The best clear finish for an exterior door is 3 coats of clear epoxy followed with 2 3 coats of spar varnish.
Best exterior door finish.
Water repellents and water repellent preservatives.
Pettit marine paint s captain s varnish and epifanes wood finish matte.
The best protection for an exterior door is opaque paint all clear finishes will need constant maintenance.
In my opinion spar varnish will give you the best clear coat protection against water.
My go to finish system for exterior doors is a combination of two products.
An exterior oil finish is definitely the simplest quickest way to treat an outdoor project.
Exterior paints are sold in flat matte eggshell satin semi gloss and gloss sheens in order of the lowest to the highest.
Water repellent preservatives wrps are a great choice on wood decks.
Water repellents wrs.
Teak oil tung oil and tung oil finishes.
An epoxy sealer with an exterior varnish topcoat is the most durable outdoor finish and can last for many many years.
Their popularity and effectiveness for finishing the bright work on boats makes them the best choice for protecting exterior wooden doors that are exposed to harsh weather elements year round.
Pettit marine paint s captain s varnish and epifanes wood finish matte.
Previous varnish only finishes only lasted 2 3 years.
From the original questioner.
The combination has worked amazingly well for me on a west facing exterior oak door that looks as good today as it did after refinishing 7 8 years ago.
My go to finish system for exterior doors is a combination of two products.
The same goes for exterior trim.
It s got to be semigloss.
A storm door would also be a big help in protecting the door form the elements.
Whether it s a marine grade spar varnish or otherwise a film forming finish such as varnish only truly seals the wood when the film is intact.
As soon as it begins to crack or peel it s only going to get worse.
Prior to applying new finish scrub the surface with a cleaner containing an oxidizing agent such as bleach.
For a natural look penetrating oil finishes might be your best bet.
Go for a semi gloss finish which is as durable as it is attractive.
High quality formulations have finely ground pigments that block uv rays while allowing the grain to show.
However the initial application does take longer then exterior varnish.