John M,
I am interested in hearing how you vacuum impregnate a sealer into the stock. I have used heat in the past to help draw oil deeper into the wood. As I do not have a background in polymer and coatings it is hard to understand how some of the sealers work better than others. All I can do is trial and error. Using a marine varnish as you suggest, are there any problems with using oil finishes, as they might not be able to be drawn into the wood very well due to the internal skeleton has been sealed through the vacuum process?
