[GattaFish]

Sealing is sealing,,,, Bin is a primer no matter what they say,,, Minwax wood hardner stinks,,,,, Been there done that,,, and hated it,,, split hardwoods, (birch),, guess thats what being a beginner was all about,,,,

The epoxy method is good,,, do a search on it,,, couple little things you can do to make the wood really take the epoxy,,,,,

I would use a polyurethane and thinner combo to seal,,,, then use rattlecan primer,,, fastest and pretty good way,,,,