I have used Spar Varnish on bamboo fly rods. They used to sell a variety called McClosky's Spar Varnish (red writing, no longer available), was excellent to use on products used in the outdoors. Never used it on a gunstock. The thing about spar varnish is that it can take up till 6 months to cure. On bamboo fly rods, I used to thin it out and put on several thin coats and then a final coat. On a rod I used a thin sable brush, on a gun stock, I would still use a good sable wider brush. As far as using spar urethane, if you ever want to refinish the stock again, it will be harder to strip than spar varnish. Spar varnish will give you a slight yellowish cast, whereas spar urethane will be almost clear. The reason spar varnish was good for fly rods is that it would flex with the rod and the finish would not crack. Got it's name from use on the spars (ribs) of sailing ships.
Last edited by JDW; 12/02/06 08:48 AM.
