My dad and I put together an 8’ picnic table, wood on a metal frame, and it’s made out of Larch. I want to stain it before I put it outside. My goal is to keep it looking nice for a while, since it will be out in the open all year. I don’t want to paint it or completely change the color. We both did some research, and a lot of people said to use marine varnish, as it’s supposed to be durable, and can be scuffed and re-coated in the future, rather than needing to be sanded down to bare wood again. I’ve heard a lot of deck stains can feel sticky even after they’re dry. I’ve also heard that spar urethane is sometimes comparable to marine varnish, but sometimes it isn’t? It seems to be widely available but I don’t know what the difference is. Most of the marine-specific products have to be ordered online, and I’d like to finish this project before the weekend.
So my questions are, is there any other product I should look at, that can be found locally? Or should I just use the marine varnish, if someone can recommend me a place to get it in WNY. Thanks.