Protecting on wood on porch?

[DesignGuy]

I've got a screen-in porch that we recently painted the exterior using a solid color deck stain. The interior, however, is not painted nor do I want it to be as I prefer the natural wood look there. However since rain and snow sometimes enter through the screens, the wood would need some kind of protectant. I'm not sure what I should use, since the porch is 5 yrs old already. Is it to late for a sealer (I have no idea if one was originally applied), or should it just be cleaned periodically?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I'd use spar varnish to maintain the natural look. There are other products like Cetol, but it will darken the wood a bit.

[Bob_M]

There are numerous semi-transparent and some "clear" stains that you could use. Consumer Reports recently did a review of many of them stating all their likes and dislikes of each.

This summer I had a new all white cedar deck built and I selected Sikkens Cetol natural cedar stain and it came out just great looking. I wanted a look that mimiced what it looked like when rain water was on it and I believe we've accomplished that.

Good luck.

B