I had never heard that one before, but Thanks!

There was blood sweat and tears, but that is most likely part of the waterproofing membrane.

Between saunas and sailboats using hardwood, i figured it was worth a shot. Thanks!!

Yep. I started with hardwood 1x2’s, cut them to length, sanded them and sealed them with 5 coats of polycrylic sanding between coats. Ive used it before and it penetrates pretty well leaving a very tough finish. Its an experiment though, might not hold up. We will see.