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To retain the darker "wet" appearance you would have to fill the pores
of dry wood with some non-evaporating substance, such as wax.
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Fantastic. So you'd apply wax once it's dry?
Outdoors: Not sure how wax would cope with our weather . . Snip

You might need to sand the surface first in order to get rid of the bleached
wood, or has the lignin in the very surface layer been removed by water or
was it a bit of each? If you stop the water with wax how are you going to
stop the UV? Sun block!!!?

I reckon you'd better leave it.

Geoff