Last year I went through a little fact finding expedition at the boat show talking to paint vendors. Polyurethane varnish is synthetic and was invented for the floor industry and is harder than varnish. Exterior varnish is made from all natural ingredients like Linseed and or Tung oil and other stuff. It dries slower and has more flexibility and is not as hard. I got a lot of this from the people at Epiphanes. I tried their varnish on my kayak over my Helmsman poly varnish and it's held up with no problems... plus it the best and longest lasting high gloss I have ever used. It's pricey but I was surprised how great the finish has lasted.

So why would anyone want to use varnish? Bright work on boats is not over epoxy but on to usually mahogany and in the sun that wood will expand and contract and the varnish with it's increased flexibility can handle that better. Most boaters will use the marine poly on table tops and more inside work. many time the poly will hold up fine on bare wood but the expert opinion from the manufacturers is that varnish will do better. Epiphanes sells both varnish and poly varnish. Polyurethane has also become a buzz word and makes people think it's superior in every way. Regular varnish which not many companies make anymore is more expensive to make because of the natural oils.