impregnating wood protector

[CJStokes]

At a boat show in Italy today I saw a product called "Spinnaker Wood Life" which is absorbed by the wood and is sun/water proof etc. and left a very pleasant mat finish and does not flake as a varnish does. It cannot be used over epoxy. Has anybody experience of a similar type of product ?

[gordonmc]

Chris,

I have heard of, but not used Spinnaker. There are several wood finishes of similar type, ie. penetrating varnishes. I have been using Deks Ojlie for two years on mahogany and bits of oak with reasonable results. D1 goes on first... its a matt finish and needs 6+ coats, or until the wood stops absorbing fluid. D2 is a gloss finish which needs 4+ coats.
Its a good product but the downside is that if chaff takes the surface off down to bare wood, its back to the D1...
This year I am on to Le Tonkeniose which is a gelling product made from mainly resin and tung oil. Again, penetrating and claims to be good for 4+ coats. The advantage is that its a single pot and can be overcoated without flatting.
Another, which our Oz friends could speak better about is Endeavour Oil. The last two are not easily available in the UK but in Italy you might get Le Tonkeniose off the shelf as its a French product.

[CJStokes]

If the Spinaker product is what you think it is, is yearly maintenance by just running down with a 3M pad and putting on another couple of coats ok ? Also this product looked great on the show bit of wood - what does it look like after a couple of months of sun/rain and polution ?