Eddie, thanks for the great response. Thanks to B'ski's prompting I have reread this entire post and Victor's comments about his process. I am just stunned at how real this all looks. I think I will probably go for the guaranteed finish as I dislike with extreme intensity (my momma taught me not to say hate) painting.

The cabins in Tahoe are probably real wood. If you have enough moola to by a water front cabin in Tahoe, ya probably have enough dough to pay to have it refinished every couple of years.

Thanks for all the great info.

JHAP
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"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)