TotalBoat520023 Halcyon Marine Varnish - Water Based Polyurethane Wood Finish for Interior and Exterior Use (Clear Amber Gloss, Pint)

I'm most impressed by how forgiving this product was having to work vertically and in the FL heat. It is a great consistency, and I only had to catch some runs in the corners. It dries fast, but you have enough time to work with it. Just make sure you blend intersections while it's wet, and don't go back to something that has dried for more than a minute or two. It was 80+ degrees and a little humid when I did this.I've refinished it once in the 6 years I've had it, and the urethane product I used a couple years ago didn't hold up well at all. I didn't have to sand too aggressively to get it down to the first pic because the finish came right off. Because this door can have character and I found a pretty good stain match, I didn't worry about getting it all off. I made it smooth and stained it with a gel stain, which I recommend for any vertical project. The second pic is one coat of stain that I brushed on and wiped in with a rag.As you can see from that pic, there is still original stain and finish and even different textures that I was hoping this product would correct for me. I wanted a satin finish, so I followed the recommendation of building with gloss coats and doing a satin final coat. I did 4 gloss and 2 final satin coats the next day. Like I said, the FL sun is brutal so I wanted to really protect it, so you may not need 6 coats. I did two final satin coats instead of one just in case I missed a little spot or something; I wanted to make sure no gloss peeked through. My door is 48" wide with a little exterior trim and I think I still have enough out of the gloss bag to do a 5th coat, so the coverage estimates are not exaggerated by any means.NO SANDING NECESSARY!!! I had a little rough spot from brushing over something that was dry-ish, so I hit it lightly with some steel wool once everything was dry and wiped the dust off well before the next coat. This product really is easy to work with, was ready for the second coat within an hour, and really does clean up with soap and water. I couldn't believe my brush was soft and ready to use the second day. I love the final product, and can't wait to see how it holds up.

For exterior wood, I usually go for oil finishes because of ****Chemistry**** water and oil do not mix so it repels without doubt. Testing this out to skip the fumes and wait time. Also, hoping for that grain color pop.WATERLOX is still my go to (I believe a hybrid tung oil with a drying accelerant) tested in time for durability on my butcher block counters.But this stuff! I will keep on hand for many reasons....it dries faster, beautifully, easy to work with, no headache causing fumes! Easy cleanup and can be used indoors as well.The additional fumes of mineral spirits for cleanup and the wait times adds to the chore of many other finishes.See photos for how the water beads up, especially on platforms I should've incorporated a slight grade. I now have to keep a decorative squeegee nearby from my rookie mistake but this product makes swiping puddles easy.TUNG OIL- backstory- I applied two coats 5mo. Ago over cullwood plywood without much prep besides a light sanding. Never got the color to catch my eyes.Applied one coat of halcyon and wow! There it was.... until the 2nd coat. Not sure what happened reverted to what I've seen this coat to do- Dry clear with a very very slight amber tint. If anything, I don't notice the tint on this board. So I'm guessing it thoroughly dried by this point.Noticing from the amount I overbrushed onto my hands, it has some flexibility and is more of a "sit on top" finish with slight penetration on unfinished surfaces.Of course, the bag design is genius, creating little waste.Advice- I applied in thin layers in the shade. Anything more, you will end up trying to brush over globs of gel once it starts curing if not working fast enough. Anther sign it dries too fast to fully penetrate.As for color, if it's not already there, don't get your hopes up. Same preview as if you were to wipe it with a damp rag to see the final outcome. Surprisingly, it did add color over the Cabot clear oil coat on naturally darker wood.Next time, I will let the sun do its magic to darken raw wood before finishing.

This stuff is THE BOMB!!! I do woodworking that usually is for outside decorative purposes and have been using epoxy in past projects. I really wanted something that let the textures in my woodworking to show and not be under a layer of epoxy. I made my dad a quilt square to hang in his pipe fence and have sealed with this.This stuff goes on so easily and dries quickly! Clean up a breeze!!!!No fumes and I love the satin finish!! Will be using this for many projects to come!!!!!Just try it!!! You won’t regret it!!

As a woodworker building a gaming table for my son, I needed a finish that could withstand drink spills and sweating. After reading about marine varnish, I decided to give this product a try, and I’m pleasantly surprised by the results. Using my HVLP sprayer, it provided a smooth, clear, glass-like, and tough finish. Although it’s not recommended, I lightly sanded between coats with 400 grit to maintain smoothness. This product is fantastic, and I’ll definitely keep it stocked in my shop instead of using poly. I’ll also be sharing my positive experience with friends and fellow woodworkers. This is definitely a keeper on my favorites list.