TotalBoat Halcyon Marine Varnish | Water-Based Polyurethane Wood Finish | Clear Gloss UV Protection for Interior and Outdoor Use (Clear Amber, 4 Quart)

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.

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.

We used this to treat the cedar shower tongue and groove boards and the cedar window sills. This product goes on easy, dries quickly and gives a great smooth finish. Easy poor containers make mixing and pouring a breeze. Quick dry recoat in an hour with no sanding. Amazing product, highly recommend to those looking.

I have been a woodworker for over 20 years. I was very resistant to water based finishes until recently and of those this was lays down the easiest and dries the fastest. If you want varnished wood to look as close as possible to natural this is what you want.

I used HALCYON WATER-BASED MARINE VARNISH over the table top epoxy. It was recommended by Total boat to protect the epoxy from scratches. The table top is 96 x 32 inches.Pros: It cures hard and clear with better that average gloss for water-based products that I have used. Sets fast so very little trash in the finish that is floating in the air. You can recoat in as little as 1 hour.Cons: It is very difficult to get a smooth finish without brush marks or flatter sheen areas when doing a larger area when using a roller and tipping off. I was doing small areas with the roller. It tried tipping off from both directions. Brushing from the previous area to the just applied worked the best for me. If you are using this for furniture inside a house, it takes about a month for the plastic odor to go away. FYI, I am a retired painter/finisher. This is not the 1st time I have finished an item. If you want a very smooth finish on a large area, this would be a great product to spray. The finish has been on about 6 weeks. Time will tell how it holds up on a dining table.

Halcyon is a water-based marine grade spar varnish. It is extremely tough looks good and is easy to use. I know mini woodworkers and Wood turners who are also using this product as their go to finishing product. I can highly recommend Halcyon anybody who needs a spar varnish. That is especially important if you're using it in an outdoor application. It is very tough and very UV resistant perfect for a spar varnish. I can highly recommend this product. Thank you

This product was suggested to me in a YouTube video. It is a great stain. It goes on smoothly and dries fast ready for the next coat. It’s easy to apply and self levels. I used it on my mailbox I built. On natural wood, this will be my go to! Try it!

I built a tiki bar behind my house. I live on salt water and the bar gets rain and some direct sun here in Florida. I had put a stain and poly in one on but was not happy with the look. I wasn't ready to do poured epoxy and wanted to do something for a glossy look and protect the pine top. A light sanding with 400, then 5 coats and it looks great. 5 coats took a little less than a quart on 12' bar. Waterproof, looks great, dried fast.

I made a tabletop for my dinning room and fished it with this product, very easy to apply shot lap time between coats I used satin finish I am very satisfied with the results

Parfait

Easy to use. No sanding between coats only 1 hour to cure. 1 quart did a 22’ rowing shell with 4 applications. Soap and water clean up