Oil or Water based stains for cypress

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Use marine varnish to seal

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Good avice but

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instead of any type of urethane. The marine varnish handles UV rays much better.

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Some marine varnish is urethane based, though the higher end (higher priced, too) are not urethane based. The UV resistance is due to UV inhibitors added to the varnish. Here is a good article on the differences.

https://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/difference-between-spar-varnish-and-regular-varnish/

On The original question, I prefer oil based stains generally, decks can be the exception for me, though not always.

I would suggest a water based toner or semi transparent stain. In my experience, as soon as you put any type of urethane or varnish on an exterior surface, you've just set yourself up for maintenance on it. You'll only get about 18 months of life out of the coating before you have to recoat.