If you use Varathane...
Posted by: Canuka
on Nov-09-12 9:44 AM (EST)
...make sure you DO NOT use their water-based outdoor varnish. It is pure, unadulterated junk. I had a very bad experience with it when I used it to refinish my wooden kayak paddle. After paddling for a few minutes it started turning white and peeling off! It looked just the way your skin looks when a popped blister starts to peel off. I could not believe my eyes.
Later a friend used it to varnish an entire cedar strip canoe. Guess what happened...