I’m starting an exterior stain job on a new lap cedar siding house. I am using a semitransparent stain. The builder and homeowner picked a color lakeside brown in the messmer’s UV Plus line of products for the trim and garage doors. I have never used the UV Plus finish, and would prefer to use storm systems oil based tinted stain. Though that product does not offer a color line that matches the lakeside brown, and neither does ppg. I will be using storm systems for the majority of the body and the front door because storm systems have a color that matches the body color chosen by the owner.

Question is –  do I stain & varnish the front door and garage doors to make them more weather resistant or just stain/seal them with the products mentioned above to the match the more rustic look of the home(smooth film finish vs thin penetrating finish)?