Stripping/ staining/ protecting wooden pews on covered front porch

I used to sell a lot of this to a BR furniture repair place. It's made for vehicle paint, so it's much stronger than anything from Home Depot.

For projects like that, I prefer to use a chemical stripper to get the old finish off.

Then use a fairly wet cloth to wipe the surfaces down to help remove most of the residual stripper. Let the wood dry well and then sand the surfaces down to smooth the wood prior to start finishing.

For outdoor stuff I use oil based Marine Spar Varnish and for the first coat I'll cut it with some mineral spirits so it is more viscous and penetrates the wood better.

Give it a light sanding once dry to smooth out any grain raised by the first coat and then use a couple full strength coats to finish it off----allowing it to fully dry between coats.

quote:

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Spar varnish…used for marine protection

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I used marine varnish for my kids wooden picnic table. Works great for a year and then I need to recoat, but it does work. They also cover it in mud and spilled icees and shite like that. It sits in the middle of our yard in full sun too and rain too

Covered patio without kids destroying, it would last a good bit longer. But it has a lot of shine to it, not sure OP wants that.

If gets full sun, nothing will last more than a couple years. Epifanes varnish if you want the most longevity.