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Scratch through the top coat of almost any painted surface and you will find an underlying primer coat. Primer prepares the raw surface for the paint. The result is a better finish.
It is useful to think of varnishing as a similar two-step process. With varnish we don't use the term primer, but we could. Varnishing raw wood always begins with several so-called "build-up" coats, and these perform almost the same function as primer under paint. We want the build-up coats, first and foremost, to get a good grip on the wood. After that, we want them to level out the surface, filling the wood's pores. We also want the build-up coats to clarify the wood, bringing out the beauty of the grain.
You can use the same varnish for both build-up coats and finish coats, but the pros often use a less expensive varnish for the build-up coats. Only color and clarity matter; flow, gloss, and UV resistance do not become an issue until we get to the top coats. For a foot-deep finish, plan on applying 6 build-up coats followed by 3 or 4 carefully applied finish coats.
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