpintine that work really well. Or you could look at at the Waterlux web site and check out Waterlux, you would most likely need 8-10 coats. All you can do is read their recomendations.

-- Taigert - Milan, IN

Ed, I talked with Jay Hawkins today and after answering all my questions and talking about some of my other projects, we setteled on useing their Marine grade sealer and finish. He told me when the luster starts to dull iall that is needed is a quick cleaning followed by a few new coats of finish. I am still surprised that the CEO would take the time to call someone and sit on the phone for over a half hour to make sure all consers where takken care of. The only other company that I have seen this type of service is Grizzly. Thanks Steve and Ed for the help.

-- Owner of custom millwork shop

Behr Super spar- hands down.

I use it on my canoes, paddles, exterior furniture, and exterior doors.

I used it on the gunwales of 2 of my canoes in 1999, and they both still look great. The only worn/faded part is the keel of my 1930’s era Peterborough strip. That’s just from landing on rocks & sand.

Both of those canoes have inlaid decks, and the curly walnut veneer is even still nice & flat.

-- The only easy wood project is a fire