First I raise the grain with a wet cloth and sand the fuzz. Then two coats of Watco to penetrate a bit. It's real important to let the Watco dry throughly between coats (at least two drying days between each coat) I wet sand the second Watco coat with the Watco and when dry apply thinned spar varnish till the grain is completely filled.Then 0000 steel wool to break the glaze. I have made wood bowls for a living for a long time and I'm in the habit of using penetrating Watco for my functional pieces. Years ago I lived in the Virgin Islands and refinished the brightwork on sail boats and that made me appreciate the toughness of spar varnish.
