Minwax Helsman Spar Varnish with a touch of good Tung oil from an artist shop as Art explains.
This can be a really great finish if applied properly but I don't use it much for one simple reason that is strictly personal- for the most part Varnishes give a very amber tone to everything you put them on. And over time they will darken. My personal preference has always to finish wood as natural as possible, especially highly figured wood. I find that Truoil , and lately Water based Urethane give a more natural color and look to the wood and leave the natural colors. I did a Fiddleback Maple stock recently and really wanted to keep it as light as possible so I sealed it with several coats of water based Urethane. then after sanding I applied Truoil to get a smooth finish and ended up with just the color I wanted. For some reason, no matter how hard I tried those spray cans of Urethane simply would not go on smooth and even so I had to build it up layer after layer until the wood was sealed, then switch over to Truoil for the surface finish and gloss...
Bob
