Thanks Brad. I finished the wood in September so not long ago. I used the same method on a black walnut kitchen counter 10 years ago and it's looking as good as the day I did it today, albeit no real exposure to UV but lots of water and cleaners etc...
BTW, I used Mar-k's summary notes- that's why i did 2 coats of CPES. The maker of CPES also advised me to do the same. You do one coat and let it cure for a couple days, then apply a second coat and top coat within 8 or so hrs with the first varnish coat. I also paid attention to filling the end grain really well. BTW buy more than you need you don't want to run out half way through that second coat.
