TotalBoat-520023 Halcyon Marine Varnish - Water Based Polyurethane Wood Finish for Interior and Exterior Use (Clear Amber Gloss, Pint)

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.

Great product! Dries fast and goes on easily. My only complaint is with the screw on cap, which is why I took one star off. If the product falls over, which is likely given the nature of being in a gusseted pouch, it leaks even if tightened fully. I unfortunately lost most of the product overnight this way. Great product, but the closure needs to be redesigned.

Easy to apply with sprayer, easy cleanup, and looks gorgeous on cypress. Just bought more.

Slight odor so use outdoors or in well-ventilated area. Goes on like water and cures after 24 hours to a hard finish. Will buy more.

Easy to work with, the bag is great for keeping the product ready for a future use. The application is very smooth and zero VOCs. I am impressed