Looking for recommendation, clear external finish.

[artful bodger]

Wondering if anyone can recommend a top quality long lasting exterior clear varnish/lacquer that they have had good results with?.
Intend to use it on Western red cedar.
In the past I have used a product that is sold by a marine chandler in town that is both expensive and very underwhelming in performance.
Looking for something better.
Cheers

[hurcorh]

Will it get much direct weather exposure?

On an exterior WRC door I built, I used International everdure primer and sealer which is a water thin marine penetrating epoxy that acts as a wood saturator / sealer you then coat over with your preferred varnish. International Everdure Primer and Sealer, $52.95 | Whitworths Marine

Over the top of that I applied Bondall Monocell 5 yrs later door looks brand new. Door is North East facing with about 1m of overhang but does get wind+rain exposure.

More recently i've been using Quantum Microclear with good success.

[labr@]

I've used a couple of the marine grade single part urethanes from the big green shed. One was the Bondall mentioned above and the other was either Feast Watson or Cabots. Applied one to a WRC gate latch handle that was out in the weather for 3 or 4 years and it still looked new when the gate was removed. Main use has been on kayaks but they are inside most of the time. The kayak I use most is 10 years old now and still with the original coating. There are probably expensive 2 pack products that would last longer but I think any of the exterior urethanes with "marine grade" on the can would do fairly well.

[artful bodger]

Will it get much direct weather exposure?

On an exterior WRC door I built, I used International everdure primer and sealer which is a water thin marine penetrating epoxy that acts as a wood saturator / sealer you then coat over with your preferred varnish. International Everdure Primer and Sealer, $52.95 | Whitworths Marine

Over the top of that I applied Bondall Monocell 5 yrs later door looks brand new. Door is North East facing with about 1m of overhang but does get wind+rain exposure.

More recently i've been using Quantum Microclear with good success.

Yes, the windows really cop it. Sun, rain and snow. The marine single pack stuff I used lasts about 3 years and it is a real chore to sand back for re-coating. I don't sand back the entire windows to bare timber, just really the parts that need it which is usually the bottom halves as they are round windows.
The everdure sounds good but I think I would have to get all traces of the single pack finish off first before trying it.
Thanks for the suggestions

[labr@]

Given that sun is generally touted as the biggest killer of exterior finishes I would have expected the single pack marine stuff to last longer in Tas than here in Adelaide. Does the low temp / damp environment have a significant effect as well?

[artful bodger]

Given that sun is generally touted as the biggest killer of exterior finishes I would have expected the single pack marine stuff to last longer in Tas than here in Adelaide. Does the low temp / damp environment have a significant effect as well?

Strangely enough the sun is worse in Tassie than most other parts of Australia.It might be because the ozone layer is thinner here but people who visit from warmer climes often misjudge the sun and get badly sunburnt.

[BobL]

Strangely enough the sun is worse in Tassie than most other parts of Australia.It might be because the ozone layer is thinner here but people who visit from warmer climes often misjudge the sun and get badly sunburnt.

Daylight hours are longer.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

I've sworn off the plastic coatings outdoors on timber because, although they last well, when they fail it is a lot of work to burn/scrape/strip them off. I use a marine oil product called Deks Olje. No. 1 is very thin, like water and you put it on wet on wet until the timber is saturated. Then leave it three days and, for a gloss finish apply the no. 2 oil which is more viscous. It doesn't last for years, about 12 to 18 months, but has the major advantage that you simply re-coat with he no. 1 oil to freshen it up, no sanding necessary as long as you haven't left it too long and the timber has blackened. It's not for everyone but I offer it as an alternative. Here in Brisbane it does pretty well, with a lot of sun. The oil is sold in the large chain of ships chandlers.

In the 19th century they always shellac finished the inside of doors and windows but painted the outside - that gives the longest possible life, though I understand it isn't the look you want - but you could use WRC-coloured paint - preferably an oil based enamel as the acrylic paints can have issues on timber when the small pores let water in and you get bubbles and lumps and the timber rots.

I used to live in Tasmania and agree about the sunburn - it's both the hole in the ozone layer and the fact that the low air temperatures don't warn you that you are over-exposing to the sun - same thing happens in the snow fields and Canberra.