Finish for spotted gum door

Spotted gum front door which will get some direct sun and rain. Any opinions on finishes that will retain the natural look of the door? Has anyone done it before and what sort of maintenance program did you use?

UV resistant polyurethane every time.

Can anyone recommend someone/company who sprays a suitable polyurethane? I assume for some good quality poly it will be 2 pack and need special safety equipment.

One of the issues with polyurethane is that, while excellent to start, it does degrade with time, depending on how much sun and UV it gets. When it degrades you have a nasty job scraping, burning or paint stripping it off. It will probably last a few years before that happens though.

I have followed a different path and used a marine oil called deks olje. There are two types #1 is a very light oil that you paint on wet on wet until the timber won't take any more. Let that dry for about three days and then apply #2, a much thicker oil that gives a good gloss level. If you prefer a satin look then just use #1. The big advantage of this (and other oils) is that when it starts to deteriorate you just slop some more #1 on the top of it. It depends on the amount of sunlight as to how often. Here in sunny Queensland I have timber gates out in the full sun. I have to re-coat the tops of them every 6 months and the less exposed faces every 12 to 18 months. I also have some Australian Cedar doors outside and they are also oiled. The one that is mostly shaded only needs a coat every three years or so, the doors that get the afternoon sun on them need a re-coat about 12 to 18 months (pushing it). You cam buy the oil from marine suppliers/ ship chandlers like Whitworths Marine.

I used a clear penetrating marine epoxy (1:1 ratio very much the same consistency as water) and prior to that curing, 4 coats of satin exterior grade bondall from bunnings and that has held up well to weather, so far. Two seasons. Sort of based it off of Matt Cremona's beast white oak outdoor table that gets a few foot of snow sitting directly on it during winter. He has some good videos on it.

Thanks guys.

Hurcorh - do you have any issues with yellowing? Which penetrating epoxy did you use?

The Bondall stuff is similar to all the other off the shelf poly's from bunnings in that they certainly yellow / darken the timber to some extent. Mirotone make some products with UV stabilisers in them that might work for you and they have a few low or no yellowing options, too. International Everdure is the epoxy i used.

Cheers.

Consider looking at Flood Marine Penetrol, talk to some of the yachties at a marina and the blokes at a Chandlery.