Dipping my shafts in water just doesn't set right with me and I've found the oil base products to be much more durable and waterproof. There are several brands of oil base stains and polyurethane that work well. I use a few different brands of stain, depending on the color wanted: Minwax, Olympic, Zar, Cabot. For the clear coat, the gloss polys are harder and more durable and waterproof so that is what I use. Minwax Fast Dry and Zar are the best of the regular polyurethane finishes I've tried. The spar finishes are OK, but softer than the regular polys. You can wipe them on full strength. If you dip, thin them about 3-4 to 1.