Slat Benches/tables 2 year after Yacht Varnish..!

sujsuj

I built couple of benches + tables in 2021 summer  using Sapele hardwood timber and  applied Yacht varnish and other treatments etc. Now I can see in most of the slats varnish is  peeling of!. Not sure which branded yacht varnish I used may be Ronseal or similar. I left benches outside during winter. 

Why varnish is peeling off..? what else i need to do this time to get this lasted for many years..? Should I keep these garden furniture inside garage in next winter to protect from these sort of damages..? See some photos as well. thanks.

Murmansk

Did you give it three coats or just one? I notice it's worse on the bits where water can sit ie the seat. 

sujsuj

Had multiple coats, in-fact I kept on applying it until that container emptied. Very sad to see the condition of table,This time I am even considering to keep them inside a shed during Winter! Hopefully that will make some difference. Looks like I need to sand them again and apply some treatments before applying Varnish again..? Thanks

twopenny

I have a very similar bench.
I've been sanding and applying yacht varnish every few years to keep it smart.

3yrs ago I took back to bare wood and applied 3 coats of yacht varnish but it was peeling of the following year.
So assuming it was my fault I repeated the sanding and varnish.
Water had got in again over winter.
In fact I asked on here if there was a difference in brands.

3rd year I cleaned off the varnish again and treated with Teak oil. 
Needs reapplying every so often but easy to do.

I used to cover the bench in winter. Made the cover from cheap plastic tarps, just stapled to shape and tied to seat legs.