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Hi Mark. Don't spray finish the wood. If the wood is of good quality stain 1 coat and 3 coats of exterior polyurethane. You can use any stain you like as long as it is oil based, cabots are pretty good but any other manufacturer will do. There is a product that Solver paints make It's exterior polyurethane. It comes in a black can. Don't use a cheap polyurethane if you want it to last. Solver paints are an adelaide based company. It's not cheap but it's good. If the quality of the wood is a bit iffy then use a sanding sealer before staining and 3 coats polyurethane. I have used this product and it does the job well. Remember that when sanding in between coats always go with the grain of the wood and don't use steel wool use a light grade sandpaper with the stain say180 grit and 120 grit for the varnish coats. As for the colour a teak or a wallnut will look good. It's personal any stain will look good if it's done properly. Take care not to leave any paint runs behind. Where cabot's products are sold there are usually timber samples available just remember that you timber may vary the colour a little. To increase the shine ans give it a really glossy finish sand the last coat with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Sand it wet and wipe the surfaces dry, then once dry wipe them with a rag wet with turpentine. You'll probably need 1 litre of turpentine 1 littre of polyurethane and 250 or 500 ml of stain, 1 sheet of 180 grit, 1 of 120, 1 of 320 wet/dry and a decent brush that doesn't lose any hairs. Don't use glass sandpaper use no fill sandpaper it's light grey and reasonably soft. You can pick up all of these materials from a Solver trade depot in adelaide. They are cheaper than most products. I use them. Hope this helps.
Regards Cristian
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