About a year ago I made a table out of juniper that would be used outside at the coast.  It is a harsh environment for wood furniture.  Finishing was complicated, but seems to work very well.  Goes like this: (1) After sanding, two coats of Daly's Seafin Ship'N Shore penetrating finish.  Next, (2) Two or three coats of System 3 clear General Purpose Epoxy.  Finally, (3) Two or three coats of System 3 spar varnish.  Note that the epoxy is not UV proof and will discolor if not coated with the spar varnish.  This was a long and expensive process but the finish is beautiful and bullet proof.  BTW I used matte spar varnish, not glossy.  Just an aesthetic choice.